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terimiles
Community Member

Is Anyone NOT Getting Submitted Proposals Responded To.

Is anyone else NOT getting their proposals responded to???? I know there’s the COVID but isn’t working FROM HOME supposed to mitigate this????

38 REPLIES 38
robin_hyman
Community Member

It has definitely been slower and I've noticed a decrease in the number of jobs posted in my field.  That said, I've established some ongoing clients so while it is slower, I have work.  

 

Just keep plugging along and applying.  Things will return to normal soon - hopefully!

Lucky you! I've had a string of not getting clients that either have their **Edited for community guidelines** together and the tools in place for me to do my job; the last one was a condescending **bleep**!

 

I don't get it! That's why we work remotely. Thanks for reaching out!

Sorry to hear that.  This is temporary for all of us.  One of my clients is on hold for a few days while they burn out fires.  Most businesses didn't plan to work remotely for an extended period of time. 


Teri M wrote:

Lucky you! I've had a string of not getting clients that either have their **Edited for community guidelines** together and the tools in place for me to do my job; the last one was a condescending **bleep**!

 

I don't get it! That's why we work remotely. Thanks for reaching out!


You do realize that clients use these forums and will see how you will talk about them after the job is over? 

jkrl
Community Member

It's gone dead over here 😞 I spoke to a new client last week, set up a great contract with several milestones, but they have gone radio silent. I'm wondering if I should close the contract? The majority of clients I've interviewed with over the last 2 months have completely flaked out.

robin_hyman
Community Member


It's gone dead over here 😞 I spoke to a new client last week, set up a great contract with several milestones, but they have gone radio silent. I'm wondering if I should close the contract? The majority of clients I've interviewed with over the last 2 months have completely flaked out.


Jennifer:

 

Did the client accept and fund any of the milestones?  If you have a live contract accepted by both parties don't close it yet.  Projects without payment will have a negative impact on your JSS.  

 

If the client hasn't responded to your contract request, give it some time.  Things are crazy everywhere and people aren't adjusting well yet to this new normal.  Clients who go to an office now have to work from home and if they have kids, homeschool in addition to work.  

 

Hang in there!

jkrl
Community Member

Yes, my concern is exactly that: the JSS score. I learned over the last few months about how these inactive contracts have ruined my score.
I sent the first milestone request (funded) to the client 6 days ago and have not received the funds. We had actually discussed this last week and he expressed intention to pay.
How long should I hold out, to avoid negative impact on my score?

robin_hyman
Community Member


Jennifer K wrote:

Yes, my concern is exactly that: the JSS score. I learned over the last few months about how these inactive contracts have ruined my score.
I sent the first milestone request (funded) to the client 6 days ago and have not received the funds. We had actually discussed this last week and he expressed intention to pay.
How long should I hold out, to avoid negative impact on my score?


Your profile is not set to public so I cannot comment about previous projects.  It sounds like you created the milestones and sent them to the client for review and for the client to fund, correct?  Then you don't have a live contract.  No need to do anything.  If the client funds it great, but if not, it doesn't impact your score.

 

If you had an ongoing contract with this client, added milestones and the client has yet to fund it, same thing.  You have already received payment and an open contract will have no effect on your JSS.  

 

In either case, no $ in escrow, no work.  Don't start anything until you have a funded milestone.

 

edited:  I reread there is money in escrow.  Simply submit via the submission tool.  You will get your money in 14 days. 

tlbp
Community Member


Jennifer K wrote:

Yes, my concern is exactly that: the JSS score. I learned over the last few months about how these inactive contracts have ruined my score.
I sent the first milestone request (funded) to the client 6 days ago and have not received the funds. We had actually discussed this last week and he expressed intention to pay.
How long should I hold out, to avoid negative impact on my score?


The funds are automatically released after the client's 14-day review period. 6 days is not an inactive contract. 

jkrl
Community Member

Thank you for the 6 day/ 14 day clarification.

petra_r
Community Member

And inactive contracts don't hurt your JSS at all provided something was at some point paid. If nothing was paid, they hurt you after 2+ months on hourly, and when closed without or with poor feedback.

