How Freelancers Can Build Better Relationships with Clients

Richard Clayton

March 11, 2017

What is it that all freelancers have in common? Perhaps your first thought is “an entrepreneurial spirit”, “the ability to take risks”, or “a commitment to a better work/life balance.”

All those answers may be true of the majority of freelancers, but there is something even more basic that freelancers have in common. What is that? Freelancers have clients, people who profit and benefit from the work freelancers produce.

The Unique Relationship between Freelancers and Clients

When you first become a freelancer, it may be tempting to think of your relationship with your clients as an employer/employee relationship. However, this thinking sets you up for future trouble, as it fails to take into account the true nature of your relationship with clients.

Unlike employers, clients have no obligation to you beyond what is specifically agreed upon and contracted for the project you are completing at any given time. This means that building a strong relationship with your clients is imperative – even more so than building a relationship with an employer would be for an employee.

Why is that the case? Simply put, the strength of the relationships you build with your clients directly impacts your ability to build your business and achieve job security. What can you do, then, to build strong client relationships? Consider five ways to make that happen:

1) Clearly define the scope and scale of your projects

The first step toward successful client relationships involves having a meeting of the minds with your client concerning the work the client wants done. Each party should understand:

The objectives of the project
The methods which will be used to attain those objectives
The timeframe in which the project will be completed
The way in which success will be measured
The time, method, and manner of payment for the project

2) Be honest and forthright about project progress

For many clients, one of the obstacles to working with freelancers is the worry that freelancers will be unavailable or uncommunicative about project progress. You can do much to alleviate this worry right out of the gate by providing clients with your complete contact information and by clearly defining when you will and will not be available for communication. This is especially crucial when working with international clients, as timezone differences can be confusing.

Enumerating such modern communication methods such as email, social media, phone calls, and even the old-fashioned method of paper mail, Freshbooks.com gives this advice:

“In today’s world of mass communication…you should make yourself as available as possible for clients to get in contact, and reply promptly and politely to any inquiries.”

In addition to merely communicating, however, you must also ensure that what you communicate to your client is true to the best of your knowledge. Honesty is a key element of any successful relationship, including the freelancer/client one.

If you encounter difficulties that will delay or impede your prompt completion of a project, let your client know as soon as possible about the difficulty. If you can do so, relay to the client your best estimate as to how the delay will affect the project deadline overall and when the client can expect delivery of the finished project.

3) Be willing to say “yes” … and “no”

To build a stronger relationship with your client, be willing and eager for opportunities to solve problems the client is having. If the client asks for something beyond the scope of the original project, and it is something that you can do with minimal difficulty, say “yes” and renegotiate your price accordingly. The more you can offer your client in the way of added services, the more likely you will distinguish yourself from potential competitors.

On the other hand, if the client is asking something more than you can reasonably accomplish, be willing to say “no” to additional requests. This might be particularly hard for you to do, especially if you are just starting out in your freelance career.

However, agreeing to do more than you can handle will have a disastrous effect on you and on your clients. You will find yourself stressed and inefficient, and your clients will find themselves dissatisfied with your work performance and lacking whatever it is that you have failed to deliver. This is a lose-lose situation that can be easily avoided by learning when to say “yes” and when to say “no.”

4) Be friendly, but maintain a professional distance

Show interest in your clients by talking with them at length about the project, their overall business objectives, and so on. Remember, however, that your relationship is a professional one. While it is perfectly natural and even good to pick up a few personal details about your clients, it is best to maintain professional boundaries to keep your relationship intact and avoid potential personal landmines that could derail any progress you have made.

5) Handle payment issues professionally

Among the thorny issues that freelancers face, one of the more challenging involves late client payments. In one recent year, 50% of freelancers reported difficulties receiving payments, and 81% of those difficulties involved late payments.

This is significant because of the major impact late payments can have on the financial health of your freelance business. Late payments cause problems with cash flow, stunting the growth of your own business. In some cases, late client payments can cause you to become delinquent in your own payments to suppliers or vendors.

Freelancers, get paid by international clients and pay others easily with Payoneer »

If late payment collection is one of your least favorite tasks as a freelancer, it makes sense to invest in tools that will help you keep your relationship with your clients in good shape while still ensuring their prompt payment. Payoneer’s automatic reminder feature for payment requests can help with that. By sending gentle reminders at scheduled intervals, Payoneer prompts your clients to send payments on time and via a secure payment processing system.

Better yet, because the reminders come from Payoneer and do not originate from your business directly, you can avoid the awkwardness of having to personally contact your clients with payment issues more often than not.

The Bottom Line

Building and maintaining strong client relationships is essential to the sustainability of your freelance business. Therefore, it pays to focus on ways to build those relationships by means of:

A clear understanding of client projects and objectives
Open, honest communication
A willingness to provide exceptional service when possible
A willingness to understand your own limitations when needed
A friendly, professional attitude and demeanor toward your clients
A system of gentle payment reminders that encourage prompt remittance

The Payoneer platform enables automatic payment reminders and offers a seamless way for your clients to pay you what is owed no matter where in the world your clients happen to be. You can also pay other freelancers within the Payoneer network for free. Take a moment to check out Payoneer’s payment processing solutions for freelancers.

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