The Power of NO…When Turning Down Work Just Feels Right…
So, I’m working on a project with this agency and they start hinting at this other gig. Seems they’ve been writing the copy for this consumer products line for seven years, and while the client is fine with the design work they’ve been doing, they’re just not thrilled with the copywriting. They wanted me to take a look at the latest round of copy and see if I had any ideas. But, before I did, they gave me the deal on the situation. Get this…
They can only use a pre-approved list of words – no deviating. The middle management layers of approval have their own biases AND their own need to justify their existences by making changes or otherwise showing their disapproval. And after those managers are done, they’ve culled down the three concepts that the firm gives them to ONE, which is the one they have the agency creatively execute and then present to the top boss. ONE concept.
And gee, big surprise, he often isn’t nuts about it. Give someone ONE idea to choose from, and that’s a whole lot of pressure to like it. Give someone three to choose from, and even if you know which one you want them to choose, by having a few others there as “filler,”? you make it easier for the client to like yours. Of course, clients are notorious for turning that particular piece of logic on its head and loving one of the filler concepts. But hey, if they’re happy and we get paid, life could be a lot worse.
It was clear to me right from the get-go that the issue wasn’t the copy – it was fine. It was the process that was the issue – a process structured in such a way to make it nearly impossible for the agency to succeed.
And heck, for all we know, this account is one of those that likes to keep their vendors in a constant state of anxiety about their worth to the company. Praise ‘em too much and they might just start asking for more money. Keep convincing them that “you’re just not quite hitting the mark, but I guess we’ll go ahead and use your lame copy anyway…”? But seven years into the process, they’re still working for them, so maybe they don’t suck that badly after all…
As many of you know, this craziness is more common in Corporate America than most people would ever imagine. Well, needless to say, I said, “Pass.”? NOT interested in working under those circumstances. Feels good to say no sometimes.
What sorts of client/project situations do you run from?
Well, I’m new to copywriting, although not new to writing in general. You would think that I would just at the chance for work no matter what it is, but that’s not the case. I had my first solid looking prospect a few weeks ago. I was so excited that someone finally took notice and wanted to work with me.
They asked me for a proposal, which I worked hard on. In it, I say that I need a 50% deposit before I start working. I also quoted a price that was more than twice what they wanted to pay based on their job ad (because they didn’t to pay enough.)
After I sent it, he started to tell me more about the job and what he wanted. I asked if he was okay with the proposal, and he responded with more information about the gig. Then he asked me to make up testimonials, or use them from a different product that wasn’t THIS product. I realized then that this was a bad idea. I don’t want to lie and get in trouble. I told him this and he said, ‘it’s okay, it’s just marketing.’ No, sorry.
I think that he was avoiding my proposal because he had no plan on paying me. I think he wanted me to do the work and then he was going to run without fulfilling his end of the deal. Needless to say, it wasn’t a very good first experience.
I avoid people who start negotiating the price before you even give a quote. Especially when they say if you give me a good price I’ll send more business your way. Lies!
I dealt with one wacko who sent me a very nasty email after I gave him a critique of his copy for the agreed upon price. He tried to intimidate me into writing two new sales letters for a pittance. (I’m sorry but I don’t live in a country where making what comes out to pennies an hour would pay my living expenses.)
So I told him sorry for the miscommunication and best wishes to your future success. I cashed his check asap and never heard from him again. So I guess I also run from manipulators with bad tempers.
I had (keyword: had) an existing client who presented me with a new project to do a 100% rewrite of their website and a couple of marketing brochures. Previously, I had delivered my copy to the marketing director (a good relationship and he liked my writing). During the new project startup meeting, the owner of the company came in and said this was “his baby” and that five (5!!) previous writers had been unable to satisfy his tastes. My warning light went off.
Long story short, 3 weeks later I submitted an invoice for the uncompleted project and promised myself never to say “Sure!” to an unspecified project without having sat through the first discussion meeting. I now give the standard “I need some more details as well as a good look at my calendar to determine if I have time.” It gives me the breathing room to say no and I’ve actually dodged a few more of these “baby projects” in the past 2 years.
Hi Trish,
Wow – he sounds like a piece of work… You were right to RUN… The cross-the-ethical-lines situations are actually pretty easy to walk from. Thanks for the contribution!
Good advice, Jim. But, in your defense, we don’t assume clients will be crazies. And thankfully, at least in my experience, those situations are fairly rare.
And thanks Elizabeth. Sounds like your BS/manipulator/parasite radar is working just fine!