 

Otherwise they just sit there, doing neither harm nor any good. A bit like one of my cats.


Jennifer K wrote:

Yes, my concern is exactly that: the JSS score. I learned over the last few months about how these inactive contracts have ruined my score.
I sent the first milestone request (funded) to the client 6 days ago and have not received the funds. We had actually discussed this last week and he expressed intention to pay.
How long should I hold out, to avoid negative impact on my score?


The funds will be released after 14 days by the system unless the client requests changes. The JSS will not suffer in the meantime because of that. It can suffer if you repetitively send messages to the client.

Might not be the place but it still grinds my gears that I am punished (however lightly it may be) because someone I worked with either doesn't close the job or doesn't want/is willing to, leave feedback. I've had people just disappear off the site as a whole after completing their first and only job. I understand I could close the job, but that also hurts my standing apparently.


Joost wrote:

Might not be the place but it still grinds my gears that I am punished (however lightly it may be) 


Joost, in short: You are not, not even slightly. Not even a teeeeeeeeeeeny little bit. (Unless the vast majority of your contracts end that way)

 

I understand I could close the job, but that also hurts my standing apparently.

It doesn't either.

 

Unless most of your contracts are like that or you close a huge bunch all at the same time, it has no effect at all. What matters is that money was paid ) at some point) under those contracts.

jkrl
Community Member

joost, I concur. My score got killed. I don’t understand it.
a_lipsey
Community Member

I think there were a lot of responses to your other thread on why you may not be getting responses to your proposals. The hostile remarks to most of your former clients are likely driving clients away from hiring you. 

terimiles
Community Member

 

I've seen a number of posts coming through regarding this post I posted yesterday:

 

https://community.upwork.com/t5/Freelancers/Is-Anyone-NOT-Getting-Submitted-Proposals-Responded-To/t...

 

Let me say this to all of you who don't know this. I love UpWork, but the platform is one-sided on the side of the clients!

 

I've had MANY discussions this week to several people at UpWork, and I have had MANY agree with me and even tell me they've had the same thing happen.

 

If you have a **Edited for Community Guidelines** client, you can review my previous posts on what happened to me; you can't put THE TRUTH OF WHAT REALLY happened in your review when the contract ends on the frontend to WARN other freelancers. If you do, you will be shammed on this platform, be told that you're high maintenance, another words; it's the freelancer's fault!

 

Not only that, but NO ONE WILL RESPOND TO YOUR PROPOSALS! You have to have UpWork go back in and REMOVE the comments so that clients will start reaching out again!

 

I had some**Edited for Community Guidelines**  tell me that the parameters I listed in my other post were demands. You don't get, and you're wrong! We have (PARAMETERS) on what we can do in the platform so, then why isn't more required of these clients who want to come onto the platform?

 

I would rather have fewer clients who knew what they were looking for, responded promptly, yeah or ney to a submitted proposal has the tools and systems in place for the work needing to be done by the freelancer and communicated in a timely, professional manner. If that's too much to ask ( parameters), they can go out o Yahoo, Indeed or other

job sites and dip their toe into the water and be indecisive.

 

However, you CAN put down a FULL review in the PRIVATE comments when commenting on a client when the job is done.

 

For all of you on here who are shaming those of us that have had this happen to, and turn it around as if it's our, my fault, shame on you! You are a bully! I have EXCELLENT reviews, Letters of Reference, and a hell of a lot of skills; not only that, when I jump into a contract, I jump in with both feet and give my very best. No one deserves getting shamed from their community in such a manner.

 

Again, you can review my two other posts on this. UpWork, you need to reanalyze the parameters that a client coming onto the platform needs to adhere to. I've read MANY posts that have had the same thing happen.

 

I've even had clients INVITING me to apply, and even though I follow up, they never say a word. Again, this is unacceptable. Obviously, they reached out to me because they went to my profile.

 

I'd love to hear from those of you who agree. Have a great day!  🙂

 

 

 


Teri M wrote:

 

....For all of you on here who are shaming those of us that have had this happen to, and turn it around as if it's our, my fault, shame on you! You are a bully! I have EXCELLENT reviews, Letters of Reference, and a hell of a lot of skills; not only that, when I jump into a contract, I jump in with both feet and give my very best. No one deserves getting shamed from their community in such a manner....

