Screening Out the Shylocks - Ravi Deka

Some would be smart and sophisticated, others downright rude and crude. One will act as if he is doing  a great favour, another regard you with utmost suspicion as if dealing a thief and the third, talk so condescendingly one would think that you already owe him money. Lets accept it; friendly, sensible clients who pay on time and do it willingly and respectfully are far and in-between.

I wish I could write a true self-help style article about how to find great, paying clients.
Unfortunately, even after working for decades I am clueless about it and still have to put up with freeloaders, moochers and talk-you-downs on a weekly basis. Thus, as I lack both clairvoyance or the skills of Cold Reader, with wisdom garnered from innumerable  insipid professional experiences, I created a strict manifesto for screening out Shylocks amidst potential clients and regimenting my work.

1. Never Do it For Free.

If you are good in something never do it for free even if it is your hobby. If you do it as a favour a few times, very soon people would take you for granted and the moment you refuse you would become the bad guy. Only while interning or as an apprentice can one afford to do a few free assignments, but again solely for the purpose of gaining experience and a portfolio, where the client is essentially your Guinea Pig. Remember that the often-touted argument about proving yourself is a bogus pretext to make you work for free. If a client hires you, it should be solely on the basis of what you had already done and not what you would do for him for free to prove yourself.

2. No Detailed Write-ups or Concept Notes.

When potential clients ask you for a detailed write-up or proposal, limit it to a one-page teaser or a very short presentation. If you give them a comprehensive report, chances are that it would be plagiarized and someone else will get the credit or the work, usually both. Once a suave Auto magazine editor requested me to write a hard-selling proposal to a bike manufacturer for sponsoring a series of motorcycling travelogues. I wrote an impressive pitch and it got accepted, but instead of me, he got one of his servile staffers do the job. The resultant series was atrocious and it felt like karma working to see the magazine fold-up in a few months, but for me as a freelancer it was a loss of time and potential income, not to say faith in people.

3. Price yourself reasonably.

Have a fair idea of what your service is worth and charge accordingly. In case you have a specific USP, try pricing yourself a little over the market average. Don’t get greedy because the client is a large corporation or has deep pockets. Large corporations are staffed with scores of employees who are ballasts whose sole claim to productivity is either throwing a spanner in the works or  getting people work for free or a pittance. The man with deep pockets probably got there by cutting costs everywhere as well. However once you set your price, never baulk down because it would be discounts all the way thereafter.

4. Don’t share Business Intelligence.

 While it pays to give the protective client an insight of your knowledge and exposure to your field of expertise, stop short from divulging anything that may be considered as Business Intelligence. It may come as an innocuous request for a Google link or a block diagram, but remember that it can be relatively easy to extrapolate technical ideas or uncover business secrets after getting a hint. While it may be very easy for you to get the daily prices of wool in Kazakhstan thanks to your wife’s 3^rd cousin’s uncle, but for others it would either entail a trip there or involve purchasing an expensive subscription to an online service. Every bit of authentic information has a price, so share it selectively and only if you see a tangible return, either monetarily or by way of goodwill and confidence building: you can’t eat brownie points.

5. Make Them Pay for Travels.

If a potential client approaches you himself but is in another town or part of country and wants to meet you for an initial discussion, make sure he pays for the passage and your time, otherwise let him come down himself. There were several instances when would-be clients promise to reimburse the travel expenses and later stop picking up the phone or answering emails. And there are also freeloaders who start or interject the conversation with “when are you planning to visit ……….(insert their location)”, but at least they are more honest. They declare upfront their lack of intent of paying for the journey, which automatically implies that they aren’t likely to compensate for your time, knowledge and work either.

6.  Limit Preliminary Interaction to Basics.

If the prospective client only wants to discuss again and again over phone or face to face but with no hint of any forth-coming payment, drop him, as he is either a time-waster or picking your brains for free. By the third meeting, long telephonic discussion or Skype conversation, one should know whether the deal is on or off and how much it would be worth. I had both former, as well as new potential clients call me up for hours at a time to discuss their forthcoming projects or technical designs, but the moment I asked for an advance they disappeared like a “Bat Out Of Hell” before the first rays of the sun ( I first wanted to give an analogy of me running away from a Transvestite Prostitute).

7. Recognize a Politician’s Promises.

 Don’t be led tales of  “grand opportunity, golden tomorrow” or in the  "we are in this together" pitch. It’s just a carrot on a stick, a ploy to exploit you or use your knowledge and contacts for free or at a discount. A genuine client should be first focused on what you can do for him today and not what you would get tomorrow.

8. Forgo Temptations of Ownership.

No client who hints of bringing you on board as a partner, but is also the main investor would ever treat you as an equal even if he or she fulfills the promise. In most cases, especially in South Asia it’s just another carrot and stick technique to make you work harder, for free or a pittance.

9. Real Friends Pay and also Deliver.

The only acid test in a professional relation between a client and a service provider is that of fees being paid and proper services rendered. Friendship is reserved for picnics and bars. Moreover, true friends always pay for the goods and services availed, and in turn shouldn’t also be  slackers or delivering half-baked services.

10. Don't get “wowed” by Loud Names.

They may be fortune 500 companies, but the people contacting you are usually lowly managers with limited clout on the lookout for a sucker who would initially work for free or peanuts in the hope of bagging a big account. In case they succeed in finding a sucker, its laurels for them, but in case something goes wrong, it’s your fault. Either way they remain safe, while you take the brunt on you professional reputation and finances.



Ravi Deka is an energy efficiency consultant and

CEO / Dir. Technology at Creatnet Technology Pvt Ltd.

www.rade.co.in
www.creatnettechnology.com