Apr 20, 2021 10:23:51 AM Edited Apr 20, 2021 10:27:55 AM by Manuela L
Solved! Go to Solution.
Apr 20, 2021 10:41:07 AM by Christine A
Tell them that you'll be happy to answer further questions as soon as a contract is in place. If you don't hear from them again, then flag the job as inappropriate with the comment "client is requesting free work". If they're interviewing 33 freelancers, then I agree that that's a red flag.
Apr 20, 2021 10:39:14 AM Edited Apr 20, 2021 10:44:32 AM by Preston H
re: "Not sure if client is serious about hiring or just wants free consulting work"
Upwork can't manage this for you. It is physically impossible for Upwork to do that.
Also, this is not something that the client himself necessarily knows how to do.
So who is left?
You need to manage this yourself.
You, as the freelancer, must be the person who tells the client:
"Frank, it has been nice to talk to about your project. You can go ahead and click the green 'Hire' button to start an official hourly contract, so that we can continue to work on this."
You should have done that a LONG time ago.
Note that MANY clients would not have done what this client did. MANY clients who have hired me VERY QUICKLY clicked the Hire button and put me under contract before any discussions were had. But not all clients know to do that. If a client doesn't start a contract with you, then it is YOUR responsibility to tell them to do so.
If the client does NOT hire you with an hourly contract, then your conversations with the client have come to an end. It is NOT Upwork's intention that you work for free. It is a violation of Upwork ToS for a client to ask you to work for free.
I ENCOURAGE you to volunteer your time in your local community, such as at your local school, church, mosque, community center, etc., or for causes that you inentionally seek out and volunteer for, such as Habitat for Humanity. But Upwork is not an appropriate place for you to do volunteer work.
Apr 24, 2023 12:51:11 PM by Tanisha S
what about the client who hired me in an hourly contract?
Then they discussed about project and I got to know that client needs more work so I mentioned that I will charge more and I told them all my charges and all my ideas and strategies about how I will work.
Then they asked for a fixed price, when I told the client agreed, but later started negotiating I told her the work is time taking and everything and she asked about garunteed results.I mentioned and explained how things work and again gave her all the strategy, In the end the client reduced the cost to 1/4th of the original cost. So should I delete my messages where I explained the strategies and inputs?
Apr 20, 2021 10:41:07 AM by Christine A
Tell them that you'll be happy to answer further questions as soon as a contract is in place. If you don't hear from them again, then flag the job as inappropriate with the comment "client is requesting free work". If they're interviewing 33 freelancers, then I agree that that's a red flag.
Apr 20, 2021 10:48:08 AM Edited Apr 20, 2021 10:48:49 AM by Manuela L
Thank you, Christine A, this is an excellent answer. I was initially flattered when they replied at first - I don't have a ton of experience - and I wrote a very in-depth answer, but now that they are sending me more information and asking for more 'suggestions' then I am a bit hesitant because the test itself would take quite a bit of time.
Apr 20, 2021 10:41:56 AM by Richard R
"Meaning at which point in the course of a discussion can I say “i’m sorry but we need to discuss payment/terms before I can give you that information”?"
You can do this at any time you want, its up to you to decide when this is appopriate. Best thing to do is professionally communicate with the client and let them know you are no longer comfortable providing any more information. Also you want to make sure there payment is verified before starting work, it is a requirement for payment protection.
Apr 20, 2021 10:53:08 AM by Gina H
I would offer to set up a contract for a consulting fee - "I apologize, I know you are in search of suggestions but unfortunately if I advised every potential client that came to me for free I would quickly be out of a job. Would you mind opening a contract for a one-hour consultation? If you like what I have to say and feel my suggestions are helpful, then we can discuss extending the contract."
It's also up to you how much youd want to charge for that as well, I had a potential client recently ghost me because I quoted him a higher price than my hourly rate and he was angry, but imo the hourly rate is only for time spent and doesn't take into account the value of the advice given. I usually offer to subtract the consultation price off the total project too.
Apr 20, 2021 11:03:20 AM by Manuela L
Gina thank you so much this is exactly the right approach. Because the project is complex, it would take a while to even figure out the hows and because it's software, it has to be tested. This takes some time, It can't do it 'in theory'. So your solution is ideal. I will write back with the offer of a consulting contract/timeline and see what they say. That way I will be ok with the client ghosting, if he does ( I am thinking it's likely tbh), after I reply to them.
Apr 20, 2021 11:15:15 AM by Preston H
It is inappropriate for the client to be talking to about their project without an hourly contract in place for you to use to bill them for all the time spent doing so.
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