 

 


Are you not doing the same?

No. It's called standing up for myself and others this is happening to. You don't know the difference.


Teri M wrote:

No. It's called standing up for myself and others this is happening to. You don't know the difference.


I like you. You are fun.

I don't think anyone was shaming you. There are too many factors to apply this stuff to all freelancers. People have been complaining about no responses and no clients for years. Come back in the summer slump time where the same few pop up saying something has changed and upwork has no more clients and cheap clients yadda yadda. You can set your clock to these same few who pop up. Then when the summer slump is over, they disappear and then come back during the holidays. It hasn't occurred to them in years that things are seasonal.

 

Now is weird with beer virus going on, but I'm confused why anyone would blame this on upwork.

Teri, the world is just a bit stressed out at the moment.

 

Buyers are concentrating on finding ways to stay in business and not arbitrarily fire staff thanks to the financial havoc.  These same buyers have families they are doing their best to protect.

 

The same goes for freelancers.

 

Much as you might prefer to view the current scenario as an "oh poor me" situation; it isn't.  

 

Kindness, gentleness, and compassion will get you a lot further than anything else.

 

 

a_lipsey
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

I don't think anyone was shaming you. There are too many factors to apply this stuff to all freelancers. People have been complaining about no responses and no clients for years. Come back in the summer slump time where the same few pop up saying something has changed and upwork has no more clients and cheap clients yadda yadda. You can set your clock to these same few who pop up. Then when the summer slump is over, they disappear and then come back during the holidays. It hasn't occurred to them in years that things are seasonal.

 

Now is weird with beer virus going on, but I'm confused why anyone would blame this on upwork.


No one was shaming her. People, including myself, were providing feedback because she wanted to know why she wasn't getting responses. The reasons we listed: unprofessional comments to clients, unprofessional listing of demands in her profile, those are huge red flags to clients. 

 

It's totally fine to have parameters. I have clear parameters and a scope of work with each client. But I don't lead with a list of demands. All the recommendations you will see on here about what works in a profile is to tell the client what you can do for them, not what is so great about you and certainly not what your demands are. Parameters and scope are things to discuss and finalize in the interview stages, otherwise you scare off all the potential clients, which is what seems to be happening with the OP. 

 

To be a freelancer, you have to have a thick skin. You have to be able to take some feedback and even criticism and either let it roll of your back or consider it as you deem necessary, without getting into a rage. 

 

To the OP, I'm giving this to you as feedback: this angry-rage response, which we've seen in your responses to clients is likely what is getting you bad reviews leading to a bad JSS and also what is turning off clients to you. You're getting feedback from people in this forum right now who are both clients and freelancers. If you want to win more jobs and get more proposal responses, then maybe you should take this feedback into consideration instead of dismissing it all as bullying and shaming. 

 

Maybe you didn't know that coming into a public forum and raging that your last client was a *bleep* is unprofessional, but it is.  Everything you do on this forum may be seen by potential clients, as are all the comments you respond to from clients in your reviews. Telling your side of the story, the way you do, just makes you look bitter and angry. You can certainly respond to poor feedback, but less is more. It's better to say "Unfortunately, we weren't the best fit as client-freelancer and had some communication issues. Best of luck with your future endeavors." than go into a long diatribe about how the client is wrong. 

 

I hope this feedback will help you improve your profile and client interactions. You're going to have to put some work in to fix this situation though. 

tlbp
Community Member


Amanda L wrote:

Jennifer M wrote:

I don't think anyone was shaming you. There are too many factors to apply this stuff to all freelancers. People have been complaining about no responses and no clients for years. Come back in the summer slump time where the same few pop up saying something has changed and upwork has no more clients and cheap clients yadda yadda. You can set your clock to these same few who pop up. Then when the summer slump is over, they disappear and then come back during the holidays. It hasn't occurred to them in years that things are seasonal.

 

Now is weird with beer virus going on, but I'm confused why anyone would blame this on upwork.


