Dear Prospective Client

Posted on October 18, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized

I understand your apprehension. I really do. Hiring an independent writer - or programmer, or graphic designer, or anyone else - can at first seem to be a scary enterprise. There’s a bunch of us out there, and no one wants to make a bad decision. Both time and money are at stake. It’s totally understandable that you want to guard against every contingency of being burned.

I want a productive and profitable relationship as well. That means we both have to accept a certain level of risk and not expect the other to shoulder the whole thing.

You’ve never done this before. Not a problem. You’re shopping around for writers in much the same way you’d buy a car: you’re hunting for the lowest price, the highest quality, the quickest delivery time, the most benefits, the strongest guarantees.

For buying a commodity, that’s a fine strategy. For contracting a professional service, you’re going about this all wrong, and you’re setting yourself up for some bad experiences. I’m telling you this in the hopes that you’ll be the one in a hundred who actually takes this to heart, avoiding the messy consequences of (what you see as) common sense.

First, expecting me to shoulder all the risk in this relationship is unrealistic. I can’t and won’t do it - like you, I have a business to run. Don’t ask me to work for free, to be paid only once you’re satisfied (a business practice known as speculative work, also known as “on spec”). Don’t ask me to work for you without a contract, or without an advance deposit. Don’t ask me to drive halfway across the state to meet with you unless you’re prepared to pay my travel time.

Don’t ask me for a money-back guarantee based on your satisfaction, or on the ultimate financial results of our project. I have no control over what you do with the materials I provide, who you send them to or how solid your follow up skills are. I guarantee that I will do what I promise, when I promise, and how I promise. I vow to keep my word and honor our agreement. Don’t ask me to take the blame for factors outside of my control.

Someone willing to shoulder all the risks is someone desperate for work, and someone you shouldn’t hire. A person in that position will do and say anything to get your check.

But, then, how do you mitigate your own risk as a service buyer?

Well, you can’t get rid of the risk altogether. Life is risk. I assume risk every time I sign on a new client; short of requiring full payment up front, I have no ironclad guarantee that I’ll get paid in a timely manner - or at all. The world’s also chock full of crazies, most of whom think they’re sane. Right now, I have no idea who you are, what conditions you’ve been diagnosed with, or whether your meds are up to date.

Of course, you don’t know that about me, either. So where do we go from here?

Tell you what. Let’s talk. Send me whatever background material you have - a website address, your brochures, whatever - and I’ll read them. You look over my website, download my portfolio, read my FAQ. Let’s take the time to actually know what each other is all about.

I won’t compare you to other clients if you don’t insist on seeing a portfolio piece that is exactly the kind of thing you want for yourself. You’re a unique business, and I do custom work. I won’t insult you if you don’t insult me.

I’ll take the time to really understand your business and what it’s all about. I want to know, I really do - beyond just being good business, I’m also curious about what exactly you do. I’d love to hear your story.

In return, don’t expect me to do work for free or at a cut rate while you get over your jitters. You should be able to evaluate my writing skills from my website and portfolio; if you can’t, then it’s unlikely that we’ll see eye-to-eye on project development anyway. There’s no reason to ask me to do your work on speculation.

Likewise, I promise I won’t hit you up for full payment up front. I bill a third in advance, and you’ll get an invoice for the rest at month end, payment on term 30 basis. Likewise, you can log in to my website at any time and find out exactly where you’re at for the month; you can also contact me at any time for an estimate before giving me the go ahead to work. I don’t mind - in fact, I want you to.

The reason? Because we’re sharing a risk here. We can mitigate it together, or deepen it apart. We can work in respect, or spend all our time trying to get the other to take on the full load. We can work with each other, or against each other.

Personally, I prefer working with you. I hope you feel the same.

Sincerely,

Rob

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