PB
Wow, it just goes to show, the world is full of manipulative/abusive personalities, and unfortunately, we find ourselves having to work for them.
I’m not on my own yet, but I’m working in a copywriting job of sorts. The person I reported to is a first class power-hungry, manipulative, “drama king.” As in, inventing drama and problems where there aren’t any. As in, despite my talks with him, he hasn’t figured out that I’m a much more productive writer when he leaves me the heck alone!
I actually quit, but (sadly), I find myself having to ask for the job back, because I’m broke. In a weird way, it was comforting to read this blog, because a) I strongly believe in respecting yourself enough to say “no” if things don’t look or feel right and b) I see I’m not the only one that deals with a “crazy.” Thanks Peter, for reaffirming that we don’t go in thinking they are crazy; we expect (or really hope) that they will be fair, and professional. I look forward to the day when I’m doing well, and I can say “no” as much as I want.
This is a very helpful blog post and the ensuing comments are also helpful. Again, thanks for starting the blog. I can see it will be every bit as helpful as your books and newsletters.
I have found that once I decide how much I want to make per hour, I have to stick to that. I am worth at least that much! Anyone who begs me to take less is really not valuing me or my time and may decide they do not like my copy and want me to spend hours re-writing and re-working it essentially “for free”. That really irks me . . . and it does not pay the bills.
When you are first getting started, this is one of the hardest things because you want to do work and “prove” yourself and you are willing to take less money “just to have a job” but that really isn’t helpful to the process. Writers, you are worth every dime you charge, and probably more than that, so stand up for yourselves.
Right you are, Sally! AND, the unspoken here is that you ARE a good writer. Very few of the “you’re-worth-every-penny-so-don’t-sell-yourself-short” speeches apply unless you’ve got the chops and are professional and reliable to boot. If you DO have all that going for you, there’s not a reason in the world you shouldn’t be making a good wage. Thanks for the contribution AND for your kind words about the blog. I think you’re right: the quality and depth of the input here is great and I’m delighted to be the catalyst for it.
PB
I turned down a prospective client at the end of last year. I have known her for several years on a personal level (her husband owns a pottery store and my girls take lessons there). She is a religious teacher (a different religion from mine) and had written some material that she wanted re-written, and then edited. BUT she didn’t want to pay, wanted to trade pottery lessons for the work. I was kind of OK with that, lessons can cost $200 a month, so I quoted her a set number of hours per month in trade. However the work was sooooo bad, and I just don’t know enough about her religion (it’s not a mainline one, it’s a New Age offshoot) to rewrite it. She didn’t want to provide more details without me ‘paying her for her expertise’! In other words, to join her religious group you have to pay a fee!
Immediate no to that.
Welcome to the neighborhood, I’m sure I’ll be back often!
I tend to turn tail and run when my client is too much of a micromanager – Dozens of emails AND phone calls a day, lots of suggestions, so many corrections it looks like someone else wrote the piece. Those clients don’t last long.
Good luck with your blog!
– Deb Ng
PB Note: Folks, be sure to check out Deb’s great site for freelancers at http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com. She’s all about writers making more money as well!
Hi Peter,
Congrats on the new blog. My all-time favorite scam is, “We’re a startup and money is tight. We can’t pay right now, but as soon as we start earning money, we’ll pay our writers.” The problem with this logic is that I can never know when the turning point has arrived. I guess I’m just supposed to have faith. Unfortunately through bitter experience, I’ve learned to count myself out of the ranks of the faithful.
I’ve spent a lot of years paying my dues as a freelance writer, and I not only deserve to be paid, I deserve a fair rate. That’s my work mantra.
Thanks to all for your great comments!
Maria, I think you’d get a hearty “Hear, hear! from everyone on this list… Hope doesn’t pay the bills…
And Deg Ng’s comment about micro-managers is right on. Don’t you love when clients hire you and then don’t let you do your job?
Thanks Kristen a TON for getting the word out on the blog! Sincerely appreciate it…
PB
Peter,
The topic is a good one for as Trisha said – at first you feel the need to take everything, but I’ve learned over the last four years since I opened my doors, that sometimes saying yes to the wrong job not only costs you time and money – but suddenly makes going to work a chore. This happened to me last year. Two different clients (in two different states) offered similar services and both asked me to write their web content. I always tell prospects to check out my samples as I have a definite style; one that doesn’t fit everyone’s needs. They both did and hired me anyway. Yeah me.
