Placing a Value on my Portfolio
I've worked to refine my consulting agreement over the years; it's important to me that it is a document that is fair to both the client and me. Any situations that arise in a client relationship will inevitably inform yet another incarnation of the agreement.
There are two provisions I put forth that are, in effect, non-monetary compensation: the "Site produced by..." link, and the ability to list the site in my portfolio. Ok, no snippy remarks about my inability to keep the damn portfolio up-to-date.
The first one is somewhat flexible, because it is not always appropriate when I'm working as part of a larger team, like I did at Apple or CoachVille, or more recently with Time Interactive or the City of Seattle. In those situations, I am a small but vital part of a team, and I understand that my name does not go on the site. The compensation I receive for such projects generally makes up for losing that link in to my site.
With my small business and solopreneur clients, it has never been an issue. And believe me, I benefit quite well from all of those incoming links to my site.
The portfolio issue has never been a question before. I've always made it a part of my agreement with the bigger projects, and I make clear in my description of the project what my role was. For my small business clients, more often than not, they are thrilled to have the link in to their site, as well as having their new site featured in some small way.
With all of this in mind, I was very surprised to have a potential new client say that she wanted neither. This is an individual, in business for herself. And yet she did not want a link to my site (possibly understandable), and she did not want her site in my portfolio.
After pondering this for a while, I decided that I could agree to this, but that I needed to increase the quote to reflect the value that I get from those items. Possibly a hard-ass thing to do, I know, but I view it as protecting a very important marketing outlet for me, as well as something that contributes to my search engine rankings.
It's hard to put a monetary value on either one, but the exposure I get is priceless.
Of course, the big question is really this...if a potential client gives you this much trouble before you've even signed an agreement, is this someone you really want to work with?
I guess that remains to be seen.
filed under:
Difficult Clients
Hey, Shari...
First, thanks for sending the referral my way earlier this week. You Da Woman.
Second, this post hits the nail on the head. I have definitely been in similar situations. I admire your "hard assed" convictions - you absolutely SHOULD increase the quote. If your client is going to pull the uppity "Fortune 1000" attitude, then she should be able to pay fortune 1000 rates.
One question I do have for you - do you ever get "in a little trouble" for openly voicing your client gripes on your public blog? I like to think that my clients "have better things to do" than scan my blog for possible references to themselves. Yet, it seems like every time I even remotely cross the line with a bitching post, I get an email from a well-meaninged pal telling me it's in poor taste to gripe about clients on my blog.
What do you think - ever a problem for you?
I feel like there should be an anonymous dumping ground somewhere on the web for full-blown client bitch sessions. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the business but really, some people just don't know when to stop pushing.
Thanks for the commiseration!
Dina
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Hey Dina...thanks for stopping by! And you're welcome for the referral. :-)
I try to keep less-than-flattering references to specific clients as vague as possible. My intention is not to complain about anyone as a person, but to try to get some clarity about the problem the situation is causing for me...and of course, to vent just a little without calling names.
I've scrapped entire "difficult client" posts more than once because I thought the subject in question was too identifiable. Paranoia on my part, most likely, but I'm not out to hurt feelings. It's a thin line, I know.