Re: Client hemming and hawing over payment
Has anybody else experienced how potential clients can talk you to deathAs several other people have pointed out, this is a danger in contracting. Some clients who act this way may be dishonest, or sharp operators, but some may be simply exploring the idea of hiring a writer and not actually ready to hire one. Not that the motivation matters - all these types of clients are frustrating in their own way.
about a project and then get quiet or evasive when it comes to
discussing your compensation.
(My own bane is the ones who are simply exploring the idea. Until I talk to them and make one or two other follow-ups, I have no way of knowing for sure that they aren't ready to deal. Although I have some suspicions, and have come to identify certain traits these clients usually exhibit, the only way to be sure of what they're doing is to waste a few hours that could have been used more productively. If I had landed every blueskying artist I've encountered in the last six months, I'd be so busy now that I'd need three or four sub-contractors to keep up with the work. But of course I didn't, so I don't).
But look at it this way: at least you found out before getting too involved with the client.
I just had a meeting with a potentialSome companies have well-established accounting practices that they won't deviate from, and thirty day terms are standard. Seven day terms? Well, you can ask, but I don't think you'll get them too often.
client who took 2 hours and 2 lattes to defly explain her business. Then
when I broached the topic of compensation for all of the fabulous work
I'd be doing for them, she hesitated. And then informed me about 30-day
payment terms, etc., which I specifically indicated I did not want, but
that I wanted 7-day payment terms.
However, if regular payment is important to you, you might be able to persuade clients to pay you on the same schedule that they pay full-time employees. Since they are cutting cheques anyway, one more isn't much of a burden. That way, you can get paid every two weeks, anyway. I've done that a few times, and it's worked out well.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com
"I have lead a good life, quiet and artistic,
Now I shall have an old age, coarse and anarchistic."
- Utah Phillips
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- Re: Client hemming and hawing over payment, Brad Jensen
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Client hemming and hawing over payment: From: Brian Hooper
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