Over the course of the next couple weeks one of the clients kept sending back my drafts with vague comments “not quite right.” I woke one day that week, knowing that I had scheduled the day to complete his site and found I didn’t want to go to work. It’s bad when you work from home, are your own boss, can work in your pjs and still don’t want to go to work.
I called him and said “this just isn’t a good fit. I think you are looking for a different writing style than I can provide.” We parted as friends and all of a sudden – life was grand. The other customer? LOVE, LOVE, LOVED my style. Same type of business. Same type of website. But for one my writing style was a good fit and for the other – NOT.
I am now super conscious of that fact and if a customer isn’t interested in a casual, conversation, lots of questions type of style – we just aren’t a good match.
Deborah
Well, here I am into my twelfth year working on my own as a FLCW and creative developer, and I can say that these situations will come up on occasion no matter how well-established you might be (right, Peter?). As long as you are looking for more new work with new clients, the chance exists to meet up with a client that wants things you just shouldn’t have to — or want to — provide.
When I’m asked to come in and pitch a new project — usually working with a freelance art designer — I give my art designer about a dozen possible heads and two or three possible body copy examples to work with. She decides on her top three (and it’s funny how they’re typically my top three as well) and comes up with the designs for each. So we always give the client three choices, and so far, they’re always happy to choose the one they feel best represents what they want. Peter, you are so right — one choice is no choice. It’s patently unfair to everyone.
Not long ago, this same designer was approached by a young entrepreneur in high tech IT security. He was going to participate in an upcoming trade show and needed various pieces for it. Usually we meet a client like this at the designer’s studio, or come on his site. He asked us to come to his office, and gave an address near one of my larger clients. When we arrived, it was his home — no problem there, since many of us work out of home offices. Except… this home was pretty unkempt on the outside. And as we got out of the car, the garage door opened, and he was standing in his logo’ed shirt but no shoes. Okay… he also installs security cameras, and saw us arrive on one of his monitors. Then he led us to his office, through a very messy and cold house, down to the basement (at this point in the story, other colleagues and friends asked if we were scared. No, but wary.)to his office. We spent more than an hour listening to him, and when we left, we both turned to the other and said, “He definitely has some kind of problem!” Possibly an anger management problem, from the stories he told us about not getting business from health care professionals, accountants, and many others who could really use the very important services he could offer.
Upshot was, we went ahead and wrote up a simple proposal, and he wanted me to put a dollar amount on each item, so he could choose parts. Judging from his presentation at his office, we knew he was nearly broke and unlikely to pay. We wouldn’t have known that had we met with him at our offices. I told him no, I couldn’t break the six steps down into “dollars each” — they all worked together to get him what he needed. Do I have to say, he didn’t answer?
It’s scary as hell to say no when you work on your own, but a long time ago, a veteran ad guy told me I’d have to do that sometimes, especially if the person a) didn’t want to pay some upfront or b) argued against paying your rate, wanting to shave you down to practically giving your work away. What you do is valuable!
Last — there are also people out there who sincerely believe that “if I had the time, I’d would do this myself” (writing). They’re often not fun to work with either. But at least you have a chance to show what you can do, and usually they appreciate your work, and feel better that it isn’t on their shoulders anymore. They will ask you to do more.
Hang in there, brave people!!!
I run from small companies owned by a husband and wife team. I’ve worked as a writer/editor/art director for two different publishers owned by husband and wife teams – magazines and a weekly newspaper respectively. It gets too personal. They end up relating to their staff as parents handling their kids – especially if you ask for a raise. My advice? Don’t do it. You’ve got you’re own family for hugs and headaches.
It really is nice to be able to turn down work. There was a time when I’d take anything that came along, but those days are over!
Thanks to all of you – great stuff! This is fun…
Mark, I agree. You want to have a good, friendly fun relationship with clients, if possible, but first and foremost, it’s about the professional relationship and getting the job done.
And yes, Katherine, it’s very liberating to be able to say, “Nah, don’t think so.” And even BETTER to be able to say, “Nah, don’t think so. BUT, I have a few folks I think would be just right for it.” Assuming, of course, that it’s just not a fit for what you do, as opposed to that the client is crazy in one or more ways, in which case, you don’t want to foist them on anyone.” But, I love being able to refer jobs to others. When they can return the favor, believe me, they will. And have.
