Are some clients more trouble than they’re worth? Freelance information consultant Joanna Ptolomey reminds us that, when time and attention are your most precious asset, and time is money, not all clients are the same. Her simple steps can help bring some balance back into your books and your business.

So you have clients, you are making money, you have a diverse work/client portfolio and you are incredibly busy. Working freelance is 24/7, 365 days a year; you never really ‘clock out’ mentally and sometimes even physically.

It is incredibly easy to feel and actually be busy. But the real question is ‘does busyness equate to efficiency and improved profitability for the freelancer?’ A couple of years ago I decided to find out more about my own situation and ask this very question. I made a conscious effort to audit my clients – how much time/attention I spent with them paid and unpaid, how much work (in monies and referrals) was commissioned, and what was my ‘real rates’ client by client.

Now let me just state a caveat because I know this will come back to me. I know that sometimes we have to do a little ‘smoozing’ of clients (old, new and prospective). You know — little titbits of information, an extra freebie of some time, a short lunchtime sandwich to catch up and exchange ideas. But there should always be a limit, and lets face it some clients think that you have become their sounding board, their ideas person, their advisor and all unpaid.

Remember: Your time is money

Some clients are not always equal in value to either the growth of your business or the daily operational running of your busy. It is important as a freelancer to know where to spend you time and with whom for the greatest returns to your business in the short, medium and long term.

This process of working out the greatest return on invested time for clients has become a key procedure for me as a freelancer on a yearly basis. Each year I list all clients and audit them — you can do this in April after the financial year end or January is also a great time to do a stocktake and re-focusing of your core business. I use the outcomes as evidence to drive my business forward for the following year making sure that I spend my time and effort as wisely as possible.

I also allocate what I call the time/investment/return ratio – don’t worry it is not a mathematical equation but a ‘best guesstimate’ on how much time I spend on a client such as reading reports, emails, going to meetings, etc and doing commissioned work, and how much money I actually made from them.

A couple of years ago I realised that I was spending time doing work every week (small things) for a particular client but that they had on average only commissioned £800 a year over a 3 year period. The return was poor and also there had been no referrals for other work. I suppose I had spent too much time cultivating the ‘big project’ from that client. However, another client that I had had only two meetings with and a couple of emails (around 8 hours work) over a 3 year period had commissioned over £18,000 of work, and yet I had invested little in the relationship with that client. I began to question, had I been barking up the wrong tree for opportunities for developing the long term growth of the business and not maximising my time on paid work.

Finding data to support your instincts

There is no magic equation or science and sometimes working as a freelancer is purely based on instinct and gut feeling. However, I find that I do require some hard data buried within my business to help me focus on the clients that potentially have a higher value for my business in the long term.

I find using some of these pointers helps me focus on what customers or clients perhaps are important to me. It may be an interesting process for you to go through also.

7 pointers to help you troubleshoot your troublesome clients

1. List all you clients
2. List all the money you made from them over a 1 year period
3. What type of work are they commissioning?
4. How much time do you spend on this client, include
   • Emails
   • Advice they ask for
   • Dropping by the office for chat
   • Having a quick chat over lunch
   • Preparing briefs for work that never really materialises
5. Think short, medium and long term and think carefully when it is the right time to go that extra mile for a client. But if it done on a regular basis with poor returns on monies or referrals then reconsider.
6. If the financial return on time invested is low, then start setting a lower priority for that client.
   • Don’t always be available for quick chat over lunch
   • Don’t make their emails a priority
   • Push the point that you can’t talk/drop by just now as you are working on commissioned projects
7. If a customer really thinks that you are invaluable to their organisation then they will pay for your services.

By Joanna Ptolomey – a freelance information consultant and author of Taking charge of your career: a guide for library and information professionals

Image by pshutterbug

Contact Joanna:

info@joannaptolomey.co.uk or follow on Twitter @chibbie