Understanding the expectations of the client

What is client expectation? If you ask the client, the answer will vary from one client to another. Certain clients may expect you to deliver his work within stipulated time frames and will be keen on keeping with deadlines. Some others may only expect good quality work from you, irrespective of time frames.

So how do you manage the client’s expectations? There are quite a few circumstances that bring up varied experiences on client expectations while working with a wide spectrum of clients. The key to managing expectations is to have a plan and a back up plan for all situations that you may foresee a crisis. However, there are also unforeseen crisis, which one has to prepare for.

If there is a crisis or if there is good news, let your client know immediately. This way he will be confident that you will get back to him, whatever the situation you are in. Let them know if you are away from work or if you are unable to complete your tasks. This should be part of your regular communication plan.

Whenever you are unable to complete the work as per schedule, offering workable solutions to help them, complete the work is a good way to manage client expectations. Guide them on how to complete the pending task or even recommend a few people who may be able to pitch in and save the situation.

Building good rapport helps when the deadline of a project needs extension, especially when the client is far away from you. At any stage, the rapport that you build will help, to even question certain decisions that the client may make. Many times the clients are willing to explain a certain stance or change, elaborating on how it is going to be beneficial for both parties involved.

Having said the above, most clients do not have any expectations around work hours, as far as freelancers are concerned. This because they are aware that freelancers do not abide strictly to the number of working hours due to their nature of work.

Most clients expect quality of work to be topnotch, when they outsource projects for freelancing. Output, irrespective of the number of working hours put in, has to comply very specifically with depth, class, quality, and accuracy. These, freelancers, have to keep in mind while doing his work. The expectation from the client here is a superior job that will earn a lot of appreciation.

There are situations where more than one person is coordinating, with you, for work. There may be three or four people who are co-coordinating with you over a particular work say development of a curriculum etc. Here the SMEs, trainers, managers, sales personnel etc will have their views shared over a telecom or meetings. It is important to filter information that is necessary and crucial to suit the developmental work, the most. The freelancer requires a lot of discriminatory ability to know what should go into the curriculum and what should not.

If the situation demands it from a freelancer, it is quite alright to stretch work hours and offer to do a few extra assignments. Going the extra mile will help you gain the good will of the client. You may gain valuable experience while doing these extra assignments. This need not be a habit but, a freelancer should make use of a proper opportunity to learn and get the extra edge over others.

Payment is an area where it is crucial to learn to negotiate. The client may not give in his expectations, but the freelancer can gently remind the client, the amount of work involved in order to complete the assignment thus justifying the charges. But there are certain times when the freelancer can push for charges, for extra work especially, when the work is well over that mentioned in the contract. Whether the freelancer is a tax payer needs factoring in as well. It is advisable to keep in mind that, if much of technical complexities are involved, then, it is only right to charge a steep amount. This way you are ensuring fair treatment as well. And you save the client from being unreasonable.

Last but not the least is something that you, as a freelancer, could do to manage your client’s expectations. Always over deliver while you may promise something less. This way the client will be delighted at the effort put in and will also want to reward you for your efforts. So then, what is that we need to promise? Always promise in line with results expected from you. However, when it comes to output, over deliver and do that little excess to delight the client.

As and when you keep growing in your area of expertise, it is good to give valuable suggestions to clients who are looking for it. This way you act as a freelancer and a consultant as well. The client will then have a one stop shop where he will get all the solutions related to his work. This yet another method of managing client expectations.

Why want to-be freelancers quit early!

Hearing good stories on how a Freelancer earns a lot of money being at home and the benefits enjoyed many get the desire of becoming one. Freelancer’s life might seem to be luxurious as (he) does work as a passion in his own leisure time and (she) could manage the family and need not depend on any other individual for income and support. This might not be the same for rest of the world. There are various views one might have working as a freelancer.

Being in a good day job already and looking to earn more money or joining the path of a freelancer due to comparisons with your colleagues might not help. You must be strongly driven by yourself. You must have the desire to succeed, willingness to learn and adapt to this life.

Expectations should be set based on how far you can coordinate with the job. Taking many tasks in the initial stages might not work as effective as you may think. The ability to take work comes with experience.

