Client Backs Out Pre-Hire

[paulatabor]

A client responds to my proposal, we message back and forth and I take time to answer questions or even view images to see if I'm a good fit for their project.  The minute (and I do mean the very second) the subject of their setting the job up on Upwork is raised, everything falls through.  They either disappear or postpone.  This has happened to me about 5 or 6 times, valuable work time lost with no pay.

Is this usual?  Do other freelancers have trouble "sealing the deal?"  Are some clients just not serious about their projects?  Do they expect free work?  Is this sort of thing just a numbers game and to be expected?

Or am I doing something wrong?  To me, setting the job up on Upwork is just a formality--something they have to do that I can't.  Do I have an incorrect take on this?   Should I not even be mentioning the job/money?  Are my attempts to be helpful pre-hire giving them unrealistic expectations?  Are there ways to spend less time on clients pre-hire without alienating them?

I could really use some help!  I'm really getting sick of wasting so much time for nothing. 

[spectralua]

An 9\10 clients want free works from me. It is common here.

Thats why i asked for contract asap. An 10-30 min to lookaround then contract or goodbye. So i will waste half hour, not more.

Good client starting contract with no problems, cheater gone.

[r2streu]

What I'm noticing is, the less up-front a client is about the job at the beginning, the more time I have to spend getting details, the less likely it is to end in a contract. 

I had one client who asked for my rate, then started making little changes to the scope of the project as we talked. After an hour of back-and-forth, we had agreed on terms. He asked for my email address for the NDA and I told him that as soon as the contract started, I would be more than happy to sign it. That's when he backed out, claiming he thought I'd be difficult to work with. 
In the end, looking back over everything we discussed, I realized I dodged a bullet with this client and that, while I won't get back the hour I spent talking to him, it was likely a LOT better that I didn't get the gig. 

Point being, it's going to happen. Sometimes a client simply doesn't have a lot of experience hiring freelancers, and sometimes, they want to spend as little money and get as much out of you for it as possible. Use those to spot warning signs and be better informed in the future. I chalk it up to learning experience and move on. 

[rekasesh]

I've had clients pick my brain on messages and zoom calls, for blog and cookbook chapter ideas,  and then go with someone else, usually one who charges less. 

After one too many attempts, I no longer offer more than the bare minimum at the interview  stage. Instead, I promise to provide a list of ideas or outline once I get an offer. 

[spectralua]

Is same. Many of them need soluthion (idea, plan, walkthrough) for free to hire somene else to apply that.

[926e4e69]

Paula,

This seems to just have happened to me  I reviewed a previous engineer's schematic with the intention of getting hired for the job.  I put in several hours doing this.  The job he explained to me was different from the posted job; similar but more complex.  When I told him I would proceed when he hired me, he stopped responding to my messages.  No more Mr Nice guy from now on!

[paulatabor]

One of the people who replied to my original message suggested spending no more than a half hour pre$.  It's been a good rule of thumb for me.  You get to be nice, but it keeps you from being too nice.  I have lost one client due to this, but as you've probably guessed, he really wasn't worth having.