In episode #533, Eric and Neil discuss how to manage clients who are never satisfied and ask for work above and beyond their contract. Tune in for some great advice on how to satisfy clients and remain profitable.

Time-Stamped Show Notes: 

• [00:27] Today’s Topic: How to Handle Clients that Always Want More for Less
• [00:43] In the early days, Neil would give his clients whatever they asked for.
• [00:47] However, the moment you give in to unnecessarily demanding clients, you find that your margins decrease and it becomes a vicious cycle of rewarding complaints.
• [01:05] What he learned from this, was that it is of the utmost importance to structure your deal properly from the get-go.
• [01:18] When a company asks for something above and beyond the terms of the contract, tell them it won’t be possible, but that you can renegotiate/draw up a new proposal. It is important to set boundaries!
• [01:58] Once you do too much for free, you will lose money, and you will always have unhappy clients.
• [02:20] You have to track how much time you spend on each client to determine profitability.
• [02:40] You can always draw up a Zero-Dollar Change Order, just to have a written trail of the changes in terms.
• [03:15] The third of fourth time the client tries to adjust the terms, point to the free Change Orders, and tell them you will have to charge them in the future. This way, you are protecting yourself.
• [03:49] iProspect charges based on an hourly rate. They will do whatever the client wants, because they are still getting paid for their time.
• [04:41] The hourly rate model is simple and straightforward, which prevent confusion and hard feelings.
• [05:27] Neil still does flat-rate pricing, but internally they track client hours and the ensuing costs.
• [05:42] Hubstaff is an invasive time-tracker, but works well for Eric and his company.
• [06:02] Toggl and Harvest are other great time-tracker options.
• [06:17] Ogilvy will charge by the hour, but will charge additionally for face-to-face work.
• [06:56] That’s all for today!
• [06:58] Go to Singlegrain.com/Giveway for a special edition of Crazy Egg, the heat mapping tool.

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