7 New Policies I’m Starting with My High-Ticket Clients in 2023

Please don't be me.

The more clients you take on, the more you start to understand who is and is not a good fit for your services. That said, I have had my share of unhappy customers like all service providers. While that can be uncomfy, I believe that somewhere in their feedback or complaints is a seed of opportunity to learn something about yourself and improve. I want to learn from these experiences, continue to uplevel my services, and avoid these mistakes in the future. So I’ve pulled together a few new policies for my business and I’m sharing them with you in case you want to side-step some unpleasantness.

This blog was inspired by recent events where I got client feedback somewhere on the confused-to-furious scale. They didn’t like the deliverable and then quiet panic saturated by body. 

Ever been there?

These are practices I know I should be doing but I’m not super consistent with (yet). From this point forward (crosses my heart and pinky swears) doing all of these.

1..Explain the strategy

You might know all of the strategies for what ended up on the page… but your client doesn't have any clue. 

Soooo often when a client doesn't like what I have delivered, it's because they can't see the value. On those occasions, I have sent a fresh document that includes a breakdown of the strategy so the client can follow, understand, and be a champion of the work. I will literally copy/paste the same copy above the text and color code my strategy. It comes complete with a legend so they can see where their important pieces are. They usually turn around once they "get it."

So showing your strategy or explaining your strategy is crucial… at least in the early stages when you’re establishing your credibility in the market.
 

2. Ask what do you want from me?

Okay, okay. I know that probably sounds way more dramatic than I mean it to be. But the core sentiment is very true. I need to know, in exact words, what they want to have in their hands at the end of the project. Whether that means Pinterest inspo boards, real-world examples, a sketch on a napkin, or whatever they've got, I want to see it. 
 

3. Ask why me

Another overly dramatic question, but stick with me here…

I want to know what was it about me that made them believe I am (potentially) the right person for the job. Okay, this is a little sales psychology…When your client has to explain why they want to work with you, they almost have to pitch themselves as a client and you get innate buy-in because they are selling themselves to you. Not the other way around. Good start-line footing, if you ask me.

Adding this question “why me?” feels like such a smart move for so many reasons. It eliminates any cherry-pickers or price-shoppers. If they consider what you do a commodity, in other words, they don’t see you as any different than any other copywriter, they won’t have any connection or loyalty to you specifically. In that case, you’re just another ticket filler to them. Your notes, strategy, feedback, or explanations are not going to be respected. And that’s not a good client.

Plus, how they answer “why me” can flag any potential trouble ahead.

This could even be a question on an application process that pre-qualifies my clients. We shall see! Good for them, good for me, everyone is a happy camper.
 

4. Not accepting rush jobs

Baaaaabe, just don't do it. The definition of “rush job” is different for every writer, but typically in my experience, nothing good comes out of rush jobs. The client is underwhelmed with sub-par work and I feel bad for not presenting my normal stellar standard… then they ask for a refund even though I worked for hours or something and everyone ends up grumpy. 

Storytime: TODAY I had a client that responded to a portfolio template I rushed for him. He originally agreed to a 24-hour turnaround (4 days shorter than my normal turnaround) but then after he paid said he needed it the same day. It was already the afternoon when he told me that, but I hustled and got it done for him. Then he waited two whole days before saying that it looked “unprofessional” and not at all what he needed. And he asked for a refund. 

I blame myself. I should have vetted him better. I should have put my foot down about doing work outside my normal hours. But I didn't and now I get to learn this valuable lesson. No rush jobs and get really specific about what the client is looking for. Like painfully specific. 

My questionnaire does ask for specifics, but I don’t think they get granular enough and I don’t think I’m asking all of the right questions. That is an opportunity for improvement for sure.
 

5. Have real client onboardings

I'm currently (at the time of this blog’s publication) selling services on Fiverr. Eventually, the idea is to sell exclusively on this website, but for now, I’m using the Fiverr marketplace to attract clients.

All that to say, I would normally do onboarding calls with all of my clients. But, the Fiverr platform does not encourage or recommend onboarding calls as a rule. I think you can do a video call on the platform, but it isn’t part of their recommendations for client work. Instead, they have you set up a gig, write a questionnaire, and done. The idea is that it's really simple for the seller, easy for the buyer. 