At the early stages one might be tempted to take more projects and learn more, but making it as a practice to work on it every day takes time. Freelancing might sound interesting but it has its own cons. You must be patient and learn slowly to get better results.

Ways to survive

A key criterion to succeed and compete in the freelancing world is starting to work.

Taking a simple scenario:

A lady who has a day job and desire to work as a Freelancer has received a considerable amount of work from a client, and she’s been given a deadline. Having taken the work with lot of enthusiasm, the will to improve and thriving to provide a quality job, all of a sudden gets personal problems and her boss at work wants her to extend and finish a project. Her deadline for the freelancing work is getting close and she hasn’t started with it, as she knew it wasn’t a big task and had the overconfidence of completing it. She’s now stuck between the jobs.

To avoid this kind of situations, one must start working from Day 1 and slowly show progress on it. Make sure you push yourself to do the work before you get diverted. Make sure freelancing is one among your top priorities in day to day activities. However when i mention this, i will not mean to project people being Workaholic but to give importance and spare some quality time.

Treat it as your own business

Focus on the goal to finish what you have started with. As you have the liberty and the flexibility to work by yourself don’t give a chance to misuse it. Stay in the right path. You need make your mind that the job given to you is entirely dependent on you, so never let it loose.

Think ahead before you build the job. Spend some time to think how a business owner would react to situations when a new project comes in and the methods he would construct to implement it. You need to make sure your signature is created by itself in the way that you present it. You can do this by making use of the latest trends in your work. Feel energetic and motivated this can help you to survive

Lack of experience

Experience comes along with the work we do. None can be perfect at the very beginning. You must have the patience and overcome the fear of failure. The least feedback you might get from your first client might be to re-do your work again and again. But don’t lose hope.

Like how John Keats mentioned,

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced–even a proverb is no proverb to you till your life has illustrated it.

You must have the confidence to cope up from the stones thrown and you will be molded as a better person.

Keep a practice of learning while you work. While you work on a specific task don’t just find out what it is and implement try to learn the related things as well and this will be reflected in your growth.

Client relationship:

A freelancer generally quit when pressured by client and the way they are handled. Don’t let your emotions overrule you. Always remember to maintain professionalism. Keep your work and speech to the point. Sharing your personal life events may bring many other hidden problems.

Some clients might be harsh and some might be friendly. Make sure you can balance both the kinds of people. Be affirmative, keep the client informed on the progress of work every few days once, but this again depends on how your client wants you to be.

Have in mind the client will never know what you are working on and what he’s going to receive from you. Its certain that you must respond to your client as soon as possible, if the work is not complete sent a receipt of the mail received.

Avoid fear

One among the demotivating factors of quitting early is developing fear. This might be because you have just graduated and took the work or just beginning life as a freelancer.

Know that there are many students who are successful taking their part time jobs working as a contributor. It won’t be picture perfect but slowly you could see greenness at barren days.

You must have the courage to handle, face it more and more to get used to it. Do one thing each day which fears you to build yourself to face the world.

A French poet once wrote,

“Come to the edge, He said.

They said: We are afraid.

Come to the edge, He said.

They came. He pushed them,

And they flew . . .”

Drive yourself to the work you have we never done to explore the possibilities.

Having in mind these ground rules, let’s survive and face the Freelancing world.

Freelance Mystery Shopper

According to Oprah Winfrey, being a mystery shopper is one of the most uniquely satisfying careers ever. It can never go out of style and there is always a demand for mystery shoppers. Freelance mystery shoppers have a lot of potential in their hands to make it really big for themselves. Every organization values independent and unbiased opinions about their services and products to stay about the competition.

Mystery shopper is a person who is hired by a company or independent agencies to literally ‘check out’ the services. Mystery shopping can include tasting food, evaluating customer care services, checking the quality of products etc. A freelance mystery shopper has the freedom to say no for a job. In order to become a successful mystery shopper you need to have the following skills/qualities:

Excellent Memory

As a freelance mystery shopper, you can’t just walk in to a store and start noting down points and observation. You will have to do after you are out of the store and therefore you need to have excellent memory to retain what you saw and observed. Having a good memory will also help you keep in mind the employer guidelines when on a project and this way you will be able to observe better.

