The #1 key to happy freelancing
29. Apr, 2010 
1 Comment
Without a doubt, the #1 key to happy freelancing is… perfect customers. What makes a perfect customer?
The perfect customer is successful. People that are winning are generally good at what they do. It’s far easier getting content and feedback and input from someone who is organised and on top of things than someone bogged down and incompetent. Successful companies pay their bills.
The perfect customer makes much more money from hiring you than they pay you. Here’s an example. Say you make a basic website for a small manufacturer and importer that has $5 million in annual sales a year. You charge $4k for their website. That website is leveraged by their brand and their business and will pay for itself 10 times over in the first year. Contrast that to making a website for a fish and chip shop. If you charge them $4k for a website they’ll be working it off for a year.
Perfect customers care about value not fees. They know they’re getting a positive return on investment, and they’re looking to maximise their return on investment by increasing the value side of the equation, not by skimping on fees. They themselves know “it’s all about the value” because they have the same philosophy with their own customers. They don’t like getting haggled, and they don’t haggle you.
Perfect customers talk lots and explain well. I am currently working on a website for a company that I worked 2 days a week for 12 months for. I have a good understanding already of what the company does and needs. I’m confident of delivering an awesome product because I know exactly what they need without them even having to tell me.
Contrast that to me going into a small manufacturer that sells complex heavy equipment parts. I’ve got no idea about their products, their sales methods or anything. To make a good solution for them, I first have to learn about all that stuff. If it’s hard to get that information from meetings with the client, I’m largely guessing what will work best.
Some customers will talk for ages and explain all the little intricacies of their business. Others are short and need coaxing to delve into the information.
The better a client can explain their business, and the more willing they are to spend time with you, the better they are to work with.
Perfect customers take on partners. They want solutions and support for the long term. They know that there’s a lot that they don’t know they don’t know, and they’re bringing you on to fill that void.
At the same time, they know they have to put in time and effort into the project as well. They don’t have an initial meeting and expect the project to materialise. They’re committed to getting it done, and committed to playing a part.
Perfect customers listen and ask questions when it comes to expertise and process, and they contribute and answer questions when it comes to content.
Perfect customers make for happy freelancers
Perfect customers make for projects that turn around quickly. Quick project turnarounds make for higher income for you and happier customers.
Life is good when projects cruise, money is good, and everyone wins.
The happiest freelancer in the world, whoever that may be, isn’t the most skilled, or the richest, or the smartest… he/she works with a bunch of perfect customers.
What are you doing to work with perfect customers?
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