Freelancers' Tip - Secrets a Freelancer Should Never Tell Clients

A relationship of trust and openness is among the most vital things that a freelancer can form with clients, or prospective clients. However, this does not mean that you need to tell them everything! Certainly, you shouldn't be hiding things that might effect the quality of your product, or the confidence you've built with your customer, but there are some things that you customer doesn't need to know, and that won't hurt them by not knowing. These same items may also form the wrong impression of you, even if you are not conducting poor business practice.

Here are five rules of thumb:

1. Don't tell your client that you finished the work in 10% of the time you'd expected, simply because you'd already had part of it completed (for example, for a customer who backed out, and left you with the product, which was the same one needed in your current project).
2. Don't ask your client if they're sure they can afford you. That's not to say you shouldn't give the courtesy of quoting a price for your service, but don't imply that you're too expensive for them.
3. Don't tell your client what a “jerk” the last guy was. Bad mouthing previous clients only makes you look bad… even if your last customer was a jerk.
4. Don't tell your customer that you're just a freelancer, not a company. It is entirely unprofessional to tell your customer that they should expect less from you as far as the quality of your service or your product, just because you're a freelancer.
5. Don't go on and on about things you don't know anything about. There is nothing worse than trying to pretend that you're smart or experienced about things you've barely heard of. This blunder is much more obvious to customers than it is to you, so make a point of not doing it.

The bottom line is simply to be careful, be professional, and use common sense when talking to customers. Be open and honest, but not to the point of going too far.

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