And Marci, thanks for your always valuable contributions. Folks, listen to this woman – she knows her stuff…;)
After 26 years as a full-time freelancer, I can relate to almost all these comments. My colleague Nancy McKeithen and I created Writer’s Catablog to try to restore respect and sanity to the profession. Our spokesdog Scribbles also blogs, so you are in good company. http://www.scribblesthedog.wordpress.com. We advised him not to, but alas, unlike us, he is not well trained. As for clients, I try to think: Will this person ever be happy with the work? Is it in his nature, or is it in her approach to me so far? Yes, working with committees or spouses is hard. Been there, too. The guy (above) who wanted a Chinese laundry list so he could pick parts of the services by price–I’ve met him more than once. I also love the ones who tell YOU how long the job will take or how easy it is. But, as this blog will accomplish, we need to stick together and compare notes. So welcome!
Star Lawrence
http://sunoasis.com/webjean.html
To previous comments I can only say, been there, done that. One of my most irksome experiences involved an ad agency with which I was trying to develop a long-term relationship. Each person runs their own projects so it’s necessary to get to know each project manager individually. I met a new guy and presented myself, named my rate, etc. He called a few weeks later for help with a project. When billing time came, he argued with me about my bill and about the scope of the project. Wanting to appear reasonable and to get more work from him in the future, I gave in and reduced the bill. Bad move. Needless to say, there hasn’t been more work. Even more troubling, I consider his behavior unprofessional. When I underbid on a job and end up working “for free,” I consider that my own fault and “eat” the extra hours. I consider it extremely unprofesional to go back and beg for more money. And vice versa – it’s unprofessional for my clients to try and negotiate me down after the fact.
Which brings up the issue of written contracts. I haven’t used them because 1) I’m usually pretty careful to discuss the conditions of the job, sometimes confirmed in a quick email, before starting it (although after ten years in the business I do make mistakes or forget things); 2) Much of the work I do is wanted “yesterday” and there doesn’t usually seem to be time to go through the approval process for even a simple contract.
What’s the word on this? Do folks out there use contracts? For short and/or long projects? How do your clients receive them?
Thanks Michele,
Great comments. As for contracts, I have used plenty of one-page bid letters (pp. 135-6 of TWFW) over the years – just simple agreements outlining the terms: exactly what they’re getting (project parameters) and for how much (a range of dollar amounts that vary by 10-15%; i.e., say $2200-2500), how many rounds of revisions, and how much per hour for additional revisions, etc. Never had a problem. As for full-blown multi=page contracts, I’ve probably signed a grand total of 6 in 15 years, and 4-5 coming from the client side. And no, I don’t do one (even a bid letter) for every project. Just with new clients or big projects. With long-standing clients, I generally skip it, and knock on wood, it hasn’t come back to bite me later – ever.
PB
Hi Peter,
For Michele and anyone else who is interested: I have found that a basic contract outlining their expectations, my expectations, dates of delivery, number of revisions (and difference between re-write and revisison) and pricing is an absolute “must” for the first project with a customer. Then you have something to come back to and a legal way to insist on getting your money and getting it on time. If the client haggles about the terms of the contract, that is a red flag that nothing will satisfy this client and we agree to go no further. If the project goes well and we get along throughout it and they are happy and pay on time, I often forego further contracts with that client. This has worked for me for over 3 years. I have two standard contracts and I choose the one that fits the job the closest and change a few things like deliverables and dates and price. My scanned in signature is already affixed to it, so it is ready to e-mail. I ask them to print the last page and sign it and send, fax or give it to me (or if they are in another country as many of my clients are, they can fax it or scan it and send it by e-mail). Only one client thought this was unreasonable and unnecessary and when I did a bit of research I discovered he is awful to work with and then tries to argue the price down, so I said “good-by” before we signed the contract!
Sally
I use a simple bid letter or even an email describing what we’ve agreed I’ll do, when and for how much. It’s a good practice because it offers a final opportunity to make sure that everyone is on the same page before you start–and for clients who aren’t used to hiring writers, it reassures them that although you may be a flaky creative type, you’re a business-like flake.
I have had clients present me with contracts and non-disclosure agreements. I always read them carefully but have never been presented with one that was unreasonable in the circumstances; once I asked for a change to the contract before signing and after I explained my reasons the client had no problem making the change.
I recently turned down or lost a client because he wanted me to sign a broad non-competition agreement before hiring me–or even explaining in adequate detail what he wanted me to do. The agreement wouldn’t have been reasonable for me, and he was not open to negotiation on it, so that relationship stalled right there. Anyone else ever had a client present a non-compete and refuse to negotiate it?