No one was shaming her. People, including myself, were providing feedback because she wanted to know why she wasn't getting responses. The reasons we listed: unprofessional comments to clients, unprofessional listing of demands in her profile, those are huge red flags to clients. 

 

It's totally fine to have parameters. I have clear parameters and a scope of work with each client. But I don't lead with a list of demands. All the recommendations you will see on here about what works in a profile is to tell the client what you can do for them, not what is so great about you and certainly not what your demands are. Parameters and scope are things to discuss and finalize in the interview stages, otherwise you scare off all the potential clients, which is what seems to be happening with the OP. 

 

To be a freelancer, you have to have a thick skin. You have to be able to take some feedback and even criticism and either let it roll of your back or consider it as you deem necessary, without getting into a rage. 

 

To the OP, I'm giving this to you as feedback: this angry-rage response, which we've seen in your responses to clients is likely what is getting you bad reviews leading to a bad JSS and also what is turning off clients to you. You're getting feedback from people in this forum right now who are both clients and freelancers. If you want to win more jobs and get more proposal responses, then maybe you should take this feedback into consideration instead of dismissing it all as bullying and shaming. 

 

Maybe you didn't know that coming into a public forum and raging that your last client was a *bleep* is unprofessional, but it is.  Everything you do on this forum may be seen by potential clients, as are all the comments you respond to from clients in your reviews. Telling your side of the story, the way you do, just makes you look bitter and angry. You can certainly respond to poor feedback, but less is more. It's better to say "Unfortunately, we weren't the best fit as client-freelancer and had some communication issues. Best of luck with your future endeavors." than go into a long diatribe about how the client is wrong. 

 

I hope this feedback will help you improve your profile and client interactions. You're going to have to put some work in to fix this situation though. 


Exactly. Every freelancer is free to write what they want in their own profile and feedback comments but they have to be willing to accept the consequences of doing so. If you choose to narrow the field of prospects with whom you are willing to work then expect that you will receive no response from the prospects who don't meet your stated criteria. 

petra_r
Community Member


Tonya P wrote: 

Exactly. Every freelancer is free to write what they want in their own profile and feedback comments but they have to be willing to accept the consequences of doing so. If you choose to narrow the field of prospects with whom you are willing to work then expect that you will receive no response from the prospects who don't meet your stated criteria. 


It seems she understood the point, considering she had most of the feedback she left for clients which prompted this whole thing removed....

a_lipsey
Community Member


Petra R wrote:

Tonya P wrote: 

Exactly. Every freelancer is free to write what they want in their own profile and feedback comments but they have to be willing to accept the consequences of doing so. If you choose to narrow the field of prospects with whom you are willing to work then expect that you will receive no response from the prospects who don't meet your stated criteria. 


It seems she understood the point, considering she had most of the feedback she left for clients which prompted this whole thing removed....


Her profile could still use some editing though...


Teri M wrote:

 

I'd love to hear from those of you who agree. Have a great day!  🙂


Sorry, that's not how this forum works; you can't limit your responses only to people who agree with you. Your ideas, if implemented, would drive clients away, and since your fellow freelancers would rather NOT have our businesses damaged, we voiced our opinions. 

 

You also seem to think that the reason for your recent lack of success is that Upwork isn't doing enough to ensure that you get quality clients. Whenever someone wonders in a public forum why they're not getting enough projects, it's relevant to look up their profile and try to figure out what the problem is. In your case, your JSS is very poor and many of your projects seem to have ended badly, so might these not be more valid reasons as to why you're not getting more business? Maybe it's you who needs to change, rather than Upwork? 

 

Just being honest, if I were a client, and I saw reviews such as yours (even when the client called you pleasant to work with and left 5-star feedback) and you have a succes percentage of below 80 percent, at that point I would rather look elsewhere for my options.

 

You have a right to feel upset, you have a right to call everyone names or lash out. Just as they then have the right to ignore your bids in the future. Kill them with kindness, that's proven pretty succesful for me and many others so far. 


Joost D wrote:

Just being honest, if I were a client, and I saw reviews such as yours (even when the client called you pleasant to work with and left 5-star feedback) and you have a succes percentage of below 80 percent, at that point I would rather look elsewhere for my options.

