I’m getting calls from a lot of prospective clients. That’s good.
Less good is this — a growing number seem interested in heavily leveraging my least-profitable service: free advice.
Lately, I’ve heard from a surprising number of prospects expecting me to do all their marketing legwork for them — for nothing more than the price of a few words.
Three in the last six months requested written marketing plans – one even asking for a list of vendors, costs, brand messaging, project outlines, competitive research, blog theme, blog sample content, and more.
And they wanted them for free.
Another wanted art direction — layouts and graphics ideas for his site and landing pages – before he agreed to pay for a single word of copy.
No deal.
I’m not against offering marketing consulting. After all, I preach the concept of the value-added copywriter.
But you shouldn’t add all that value for free — whether for a client who wants more than they’re willing to pay, or one who isn’t really serious about the project in the first place.
How serious is that client who just contacted you? Are they really looking for a copywriter? Or are they just on a fishing expedition in the hopes of getting their questions answered for free?
Here are four “red flag” tests I’ve trotted out in the past — questions you can use to determine if a client’s a player or pretender.
Test #1: Ask them about their project budget. Chances are — if a prospective client is serious about a new Web site, or blog, or online marketing plan – they’ll have a budget. Few will lay the whole number out for you, but if they become unduly evasive or — worse — start tossing out unrealistically low numbers – you’re probably in trouble.
Test #2: Ask them if they’re talking to other copywriters or marketing agencies. If they’re ”evaluating” more than a couple writers or marketing folks, ask if there’s a formal review process underway, and how vendors are being evaluated.
If it simply looks like they’re pumping a dozen people for information without a signed work order in site, then proceed with caution.
Test #3: When is the project starting? A mushy, indeterminate answer doesn’t bode well. If they don’t value a project enough to schedule it, do they value it enough to really pay for it?
Test #4: Who are your partner vendors? This can be a huge wake-up call; a client who contacts you about a new Web site also needs a Web developer, designer, host, etc. If they’re not talking to those vendors, they may expect you to find vendors and manage site development for them. You can offer those services, but you should damn well never offer them for free.
Remember – every pitch involves a little back and forth, and throwing in some free advice is a marvelous way to demonstrate your value as a marketer.
But if someone asks for a lot of information, yet is unwilling to offer any in return, then you should probably heed that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Of course, these are just a few of my “dodgy client” detectors. I’d love to hear yours.
Keep writing, Tom Chandler.
[tags]copywriting, copywriter, freelance copywriter, freelance copywriting, marketing, marketing consulting, freelance marketing consultant[/tags]
Comments 13
This is great advice – I can really use this as I get a lot of tire kickers just wanting to see how much a website will cost them.
I find that many are clueless when it comes to how much a website really costs (hence they don’t have a budget). Short of newsletters/blogs, I wonder how we can educate the customer?
Today’s tire kicker might be tomorrow’s client, but qualifying a lead is a basic sales step — one overlooked by a lot of freelancers (and that sometimes includes yours truly).
I’ve been fortunate to work with a couple good salesmen, and one always said “when in doubt, ask.”
Now why didn’t I think of that?
Anyone who offers a “performance arrangement” gets automatically, but politely declined.
When someone says, We have a lot of work in the pipeline and are looking at a long-term relationship (or think long term), I put on my “skeptic hat” because of a couple of not-so-great experiences I’ve had.
Roberta: Scheez. You just ruined my next post… 8-)
Percy: I’d remain skeptical — it could be true, but it’s not a good reason to lower your rates. Typically, it simply doesn’t pan out.
I LOVE this post.
Here are my favorite lines:
“How about you write my website for free and I will introduce you to lots of rich, potential clients?”
“I am a very good massage therapist (healer, psychic, dispenser of wonder formulas). I can give you a massage in return for a website overhaul.”
“Can we get together for coffee and talk about my website?”
I just asked what value they expect to get from the copy. And I explained that I charge for diagnosing and recommending (we can go for coffee if they want – I haven’t figured out who should pay for the coffee). The serious ones stuck around.
The “can we get together to talk…” has long been my downfall. I’ll do it, but it’s the next step — the written plan — that I’ve largely stopped doing for free.
Instead, they get an overview and an estimate ready for their signature…
Like all things on the business side of copywriting, this is one of the things I’ve struggled with. Specifically, when do I invest the time and effort to craft a carefully thought-out proposal, and when do I summarize costs in a quick e-mail (and get on with all the other things on my desk)?
I think you eventually get a feel for it. But I’ve found one fairly reliable indicator. On my contact form, “name” and “e-mail” are mandatory, while “phone number” is optional. The ones who do fill in their phone numbers tend to be more serious.
As for the whole almost-pro-bono-today-with-promises-of-riches-tomorrow thing, my favourite are the people who promise to sign an “exclusivity” contract with me for their future work. If I was to actually accept the rates they were offering, I’m sure they would keep coming back to me anyway…!
~Graham
Graham: Everybody finds their own method for qualifying prospects (they better), and the phone concept is a good one.
As for the “more work down the line” argument, I can’t help but hear the old saw playing back in my head: “Sure, we’re losing money on each unit, but we’ll make it up on volume.”
Only so much time, so if a client wants a deal, there’d better be something pretty substantial in it for a copywriter beyond more sub-living wage work…
Hi Graham,
Just found your blog indirectly through Sphinn (you should post this there, I’m sure it would be popular!) and am loving it. I get these “leads” fairly often too and have tried to put an “about my clients” page as well as a “pricing” page on my site to reduce the number of them. Obviously, it’s hard to track that though (no thankyou for not contacting me page ;) !), especially as I have a low volume of business to begin with.
I recently had a lead from someone asking me for price and he wouldn’t disclose a budget. His site looks like it was made by a wannabe designer and my proposal included installing a CMS. On the other hand, he kept asking me for a price and has been in business 3 years – I find newer people are more likely to want free stuff being cash-strapped…. Any thoughts? Good lead? Bad lead? Haven’t heard back since sending the proposal and am wondering if it’s worth my time.
Cheers
Gab
p.s. Keep up the great blogging!
Gab;
New businesses are tough; there’s always the hope you can make a big impact, but the resources are often thin.
I’d say check back on this lead, but move ahead with something else. These customers can turn up again later, but the key is not to let them soak up too much of your time.
Hey,
Don’t know why I thought you were called Graham! Sorry about that. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I was thinking about the same.
Cheers
Gab
p.s. I’ve passed this on to my colleague in the Montreal Internet marketing scene, Michel Leblanc, who has a similar post: I am not free! (French) If you’re bilingual, it’s here:
http://www.michelleblanc.com/2007/10/29/je-ne-suis-pas-gratuit/
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the post and the comments too. It’s amazing how devalued copywriting as a skill actually is. I only meet up with someone if I know it’s going to result in business. I’m learning to be a bit more brash like James Brausch is LOL. As much as I admire his products and success, I don’t think I could ever be as obnoxious as he is.
Gavin
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