Ability to remain Unnamed

A mystery shopper must know how to conceal his/her true identity. You have to remain unnamed and carry out the instructions precisely. There are a number of showrooms that have web cameras, which the employer will use to verify your shopping experience. If you reveal your identity then the whole object of mystery shopping fails.

Great observation skills

Most people have good observations skill but a mystery shopper has to have great observation stills. Being aware of what is going around you when you are on a project is very important. Missing out a single detail can lead to a faulty report.

Writing Skills

Most employers don’t ask for a very good writing skill but you should have basic and good writing skills. Basic knowledge of grammar and punctuation will help a lot on writing a good report. You must also have a basic knowledge of excel sheets to maintain a record.

Availability at all times

Mystery shopping is not a 9 to 5 job. The projects can have various timelines. Sometimes you might have to visit just as the store/service is opening or sometime you have visit during rush hour or sometimes during the closing time. Therefore, you need to be available at all time to take on a job. Another thing to keep in mind that freelance mystery shopping is not a regular job and there are no fixed durations.

Ability to meet deadlines

As we said in the last point mystery shopping assignment, don’t give you much time to complete them. Most service checks or mystery shopping assignments have to be completed in a day or two of assignment. Therefore, you much be committed and reliable in terms of meeting deadlines.

Honesty and Professionalism

When you submit your report as a mystery writer it will be read by the location which you have visited therefore you must at all times keep your report professional at all times. Offensive comments and works are unnecessary. Be honest at all times and don’t try to fib in your report. Many mystery shoppers tend to make the mistake of lying on the report or being biased in their opinion in order to appear good. This kind of practice is to be avoided at all times.

Mystery shopping can be a lot of fun and highly satisfying if you do it by the book.

Things A Freelancer Should Never Say To A Client

The best part about being a freelancer is that you gain a kind of experience that a regular job. You get to meet a number of people, you get to work on a variety of projects and expand your horizons. However, you also will have to learn how to deal with different kinds of people and learn to adapt yourself to the project demand. Of course, not everything is perfect every time and you will make mistakes sometimes but you can always learn from them.

Here is my list of things, which you should never say to a client:

I will submit the work later: Deadlines are deadlines and a freelancer is always expected to follow them. Even if you want an extended deadline then let the client know about it well in advance. Also instead of using the word ‘later’ give a definite time frame for example will submit by xyz date etc.

Sorry for not replying sooner: When a client hires you for a project he/she expects to be communicated with regularly with the progress of the project. The client is not going to be happy with a freelancer who takes up a project and then vanishes to reappear with completed project within the give deadline. As a freelancer make sure that you reply to client emails/phone calls as soon as possible.

I have given you a discount: When you are starting as a freelancer you might be tempted to give ‘discount’ to clients in order to get work. This is a wrong word to use. When you tell a client that you have given them discounts they immediately think that you overcharged them and now giving the actual price. Do not give ‘discounts’ when not asked for. If the client persists then you can may be negotiate a little.

I know a better way to do this: Nobody and with it I mean not even you as a freelancer would like to be told a better way to do your job and that the other way is better. The same goes for the client. Don’t tell the client a better way to do his job. You can talk about the particular section of project that you are working on but unless asked don’t try to turn into a business advisor.

Thnx, OMG, u, hey, and other text language: Keep things professional at all times. Email should be responded to in the correct manner and with correct spellings. I have had some freelancers working for me who did not even bother to spell my name right or took the liberty to shorten my name. Needless to say I did not work with them again. The way you write your email or letters or take the phone calls says a lot about your professionalism. Avoid the text language and use proper words.

I have made some changes to make it look better: Every client loves an enthusiastic freelancer. But to present the client with a completed work very different from what he/she asked for is a completely different thing. Knowing that the freelancer has changed the final work will not make your client happy. Get a green signal from the client before making any changes. There will some core things in a project that the client will not want to change.

I can do it: I admit I am guilty of using this sentient. I have said to a client that I can do the project even though I had no idea how to go about it. I was able to do the project but it involved a lot of extra work on my part. Don’t say yes to things, which you don’t know about.