 

You have a right to feel upset, you have a right to call everyone names or lash out. Just as they then have the right to ignore your bids in the future. Kill them with kindness, that's proven pretty succesful for me and many others so far. 


That's excellent advice. Just be professional at every step of the way and never give them any reason to say you weren't. 

Well, Amanda,

 

Do you know why I'm below 80%?? Let me explain. The last 4 contracts screwed up my almost 100% freaking score which is why I am saying that UpWork needs to have parameters in place.

 

As a freelancer, we get jacked on our score for an UNPREPARED CONTRACT!  If I was able to leave the comments there you would know why my score is below 80%.

 

Here's why:

 

The contracts I was hired for business development didn't have the tools or systems in place to have me come in and do what I do. They also had unrealistic expectations on top of that. I had to explain to them what they needed to do in order for me to be successful and get the results they were looking for.

 

Another two were the ABSOLUTE biggest condescending and non-responsive contracts I've ever had.

 

So, tell me, Amanda, What do I need to put in my profile to EDUCATE potential clients on why my FREAKING SCORE IS BELOW 80%?????

 

It has NOTHING to do with me, and everything to do with bad clients that aren't prepared and have unrealistic expectations.

 

This is why freelancers like myself are annoyed. We're being penalized for bad contracts/clients that really shouldn't be on the platform in the first place.


Teri M wrote:

Well, Amanda,

 

Do you know why I'm below 80%?? Let me explain. The last 4 contracts screwed up my almost 100% freaking score which is why I am saying that UpWork needs to have parameters in place.

 

As a freelancer, we get jacked on our score for an UNPREPARED CONTRACT!  If I was able to leave the comments there you would know why my score is below 80%.

 

Here's why:

 

The contracts I was hired for business development didn't have the tools or systems in place to have me come in and do what I do. They also had unrealistic expectations on top of that. I had to explain to them what they needed to do in order for me to be successful and get the results they were looking for.

 

Another two were the ABSOLUTE biggest condescending and non-responsive contracts I've ever had.

 

So, tell me, Amanda, What do I need to put in my profile to EDUCATE potential clients on why my FREAKING SCORE IS BELOW 80%?????

 

It has NOTHING to do with me, and everything to do with bad clients that aren't prepared and have unrealistic expectations.

 

This is why freelancers like myself are annoyed. We're being penalized for bad contracts/clients that really shouldn't be on the platform in the first place.


You have accepted the contract without knowing all the aspects of it?

Freelancers shouldn't.
We talk with our (potential) clients about the scope of the job before accepting it.

Teri, it is up to FLers to determine if the buyer has everything needed in place BEFORE signing a contract. Freelancing 101 -

 

 


Wendy C wrote:

Teri, it is up to FLers to determine if the buyer has everything needed in place BEFORE signing a contract. Freelancing 101 -

 

 


Right, and also, if these things do come up after the contract starts, it's completely possible to have a professional conversation with the client and re-assess or reassign the scope of work to deal with things that were unknowns or that changed. One of my current clients, I failed to do proper analysis on something when we got started two years ago, and a few months into the contract I sat them down and said "look, I made this mistake. I didn't do this assessment properly, and here's what that means. I have reanalyzed this aspect of our work and here's how I think we need to pivot. And I'm going to eat some of the cost to make that pivot happen."  They thanked me for telling them honestly what the issue was in the work and for my professionalism. They are still clients today, and I continue to be honest (in a professional and respectful way) when there are concerns or issues from my end of the work.  Now,  in reality I didn't make any mistake on the work I was doing for them. But the problem was I hadn't done enough assessment of their preparation. So I had to back them up a few steps and get them prepared so I could do the work they needed.  But I didn't get mad at them. I just said, "okay, that's where they really are, so I will advise them how to get where they need to be and we'll take it from there." 

 

You cannot expect that there will be no problems in a contract. You have to learn how to deal with client-side issues and resolve them in  a positive way.  And realize that most clients are going not have everything in place. They may not even know things they don't have in place that they need. Add value to your services by double-checking before you start that they do. 

