How often do you have to teach clients what to do?

[ceidauilyc]

Two weeks ago, I received a flood of new clients. 

It was amazing until I had to teach three of them on how to use upwork. There were people who had no idea how to create book on Amazon and I had to educate on what the different formatting options do as well as the importance of Logo for a publisher. One even asked me blatantly "If you'd like we can work outside of upwork". I taught him why not to say it with a screenshot of the warning upwork had popped on my page. 

That aside, after the initial projects, one client is still fumbling through. And I'm finding no time or options to be polite or kind. In fact, last day for an extra 200 words of work ($3.75), when I intimated that I cannot propose a new contract as upwork does not let you make contracts with less than $5 as base amount, she was puzzled. I gave her the solution- send me a bonus of the same amount. She asks, "Can you do that?". I don't know where to begin teaching, linguistics or common sense. 

How often do you have to teach a client?  

PS: I want to help her out the maximum, but I'm really out of options as its not working out when you have to spend hours every week teaching the client on how to do what they achieve to do on the charge of word count. 

[tlbp]

If you work with new clients, you should plan to walk them through the entire process. You are the professional. They are coming to you for help. When you set your fees, incorporate an allowance for doing all the tasks associated with the job and maintaining your business. 

[ceidauilyc]

Have you ever applied it, Tonya?

I'd love to know how much did people charge, if so. 

But, you're absolutely right. I should proactively offer a session for one hour or so to clear their doubts. However, it also offers a risk of losing them. All the same, your answer fits perfectly to my solution.

Thank you for your time. 

PS: I am professional content writer, not a consultant to help onboarding, right?

[tlbp · Accepted solution]

I don't charge separately to guide my client, I charge enough that I don't mind guiding my client. 😉

[ceidauilyc]

Thank you Tonya. 

That makes real sense. 

Next time on, I will definitely charge the right amount for new clients. Thanks again!

[colettelewis]

I don't.  If a client wants to work with a freelancer badly enough, they will figure out how the system works. It is not up to the freelancer to tutor a client.

Upwork's system for clients (at least) should be crystal clear from the outset. The fact that freelancers have to instruct clients as to how it works, denotes either a serious problem on Upwork's side, or total laziness (unwillingness to learn) on the part of an unprofessional client.

[ceidauilyc]

This is the side that I was hoping to find answers in the community. Its been years that I've been tutoring clients and when I joined Upwork, I proactively sought answers to my questions at the community or help centre. 

I think Upwork should offer onboarding tips and tutorials for clients to avoid this burden. 

Thank you so much for your input. It makes me feel a little saner! 😄

[ana_vugrinec]

I work as a freelancer for a company (project manager), and that includes hiring freelancers and working with them. This means that I am working on both sides of the platform and believe me, the client side can't be more simple than it already is, and they are adding improvements regularly. They are just lazy and it's easier to waste someone else's time ("we are paying her, so let's squeeze everything we can from her" is their motto). I had a bunch of new clients so far and had to go through that "explain how Upwork works" routine. You are not obligated to "chew their food" and if it takes too much time, simply skip it.

[tlsanders]

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@Nichola L wrote:

Upwork's system for clients (at least) should be crystal clear from the outset. The fact that freelancers have to instruct clients as to how it works, denotes either a serious problem on Upwork's side, or total laziness (unwillingness to learn) on the part of an unprofessional client.

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 I've hired through Upwork and I found it to be pretty straightforward. But, somewhere in the neighborhood of half of my attorney clients find it very complicated. I'm convinced that this is not (for most, anyway) laziness on their parts, as they seem to invest a lot of time in trying to make it work and going back and forth with me--there's something counterintuitive for a great many professional clients.

[colettelewis]

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@Tiffany S wrote:

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@Nichola L wrote:

Upwork's system for clients (at least) should be crystal clear from the outset. The fact that freelancers have to instruct clients as to how it works, denotes either a serious problem on Upwork's side, or total laziness (unwillingness to learn) on the part of an unprofessional client.

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 I've hired through Upwork and I found it to be pretty straightforward. But, somewhere in the neighborhood of half of my attorney clients find it very complicated. I'm convinced that this is not (for most, anyway) laziness on their parts, as they seem to invest a lot of time in trying to make it work and going back and forth with me--there's something counterintuitive for a great many professional clients.

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 Point taken. But time should not be wasted either by the client  trying to figure out how the system works, or the freelancer coaching the client. So - if it is not client laziness/unwillingness - then there is a flaw in clarity. Upwork needs to work on this - at least for the freelancers' clients. 

[tlsanders]

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@Nichola L wrote:

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 I've hired through Upwork and I found it to be pretty straightforward. But, somewhere in the neighborhood of half of my attorney clients find it very complicated. I'm convinced that this is not (for most, anyway) laziness on their parts, as they seem to invest a lot of time in trying to make it work and going back and forth with me--there's something counterintuitive for a great many professional clients.

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 Point taken. But time should not be wasted either by the client  trying to figure out how the system works, or the freelancer coaching the client. So - if it is not client laziness/unwillingness - then there is a flaw in clarity. Upwork needs to work on this - at least for the freelancers' clients. 

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 Agree, but we are where we are today. I prefer helping the client with the platform to asking him to check back in 3-5 years to see whether Upwork may have taken a half-step toward improving the process.

[tlsanders]

I agree with Tonya completely. Guiding your client through the process is part of the "job," and one you should be able to roll in seamlessly.

If you're well-versed in how Upwork works, of course, you won't have to (or be able to find a way to) spend "hours" teaching your client how to use the platform. This type of interaction should make up a small percentage of your work time.

