A tale from foetal position to full fledged fearless leader – through red flag clients, horror scope creep and crippling anxiety due to chronic people pleasing tendancies, Jen will share her journey from solo freelancer to agency director and her hard won learnings over the last 10 years. Key Take-Away ============ You’ll learn techniques for managing clients and projects through real life stories and insights I’ve gathered over the last 10 years of growing a WordPress focused agency and team. Presented by Jen Jeavons at WordCamp Sydney 2019

1. JEN JEAVONS | WORDCAMP SYDNEY 2019
ESCAPING CLIENT HELL:
6 PRACTICAL TIPS TO MAKE
FREELANCING FUN AGAIN

2. We combine marketing, technology & design
to transform businesses.
Pixel Palace are a Brisbane-based digital agency transforming medium to large businesses through
marketing, technology and design services that elevate brands.

3. WORKEXAMPLES

4. It wasn't always
this way...

6. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO
PEOPLE
If you’re not good at communication, you
either need to learn it or hire someone who is.
• Tailor your communication style to each client
Tips
1.
• Get comfortable with uncomfortable conversations
• Call (don't email!) around difficult conversations
• Follow up with an email outlining what you just
discussed on the phone

7. YOUR EGO WILL
KILL YOU
Managing your ego and keeping it in check is
one of the most productive, rational, magnetic,
attractive things you can do.
If a client criticizes you or sends feedback you don’t like,
learn not to take it personally, and instead ask yourself,
“where’s the truth in their perspective?” You take the
feedback you can work with, then leave the rest.
Tip
2.

8. IS A SUPERPOWER YOU CAN LEARN
EMPATHY
Empathy is the act of putting yourself in others’ shoes and seeing a
problem from their point of view.
• Predict a client’s questions and proactively answer them
• Predict what they will feel when they read your answer
• Understand what is driving their reactions, feedback and behaviour
Use an "Assumption of positive intent" (thanks Brene Brown!) and
work from the assumption that people are doing the best they can.
Tip
2. FURTHER TO THAT

9. YOU NEED TO GET
PICKY
3.
• Have budget (that lets you have time to give a sh*t and
shows they understand your value)
Good clients
• Have good communication skills and are responsive and
respectful
• Are invested in the project AND you as an expert
• Know what they want and/or are happy to be advised
• Get bonus points for being fun and someone I’d like to go
for a beer with

10. Red Flags
3.
• First question is "how much will it cost?"
• They don’t want to get on a phone call
• They take ages to respond
• They have multiple horror stories of previous service providers
who have wronged them and they take no responsibility
• Too excited / too emotional
Ringing Vs Wringing
Ringing is resonant. A small force causes sympathetic
vibrations, and magic happens.
Wringing requires significant effort and can even destroy the
object it is applied to.
FURTHER TO THAT

11. 4.
LET'S TALK ABOUT
VALUE
• Value (fixed price) - moving away from hours & start selling on outcomes
• Psychology of Value
• Create the environment to remove client “doubt”
“I don't charge by the hour. I charge by the awesome. Which
makes me expensive, but also - and this is critical - awesome.”

12. The benefit of the doubt
The patient responds to medicine when he believes in the doctor who
prescribes it.
The client is far more likely to applaud your work if he's already put down
a big, non-refundable deposit.
A huge part of making our work more effective is creating the
environment where we will be given the benefit of the doubt.
Often, creating this environment is at least as important as the work itself.
The benefit to both sides is huge. Doubt is the project killer and investing
in diminishing that doubt is time well spent.
Seth Godin

13. 5.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
BOUNDARIES
• Don’t answer emails, calls or texts on the weekend
People will like you MORE if you set clear boundaries
• Respond promptly and communicate clearly (demonstrate behaviour)
• Have a conversation at the start about these rules and how to
get the best out of the relationship
• Payment up front - deposit, invoice paid before launch etc
• Be prepared to walk away
• Show them you have systems and processes in place and explain why

14. “If you reserve your best effort for the irritable boss, the never-pleased client and the bully
of a customer, then you've bought into a system that rewards
the very people who are driving you nuts.
It's no wonder you have clients like that – they get your best work.
On the other hand, when you make it clear (and then deliver) on the promise that your
best work goes to those that are clear, respectful and patient,
you become a specialist in having customers just like that.”
Who get's your best work?
Seth Godin
Boomerang for Gmail will let you schedule emails to send later.
Tip

15. 5.
ELIMINATE
SCOPE CREEP
• Take time to scope in detail prior to quoting
Get practiced at serving a Sh*t Sandwich.
Tip
• Keep asking questions
• Nip it in the bud early
• Quote for all out of scope work even if you’re prepared to do it for free
• Communicate discounts & extras clearly as you go

16. 6.
GOTTA HAVE
RULES
Run things like you're an agency even if you're not.
Take the “choice” out of it for yourself and it becomes “how
the business rolls”
• Project management
• Deadlines on both sides
• Accounting systems and rules for invoicing and payment
• Clearly defined operating hours
Pay yourself a set wage each week on auto transfer.
Tip

17. 1. PEOPLE & COMMUNICATIONS
2. EGO & EMPATHY
3. GET PICKY
4. VALUE
5. BOUNDARIES
6. RULES

18. www.pixelpalace.com.au