 

Based on your (the OP's) explanations, it sounds like your 79% JSS was completely within your control. If you respond to conflict like you are here, then likely your clients are marking you down  just for the attitude. I know it's hard to hear but if you want to be successful, you have to shift your attitude and your thinking. 


Teri M wrote:

 

It has NOTHING to do with me


And that is your problem. You are supposedly running a business. The success and failure of every contract is decided by the way you manage it from long before the contract even begins (including walking away from a contract after you have established that all prerequisites are not in place and the clients expectations are unrealistic) and does not end when the contract does. It has EVERYTHING to do with you.

a_lipsey
Community Member


Petra R wrote:

Teri M wrote:

 

It has NOTHING to do with me


And that is your problem. You are supposedly running a business. The success and failure of every contract is decided by the way you manage it from long before the contract even begins (including walking away from a contract after you have established that all prerequisites are not in place and the clients expectations are unrealistic) and does not end when the contract does. It has EVERYTHING to do with you.


Very true. I had my JSS drop down to 82% at one point because of two things that had nothing to do with client satisfaction. First, a client and I accidentally closed a contract without payment because we were delaying the project. That was the first major ding. But the client and I reopened a contract and I was rated 5 stars and they then did another contract with me. Second, I had a contract that was open for more than 2 months without payment, because we were working slowly (with no problems - just slowly). I requested payment finally, and my JSS Is 100% again. Took 4 weeks to turn around. I lost TR status, but I'm not on the forums demanding Upwork change anything. I see that, based on how Upwork works, I did not manage these contracts in a way that produces a high JSS. It's not a hard game to play.   

 

It's our job to know how every part of the process affects the outcome  (the outcome being JSS) from beginning to end.  I don't want Upwork putting all these demands and parameters on clients. If that works for the OP's business (which it doesn't seem to be, btw) then great. But Upwork needs to stay out of making decisions about my business. 

 

We all have had our JSS takes hits because of minor contract mismanagement.  It's not necessary to explain a low JSS to clients. ANd the explanations the OP has tried to give on her profile actually seem to be further evidence of why the score is low, not an explanation of some mishap. The best thing to do is behave professionally and show them what a great job you will do,  and let them make up their own mind, versus confirming what that score suggests, which is what the OP is currently doing. 

 

For what it's worth, another forum member here was at even lower than 79% last year and he took the time to build up his JSS, and it back at 100% again. I was at 82 and bounced back to 100 in 4 weeks.  If you stop blaming others and figure out what YOU can do to fix it, that's what's going to get it done. Even if Upwork changed something, how fast do you really think it would happen? 

Honestly at this point it seems you have perceived yourself to be slighted in such a way that I am going to bow out of further conversation in this thread. I absolutely get that some clients are frustrating - I've recently had to leave poor feedback for the first time in AGES because a client promised they'd fund the milestone, didn't and here I am.

 

While that sucks, that is on me. I could have said "Nope, not going to start working until you get it funded, no matter who much you need it." But I didn't do that. Instead of lashing out to Upwork for a failure to protect me, I will look inward and realize that I now have a very specific example I can point to in the future as to why I won't be doing aaaaaaaaaaaanything without funds being in place.

 

Learn from past situations instead of lashing out. Look forward, I genuinely believe you'll be happier for it.

 

Ps. Not sure if you are using the same tone of voice with clients as you are with us, but more than one question mark or all caps is considered terrible netiquette. 

bizwriterjohn
Community Member

Hello,

I am seeing a downtick in job listings for sales activities, Teri.  I also see an uptick in projects where people are in project definition, planning, and strategy stages.  Perhaps check the categories in which you participate.  One, in particular, is Marketing Strategy.  I see this category expanding, and particularly in the requests for strategic marketing and sales planning.  Perhaps folks are at home and have some time on their hands.  Time to figure out what to do when this is all over.

I love the way you start your profile with specific quotes.  Clever. 

John.

Hey, John,

Thanks for the POSITIVE, and helpful tips! You're the first person to do so.

Could you elaborate on what to zero in on a little more? I look primarily under Sales and Marketing as well as the Writing categories.

At this point, I'm going to expand into the Admin Support and Customer Service categories.

Thanks, again!
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