[ceidauilyc]

True Tiffany.

I've been working via upwork since the past 3+ years with almost 2 years as top rated. I know how to guide them and have always wholeheartedly done so. It is just that I ended up teaching everything to 3+ clients at a time last week. It took my time and patience a bit because I shared upwork guide and how-to URLs but they found it hard to follow and I hard to simplify everything. When you work with non-native clients (I'm a non-native but unfortunately I know my English well) it takes the extra-extra mile. Did you ever face anything like that? Repetitive requests to simplify and guide multiple clients within a short while? 

Thank you for the read. 

PS: I am still teaching one client on how to make an Amazon Kindle publication to the importance of a logo and so on. It wouldn't have been a hassle had I been free to offer free consultation. But, I was extremely busy the past week and found that the "kindness" or "charity", if you will, was eating up my productivity. 

Good day to you!

[wendy_writes]

GeoMarie, you raised a darn good point. I do think Upwork should publish "How To Navigate the System" Guides in all the main client languages.

It goes without saying that the current quide (in English) would require editing - if not rewriting - to ensure accuracy and reabiility first.

[tlbp]

That sounds more like scope creep. If you were hired to do a task, but the client needs help to do other tasks, you should be charging an hourly fee, asking them to set up a new contract or asking them to wait until you can fit them into your schedule.  

[tlsanders]

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@geomaria G wrote:

PS: I am still teaching one client on how to make an Amazon Kindle publication to the importance of a logo and so on. It wouldn't have been a hassle had I been free to offer free consultation. But, I was extremely busy the past week and found that the "kindness" or "charity", if you will, was eating up my productivity. 

Good day to you!

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 This sounds like an entirely different issue. This isn't about guiding the client through the use of the platform, but about doing substantive work that you were not hired and are apparently not being paid to do. 

It's hard to offer further insight on this without further information, as I don't understand how you ended up teaching a client to make a Kindle publication if that isn't what you were hired to do. That's paying work there (or should be), not administration.

You'll hear many freelancers tell you that you should never give away time that way, and I don't entirely disagree with them. But, I will do so from time to time. The key, for me, is proportion. For example, I have a client who pays me $400-500 each month for work that takes about one business day. Not long ago, the client asked me to help him rewrite a half-page item he was sending out to print later that day--something totally outside the scope of our usual work. It took me exactly 19 minutes, and I didn't charge him (though he made it clear he expected to pay for my time).

Similarly, if the client I'm currently working on a short book with at a flat rate of several thousand dollars wanted me to spend an hour or two helping him get the hang of Amazon publishing, I'd be happy to do it. But, if someone I'd done a quick $100 job for wanted the same, he'd have to pay for it--otherwise, I'd have cut my hourly rate in half.

[ceidauilyc]

Precisely what shocked me too. And, that's exactly what I had in mind when I typed   How often do you have to teach clients what to do?

Here's another anecdote about the same client.

In the first week, she wanted a logo done and I referred a friend of mine to her to work via upwork. She is more than a burden to him now. I feel more than guilty too. The reason being, she never clarified what she wanted in a logo even after he asked repeatedly, for any choice of font, style, color, 3D/2D, shape and so on. He gave her 7 logos for the price of one. It was not until his second submission that she said: "I want the initials in the Logo". And she kept requesting changes and finally, she shared a logo example. He is confused as to what to do. She was never clear and she was already eaten his time too. So, he frankly told her that she has to pay more if she wants the work done as who knows if she gets another epiphany after the next submission. 

The reason I'm offering free consultation for her project is because she has too many books in store for me.  But, well, who knows!

I think I'm gonna earn a lotta bad karma outta this project!

Thank you for that story, Tiffany. It gives a lot of insight. 

[tlsanders]

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@geomaria G wrote:

The reason I'm offering free consultation for her project is because she has too many books in store for me.  But, well, who knows!

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 Everything you've said about your experience and your friend's suggests that this is a bad client who frustrates you, eats up your time, and pays badly for the amount of work she expects. So, think about what you've said here--it sounds as if you are putting up with a lot in hopes that you're going to get more frustrating work that will work out to a very low hourly rate from a client you don't want to work with.

[ceidauilyc]

Here goes ... 

"You've opened my eyes". 

Pressing needs and Stress makes you do so many things. Trust me, I have revamped that ideology. 

You have a great week. Thank you for your time, Tiffany. 

[resultsassoc]

I have to teach my non-platform (UW, etc) clients how best to use me and pay me. Platform clients are no different. In many cases, I have to teach clients their own business. A current client has zero manufacturing experience, and assumed his new plant could be designed by him in five days and that he didn't need an MRP/ERP system. When I taught himwhat plant design involved, he changed his mind. When I taught him what a lack of ERP/MRP meant, he changed his mind. When he said he would only have five suppliers, he learned that the bulk of his suppliers will not be for direct materials. That list goes on.

I had to teach a highly successful niche consultant how to increase revenue without offering his software for sale. That was easy: milk is going for a million dollars a gallon, why are you selling the cow? About every six months, for twelve years, he calls me with questions about his work and his industry.

My core business is as an issue-based management consultant. Identifying the real issue is the most valuable thing I will ever do for the client. Unfortunately, on job platforms, that has to be given away in the response to get the work. And, that's teaching the client. I demand a voice-to-voice exploration of a fit with every client; about once a month I solve his problem durinng that discussion. That's price of entry to my industry.

Teach the client, and if you want her as a repeat client, do it for her and teach her at the same time. That's price of entry to job platforms.