When you are a freelancer or remote worker, you will inevitably encounter clients who expect more than what they paid for. This can be frustrating, especially when you have limited resources or time.

Tips

  1. First, establish clear boundaries with your clients. Make sure that you have outlined in your contract exactly what services you will provide and how much time it will take. If you don't have a contract, then make sure to outline this in an email before starting work.
  2. Make sure that your contract has a provision that states that anything added after signing must be negotiated before proceeding with any additional work or changes made after signing will be considered a new contract subject to negotiation until both parties agree on terms that satisfy all parties involved (which could mean additional fees).
  3. Be clear about what you aren't responsible for. For example, if a client wants you to edit their book, but only pays for formatting their manuscript, make sure they understand that before starting work on their project so there's no confusion later on down the line when things go wrong because of something outside of your control (like spelling errors).
  4. Identify why your client is expecting more than what they paid for. Is it because of a misunderstanding? Did something change in the course of your project that has caused them to want more work? Or maybe they're just trying to get you to work for free.

Dialogue Examples

Example 1

Client: You're not doing what I asked for.

Freelancer: What exactly did you ask for, and when did you ask for it?

Client: You were supposed to make this website look better.

Freelancer: The project description clearly stated that the website was already designed, and that I would be adding more content to it. Your request was not included in the contract.

Example 2

Client: Hello, I'm calling about the job you submitted for me.

Freelancer: Hi, yes! I can't wait to hear what you think of my ideas.

Client: I'm calling because the price you quoted is too high.

Freelancer: Oh, no worries, let me explain what we'll be doing and if that helps at all. As you know, we'll be working together on this project in a very close way. We'll have daily check-ins with each other and talking through every step of the process will help us both understand what's going on and make sure we're on track. That said, there is an additional cost for this level of communication and collaboration—it's one of the main reasons why we charge so much more than other firms do.

Example 3

Client: I want to hire you to work on my project.

Freelancer: I will be available for the next two weeks, and I can provide you with my hourly rates.

Client: Great! Let's get started.

Freelancer: The first thing we'll need to do is outline exactly what services you will be paying me for, and how much time it will take.

Client: Sure! I want you to write some blog posts and make a few videos explaining my product. I'll send over some links to previous successful blogs/videos so that we can see what works best for our audience.