Jill
Great input, all of you! Thanks much… This blog WAS a good idea, no? 😉
PB
Yes, I have been asked to sign non-competes that were so vague I didn’t know if my past clients would count if they hired me again. I always renego everything! I want to see what their attitude is, esp indemnities–those I won’t even sign. The problem is, this can eat time I could spend on the project. Fine line.
Hi Peter,
First of all, thanks so much for starting this blog. Your books and newsletters have helped me immeasurably since I struck out on my own almost four years ago.
The nightmarish approval process you described sounds unfortunately familiar to me. But whatever the politics or structure a company has, there are times when the shear number of approvals needed can make a project daunting. Therefore, I would run from a project where I would be required to get approvals on my own.
That sounds ridiculous even as I’m typing this, but there are organizations that operate that way, and when I started out, I even said to them, “Oh sure, I’ll be in touch with so-and-so and so-and-so, and you won’t have to do a thing!” Boy, what a BIG, BIG mistake. What I did, essentially, was take on their “office politics” for them. And I will NOT do that anymore. I make it very clear that there must be one person on the client’s end who needs to be responsible for sending out the copy and collecting comments/suggestions. That person must compile those into one document and send them to me, and if I have issues or questions, I go to that one person. I will not waiste my time trying to chase down scores of other people.
If I client cannot agree to that, I run. If there are lot of “chefs” in their kitchen, it will only bring grief otherwise.
GREAT comment, Alan,
Alan brings up an excellent point about the need to have ONE person on the client side to handle approvals, as WELL as input on copy. I recall a project I worked on years ago where 3-4 people were offering up input on the copy. Not surprisingly, in some cases, the suggestions made were contradictory, yet I still felt the pressure to accommodate every one’s input. BAD situation. Far better to have one point person on the client side into which all input (or approvals) flow. Let THEM wrestle with their own politics. That point person will have a much better idea whose toes can be stepped on whose can’t.
PB
I passed on a company whose co-owner refused to communicate with me via email, even though we’d be working together long distance. It’s not that he didn’t have it – he just didn’t seem to like using it. I referred him out :-J.
Also passed on a company that is involved in over-developing our county. Lots of money there, but did not want to be part of the problem.
Hi Peter! If I applied it to what I do for a living and that is sending authors on virtual book tours and, basically, I work for the authors…and if there was a particular author I didn’t feel right about, I wouldn’t care what money was involved, I would have to say no. I haven’t had to turn down anyone yet because the way I look at it, all authors deserve book promotion no matter what kind of book they’ve written but if it’s a book that goes against my standards, then I would have to say no. So far, it hasn’t happened. But I do give you kudos for standing your ground and saying no. That says a lot in my book. I know money helps pay the bills, but it’s not worth the aggravation. I think you are in the right on this one. ;o)
Woo-hoo! I’m so glad to see you’ve launched a blog, Peter! I tore through “The Well-Fed Writer” and have “Back for Seconds” at the top of my book wishlist — and I’m not even a writer! Your content is relevant and valuable to anyone who works with words, including copy editors/proofreaders like me. Thanks for providing additional great (and free!) content here on the blog.
Types of clients I try to stay away from (some don’t reveal themselves till the contract’s been signed): those who are not realistic about the quality or potential for success of their work; those who don’t actually have all of the content written or ready to be edited/proofread; those who seek to hire the lowest bidder for the project; and those who will call me late at night or on the weekend. As I’ve figured out over the past couple of years how to be a successful full-time freelancer, I’ve learned that having — and exercising — solid professional boundaries is essential to maintaining my sanity and thus the quality of my work.
What you are calling the power of no is sometimes called the law of reverse effect. I am a ghostwriter and copywriter. I was approached to write a book on baseball. The author was so enthusiastic about his project he didn’t let me get an word in edgewise. However, when he finally did pause for breath, I told him I was sports retarded in the first place, and that I lived the first half of my life in the UK and the second half in the USA I hadn’t got around to understanding baseball yet. I said, I am not the guy for you and tried to think of someone who would be. I believe in referring people.
Lo and behold, that not a few weeks later I get a call from a company that has sports stars endorse their product. Why do sports fans love to do all the talking. Anyway, I explained that I was (and am) sports retarded. Well, I play badminton competitively, but the only sport I can bear to watch is chess. Anyway, Same story, I said, “I’m not your guy.” He said, wait, wait, maybe there is something else you can write about. The check arrived several days later.
