Nano count, Day two: 5,126 words
I decided to keep track of Nano work right here. I’m accountable for everything else monthly, why not Nano daily? Feel free to post your own writing results here during this month (or any month, for that matter).
I had a good day yesterday. I met with a prospective client whom I’d sent a note to last week. I got a lovely lunch, good company, and an assignment out of it. Turns out they were looking for a writer who knew the industry and didn’t have that usual learning curve to overcome.
The contact wasn’t a letter of introduction so much – I knew them. My contact there had sent me a number of interview sources over the years, and we’d exchanged friendly emails in the past. When I saw her name on the contact list for this company, I knew I had to get in touch. Every interaction you have counts.
I see a number of client contacts starting to gel into bigger things. The massive contract stuff for Confidential Client is over and now I’m waiting to hear back from them on getting going. Another possible client – someone I’ve interviewed numerous times – is about to take on a large, local client company. When that happens, I should see some work from that. Then there’s the client who’s expressed lots of interest, wants to talk, but is too overwhelmed with work to call back. I’ve backed off knowing when she has the time and energy, she’ll get in touch.
The fear is everyone will come at once and want projects done yesterday. However, I’m one person and I don’t see a cloning in my immediate future. It’s when a project triage helps – those things that must come first do, those that can be pushed back a day or so are, those that the clients may not need right away are renegotiated for a longer deadline. Only once was I so inundated with work that it affected the quality – I have seven projects, five of them due in a three-week time span, two of them rather large. I mucked up a smaller one because I let my quality control slide and facts went into a story that were localized results, not national. Bad timing. It was a new client, someone I’d known a while and really liked. Ouch.
So here’s what I recommend if you want to avoid that pain:
Under-promise. The temptation is to over-promise sometimes, especially with new clients. Do the opposite. That doesn’t mean you can’t over-deliver. It just means you haven’t locked yourself into a commitment you can’t possibly keep.
Test deadlines. The project I have to do today isn’t actually due today. I’m glad. I have another project going on and I didn’t know how I’d get to it. But if they say they need it in two days, tell them it’s more likely you can have it to them in three or four, depending on the work. Mind you not everything has that same flexibility, but do ask if there’s wiggle room in the deadline.
Set that time aside. Those of us who have lived through the famine side of a feast-famine cycle (namely all of us) are tempted to take on everything that comes our way, no questions asked. But we can’t always do that, can we? If that project is big, complicated, or from a client whom you’re working with for the first time, block the time off on your schedule for that project alone. Don’t take on anything else until you’ve made serious headway.
Say no. It’s okay. You won’t die. Neither will they. If you can’t take it on because you don’t have time, say so. Apologize, tell them how strapped for time you are, and offer to take it on at a later date. They’re free to say no, too. It’s called a business decision.
What do you do to organize your schedule for large amounts of work? Have you ever said no to a client based on lack of time? How did you work that out with the client?
"Project triage." Great phrase.
Heard a funny comment about "say no" from another freelancer. She said that the client not only wasn't upset, but more like a jilted lover — wanting her services more than ever.
Never forget, exclusivity is an important motivator of human behavior, along with greed, fear, etc. (Back in my sales days, I had the whole list memorized…) Nothing unethical or immoral about using it, even if you're NOT that busy. ("Oh, jeez, the next two weeks are jam-packed with projects. Let me get back to you and see when I can squeeze you in.")
Perfect, Jake! I'm hoping to employ that very strategy this week. The project box is already piling up.
I've had to decline a couple of things over the years, but those were for my less-than-favorite clients. After 15 and 8 years, respectively, I know my two best clients well enough to understand what they need and when. When under the gun (like this week) I always say I can get it to them as long as the sources are all available.
My workload "triage" isn't just deadline based. When setting project priorities I also factor in the fee, how quickly/slowly they pay, and how quickly I can put their project together once I have everything lined up.
I knew I could take the two rush assignments this week despite having a longer article due, too (and another assignment that just came in yesterday from Favorite Editor) because the rush pieces were short (one is in capsule form, so I just need to write a short intro and plug in the info as I get it). I was able to start writing the long article while waiting for info on the rush projects. One rush is turned in, all is aligned for the second to be turned in today with little effort on my part (the capsules), freeing most of my day to finish the longer article – I will need to pin down a couple additional sources.
The long piece is for the slow payer, so I want to have it finished so I can tel them it's done but they won't get it until the check arrives for my article that ran back in September.
Leverage. Sometimes even writers need it.
Lori: I'm curious if you pitch your writing services to sources that you interview (if you think there's a good match), or if they approach you? I'm asking because I know that I don't utilize my relationships with PR folks and sources at all beyond the articles that I write and I may be leaving lots of work on the table!
I've said No to several clients. But it's hard and I usually only manage it to clients that I wanted to trim off my list for one reason or another.
Paula, that's using your head! Good for you.
Denene, I do pitch to them. Sometimes they come to me on their own, but I love making friends with good PR people. They're connected, they know where the needs are, and they're willing to share in order to build a relationship.
I've actually ended up working for sources, too. One or two interview subjects became clients!
Thanks for the info. I'm building up several new marketing tactics to work on in 2012 and you've been giving me so many great ideas! Really enjoy your blog!
I say no to clients if red flags go up. Because of the feast/famine cycle, if I'm feasting and I get in a lot of work that I want to do, I say yes and work longer hours. That's part of the freelance life. If I wanted 9-5 with weekends off, I'd work for someone else and get benefits.
If someone wants quick turnaround, there's a rush fee attached. Amazing how their deadlines lengthen if they have to pay for the short turnaround!