The document discusses negotiating client relations and establishing your value as a freelancer. It recommends conducting a needs assessment to determine how much money you need to make, how many billable hours you can work, and setting your hourly rate accordingly. The document also suggests asking for contract terms that work for you, including turnaround times, payment schedules, and retainers to build long-term client relationships. Overall, it provides advice for freelancers to negotiate effectively and feel confident in their value.

1. 10/20/16
1
Client Relations:
You get what you
negotiate
Alisa Bonsignore
Clarifying Complex Ideas
@clearwriterOctober 2016 1
What do I need?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 2
Can I ask for it?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 3 @clearwriterOctober 2016 4
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 5
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 6

2. 10/20/16
2
“Independent
years”
10 x 7 = 70
@clearwriterOctober 2016 7
AARP.com
@clearwriterJuly/August 2009 8
AARP.com
@clearwriterApril/May 2013 9
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 10
Relationships
It’s a lot like sex
@clearwriterOctober 2016 11
You don’t know
what you’re
doing
@clearwriterOctober 2016 12

3. 10/20/16
3
You assume that
everyone else
knows more
than you
@clearwriterOctober 2016 13
You have no idea
what you need
@clearwriterOctober 2016 14
You don’t know
how to ask for
what you need
@clearwriterOctober 2016 15
You feel
awkward saying
“no”
@clearwriterOctober 2016 16
“Exploration is what
you do when you
don’t know what
you’re doing.”
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
@clearwriterOctober 2016 17 @clearwriterOctober 2016 18

4. 10/20/16
4
Billed hourly
@clearwriterOctober 2016 19
Extremely
apologetic
@clearwriterOctober 2016 20
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 21 @clearwriterOctober 2016 22
<20%
of market rate
@clearwriterOctober 2016 23
And I apologized
for it
@clearwriterOctober 2016 24

5. 10/20/16
5
Why?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 25
Too many nights
and weekends
@clearwriterOctober 2016 26
@clearwriterOctober 2016 27
Terrified that I’d
be “caught”
@clearwriterOctober 2016 28
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 29
Underpriced
=
Undervalued
@clearwriterOctober 2016 30

6. 10/20/16
6
“You may say to
yourself, my god,
what have I done?”
- Talking Heads
Once in a Lifetime
@clearwriterOctober 2016 31
Take a step back
@clearwriterOctober 2016 32
What do you
ask for?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 33
Needs
assessment
@clearwriterOctober 2016 34
How much
money
do you need?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 35
Rule of thumb:
gross = 2x net
@clearwriterOctober 2016 36

7. 10/20/16
7
@clearwriterOctober 2016 37
How many
hours per week?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 38
@clearwriterOctober 2016 39
40 working
hours
25 billable
• work you can charge
for
15 non-billable
• marketing
• contracts
• proposals
• blogging
• reading
• IT
@clearwriterOctober 2016 40
@clearwriterOctober 2016 41
How many
weeks per year?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 42

8. 10/20/16
8
52 weeks
- 2 weeks for federal holidays (down to 50)
- 2 more for vacation (down to 48)
- Random school holidays (46 or fewer)
- Sick days: kids, parents, you (< 45)
@clearwriterOctober 2016 43
48 weeks x
25 billable hours/week
1,200
billable hours/year
@clearwriterOctober 2016 44
$100,000/year
1,200 hours
$84/hour
@clearwriterOctober 2016 45
Lifehacker:
Value of your time
http://is.gd/Pq6MDZ
@clearwriterOctober 2016 46
@clearwriterOctober 2016 47
Solid financial
basis
@clearwriterOctober 2016 48

9. 10/20/16
9
@clearwriterOctober 2016 49 October 2016 @clearwriter 50
confidence?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 51
CONFIDENCE
@clearwriterOctober 2016 52
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 53
What else do
we ask for?
@clearwriterOctober 2016 54

10. 10/20/16
10
“You can’t always get
what you want. But if
you try sometimes, you
might find you get what
you need.”
- The Rolling Stones
@clearwriterOctober 2016 55
Contract terms
@clearwriterOctober 2016 56
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 57
Time
@clearwriterOctober 2016 58
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 59
Establish
turnaround times
and deadlines
@clearwriterOctober 2016 60

11. 10/20/16
11
“We need that
tomorrow
morning.”
@clearwriterOctober 2016 61
Breathing room
@clearwriterOctober 2016 62
More money
@clearwriterOctober 2016 63
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 64
@clearwriterOctober 2016 65 @clearwriterOctober 2016 66

12. 10/20/16
12
Know the
marketplace
@clearwriterOctober 2016 67
The easy way:
Flat rate
@clearwriterOctober 2016 68
The hard way:
Hourly increase
@clearwriterOctober 2016 69
Ease into it
@clearwriterOctober 2016 70
The holy grail:
Retainers
@clearwriterOctober 2016 71
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 72

13. 10/20/16
13
Know thy client
@clearwriterOctober 2016 73
The tougher
the client,
the shorter
the timeframe
@clearwriterOctober 2016 74
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 75
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 76
http://detectivejane.tumblr.com/image/1046616222
@clearwriterOctober 2016 77
http://gnomercy.org/event/calling-all-achievers-the-big-lebowski/
“New shit has come to light, man.”
- The Dude@clearwriterOctober 2016 78

14. 10/20/16
14
“No.”
@clearwriterOctober 2016 79 @clearwriterOctober 2016 80
More experience
@clearwriterOctober 2016 81
experience
success confidence
value
@clearwriterOctober 2016 82
We learn from
our mistakes
@clearwriterOctober 2016 83
Mistake 1:
Talking too much
@clearwriterOctober 2016 84

15. 10/20/16
15
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 85
Mistake 2:
Apologizing
@clearwriterOctober 2016 86
@clearwriterOctober 2016 87
Mistake 3:
Saying “yes”
instead of “no”
@clearwriterOctober 2016 88
@clearwriterOctober 2016 89
Mistake 4:
Answering the
phone
@clearwriterOctober 2016 90

16. 10/20/16
16
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 91
Mistake 5:
Billing hourly vs.
per project
@clearwriterOctober 2016 92
@clearwriterOctober 2016 93
Mistake 6:
Thinking you’re
alone
@clearwriterOctober 2016 94
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 95
Learn from
colleagues
@clearwriterOctober 2016 96

17. 10/20/16
17
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 97
Surrounded by
an amazing
network
@clearwriterOctober 2016 98
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
@clearwriterOctober 2016 99
Gets better
every year
@clearwriterOctober 2016 100
Results
@clearwriterOctober 2016 101 Image courtesy of Shutterstock @clearwriterOctober 2016 102

18. 10/20/16
18
“Never miss a
good chance to
shut up.”
- Will Rogers
@clearwriterOctober 2016 103
ClarifyingComplexIdeas.com
alisa@ClarifyingComplexIdeas.com
@clearwriterOctober 2016 104