When writing complete books under another persons name, you really need to have the right chemistry. You need to have a meeting of the minds. It’s all about relationship. I’ve turned down trying to write fiction for other people. Although I am writing my own first humors novel. Actually, that’s what I should be doing right now, because I have to start on someone else’s book next week.
Being busy is attractive and there is only so much time we can devote to client work. Our business is limited by how much writing (thinking) time we devote to it. I say no quite often.
I write a humors and popular site called SlowDownNow.org. I am surprised how people find me through this site. It was not intended to be commercial but I have a link to my commercial site on it. I think if you can write humor, you are in demand. If you are in demand, you have to politely say no sometimes. It helps if you can refer the client to someone else. What comes around goes around. Most work is by referral for me.
Hi Peter! Glad you finally started blogging. Here’s my list for people I won’t work with:
– Small (often local) mom and pop type businesses who have never used a copywriter before and don’t understand that a single brochure won’t bring them tons of business
– Any prospect who starts off by telling me, before I’ve even quoted a fee, that they don’t have much of a budget, but that they expect to be giving me a lot more work down the road if I can cut them a deal on this first project.
– Any new prospect who tells me they like to operate on a handshake and acts like I’ve insulted their integrity if I ask them to sign a simple letter of agreement outlining the project.
– Prospects who want me to write a specific sample just for them. If my online portfolio and additional samples I’ve emailed them aren’t enough to tell whether or not they like my work, we clearly are not a good fit.
– In my niche (alternative health and dietary supplements) there are many companies putting out crappy products. I vet every prospect who requests my services, because I am passionate about promoting good health, not worthless powders and potions. I have occasionally turned down business after doing a little research about their product formulations and realizing how poor their products really are.
These “red flag” prospects used to pop up a whole lot more often. But since I got very specific with my marketing outreach and began targeting a handpicked list of prospects, and since most of my business now comes from qualified referrals, the problem prospects are much less frequent.
I can’t hack the ones who want something for nothing. I am pretty young, so people try it all the time — often with the rationale that “You are too young, you can’t be able to do it well.” So I tell them, essentially, to stuff it, but to have a good day while they do.
Thought you guys would appreciate this response I got from a prospect off an ad I answered on Craig’s List. Like the tone?
“OK, let’s see if we can do a small exercise. A layman arrives at a website and needs to read about Decompensated Liver Disease. You are the editor, so it’s your decision as to what he reads. Even if the layman doesn’t fully understand DLD, what’s most important is not to lose him. So, there you go, start writing. Send me what you have as soon as it’s done.”
Needless to say, I advised him to sit on a tack. And to let me know how it felt.
Love it, Star! Truly amazing that he’d have the cojones to write a note like that – just assuming you’d be happy to write on spec. Idiot. If we don’t train them to treat us like professionals, we won’t get the respect we deserve… Good for you. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in his office when he got that note. Probably didn’t miss a beat though. I’m sure there were plenty of writers more than willing to do it in return for a little hope…
PB
I still run into an occasional pain in the butt here and there but it’s happened less and less as I’ve developed the nose to sniff these folks out.
In the early days, when I was still trying to decide whether to do copywriting, Bliss Spa (beauty products) would put out a call for copywriters to send in samples for assigned products. I did it twice, and because I’m the target audience, I knew what I was talking about. Anyway, they never responded either time. And a search on google revealed they never responded to anyone. They apparently were getting free copy–or at least ideas–from all the sample writing they received.
This is a high priced company that can certainly afford to hire professionals.
I’ve never bought a product of theirs since. I just see them as chintzy exploiters.
Hi Peter…I just finished reading every one of your posts and will comment on a couple. I just finished a job, a building maintenance manual for an HOA with a downtown, luxury, high-rise condo building. There is only one man employed who does everything in the building. The HOA board of directors began to worry about what might happen if anything happened to this man. When they decided to have me write a manual outlining everything the man does, he began to worry that they were about to get rid of him. Throughout the interview process, I had to constantly direct him to another perspective…”once they know EVERYTHING you do around here, they’d be crazy to even consider replacing you!” Each time we met, it meant having to remind him of how valuable he is to the HOA (and he truly is)! The agency I did the work for isn’t anything to write home about; if I hesitated over anything, I got the note “if this is going to be a deal buster, then….” But I’m still new in my own business and since my past published work has all been articles, I jumped on the chance to expand my portfolio. When the business is off the ground, I probably won’t jump quite as quickly, or as easily for clients of that ilk…and if that’s a “deal-buster”…oh well.