But when you are offering very high-value services that really matter to people (like sales copy or landing pages or portfolios), it's so easy to be misaligned with your client if you’re solely relying on the questionnaire. 👉 Most of the time, the clients don’t know how to answer your questions anyway. It can derail things really fast. That’s where the project can benefit from a live video call. 

Onboardings are industry-standard at agencies for a reason. Everyone gets on the same page and it saves endless back-and-forth email threads.

First, I need to clean up my questionnaires… and second I need to determine how and when I am going to require onboarding calls with my high-ticket clients. No onboarding, no partnership.

I am nervous about having an onboarding meeting as a requirement because on Fiverr, that’s not really how things are done. I could see many prospects seeing that as a requirement and bouncing. But I think that could be a good thing because it would really weed out the people who aren't really that committed to me as their content creator and are just price-shopping.
 

6. Concept Pitch and Sign-Off

This is another one that is really different on the Fiverr platform. You see this more on independent websites. I do copy and design for certain projects. Currently, I’m doing a big brand voice guide project with a brand identity (the visuals) for a client. And all of my portfolios are copy and design services. And the last thing I want is for me to do hours or days or months of work just to have the client be like, um no thanks cuz ew.

I'm thinking about adding a phase for a concept pitch and client sign-off in my portfolios and other high-ticket services going forward. This is actually an idea from an unhappy client. He suggested that I pitch an idea and that he would then approve. While he wasn’t really that nice about it, it still was an excellent idea.

That way the client has the opportunity to give feedback and direction early in the process. I also feel they'll be more invested when they've approved the concept. A little extra buy-in never hurt anybody. 

7. Charge by project, not by hour

If you get carried away with what you do, charging by the hour can really knock your client on their a$$ when they see the invoice. It creates too much pressure. I want the freedom to get carried away, do extra things, and add surprise and delight elements to my work. And when you’re on the clock, you don’t have the luxury of any of those things.

Foregoing these things for the sake of getting something out the door cuts off and cauterizes any growth in your business. Uninspired jobs don’t create clients who become raving fans, word-of-mouth referrals, or a long-term partnership with that client.

I just had a client reach out to me about redesigning some decks. Friend, I love decks. Like, you have no idea. Anyway, she asked if I had an hourly rate because she believes that would work better. Now, she and I have been dancing around the budget for over a month. No one wants to say a figure first. I haven’t thrown a number out there because I don’t want to way under or overcharge her. She doesn’t want to get gouged. I get it.

But I shot her back a message planting my feet firmly in the “I charge by project” camp. This is exactly what I said in my email:

…You asked if I have an hourly rate. I work by project, not by hours. And that is so I can get carried away making art that hits with your target audience and it not cost you too much. For example, if I took say 40 hours on a deck, I don't want to charge you 5 figures just because I put in tons of time. Charging by project also gives me room to do important foundational work and other tasks that go into the decks that aren't the actual deck build itself, like concepting and wireframing. 

I'm not sure if you have an ideal budget in mind, so I'll throw something out there and you can tell me if that works for you…

Then I dropped my scope and project quote. I would really love to work with this client, but I have learned the hard way that if you give in to clients and compromise the quality of your work, it never ~ ever ~ ends well. I want to create amazing, harmonious, lasting relationships with my clients. And hourly work isn’t it.

So, let me explain… No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Aka, the conclusion.

There you have it. Seven new things I’m doing with my high-ticket clients in 2023. Now, I want to make an acknowledgment here. If you are super brand new, some of these takeaways may be a little advanced. As beginners, we all have to kind of yes to projects that don’t completely fit into an ideal scenario. There will be times, especially early on, when you may not have the luxury of rejecting rush jobs or demanding a client onboarding on a platform that’s really not set up for that.

These seven new policies are things I feel confident moving forward with as someone who has a handful of years of experience under my belt and someone who is pretty much capped out on clients. I can afford to be a little more choosey with who I work with. But, I do believe that most of these takeaways can help you navigate the choppy waters of client communications and avoid some messy pitfalls. I hope they help you create harmony and kicka$$ copy.

Until next time, stay fu$$y, my friend.