When you're a freelancer, it's easy to get caught up in the idea of building your business and landing new clients. But what happens when those new clients lose interest in the project?
Tips
Here are some strategies to consider:
- Don't take it personally, and don't let the client take it personally either.
- Communicate your concerns to the client as soon as possible. Ask them directly what's going on. If they have lost interest, there's no point in pretending that they haven't, and if they haven't, it's important to know why.
- Gather information about what led to their decision. Is it because of something specific? Is it because the work is too difficult for them? Is it because they haven't seen results yet? Take notes on what is being said during your conversations with this client and use these notes later on when talking about the issue with their boss or supervisor.
- Find out what they're not happy with and try to fix it, while reminding them of what they loved about the project in the first place.
- Get feedback from the client about what happened and how things could have gone differently so that both parties can learn from the experience.
- If there's nothing specific going on with your client, it may just be that they've realized they don't need this service anymore or are having second thoughts about how much time and money it will take. In this case, it can help if you offer them options for adjusting their expectations so that the project becomes more manageable for both parties.
Dialogue Examples
Example 1
Client: Hi, I am not interested in this project anymore.
Freelancer: What a surprise! Why?
Client: It’s kind of hard to explain. The project seemed interesting at first, but once I started working on it, I realized it was more than just a simple website. It needs to be a full-fledged application that can also handle payments and other things.
Freelancer: Is that so? That's a bit more than what we initially discussed.
Client: Yeah. We should probably have discussed this before starting the project. But it's too late now, right? Maybe we should just end the contract now and move on with our lives!
Freelancer: Hey hey hey! We're not done yet! Let's talk about how we can get this done in a way that works for both of us—if you still want to work with me, that is.
Example 2
Client: Hi [freelancer name], I've been thinking about the project we discussed, and I'm afraid it's not going to work for me after all.
Freelancer: I'm sorry to hear that. What happened? Was there something specific that I did wrong or could have done better? Or is there a problem you couldn't foresee?
Client: No, it's not your fault. It's just that I realized this project is a little more complicated than I'd thought at first, and I don't think I have the time or resources to take on more than one project at once right now.
Freelancer: I understand completely. If you don't want to continue working with me on this project, would it be possible for us to find another option for completing the task? Perhaps we could find some way of splitting up the work so that we can deal with the job step by step? Or perhaps there are other ways we can make this project easier and faster for both of us?