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  • How to Negotiate and Secure a Retainer Fee with a Client

    How to Negotiate and Secure a Retainer Fee with a Client

    Repost from 2022

    Are you a freelancer or contractor constantly looking for new projects or clients? Do you have a roller-coaster income that changes from month to month?

    If your answer is yes, then consider negotiating for a monthly retainer. A retainer contract is an agreement between a freelancer and their client for ongoing, monthly services for a set fee. The client pays monthly for your services in advance.

    The benefit to the freelancer is consistent, guaranteed income. The benefit to the client is secured services with someone they can depend on.

    The client prefers to work with a freelancer or contractor with the needed skills, but finding a freelancer-client relationship that is the right fit takes time.

    Freelancers with a high-demand skillset and sharp negotiation skills know how to negotiate and secure retainer agreements with their ideal clients.

    Benefits of Retainers for Freelancers

    A tremendous benefit of a retainer fee is a guaranteed, steady income. Freelancers who work project after project face a lot of unpredictability with cash flow and budgeting.

    They need to negotiate a 25 percent or 50 percent downpayment at the start of a project and remember to request a final payment when a project is incomplete. When working with new clients on projects, they also deal with unpredictability. Bad clients might not pay on time or at all, citing bad freelancer work as an excuse to withhold their pay.

    With a retainer, the freelancer’s monthly income is stable. Instead of constantly searching for new clients and projects, you have more time and energy to dedicate to your retainer contracts. You aren’t frequently checking your bank account to ensure you have enough funds for unexpected expenses.

    Retainer contracts are similar to the steady income of having a job.

    Just how steady is a retainer fee income? If you have just three retainer clients, one paying you $3000 a month for services, another paying $2500, and a third paying $1500, you would have an income of $7000 at the start of each month.

    When you can focus your energy on providing quality services to ongoing clients, you can also build your reputation and take on more retainer work… if you have the time.

    Benefits for Clients Who Are on a Retainer

    Just like how freelancers enjoy the stability of a steady income, clients prefer the stability of reliable, high-quality services. It takes time for freelancers and clients to build rapport and find the perfect fit. A client likes to do things a certain way and prefers to find someone who understands their brand and their approach to projects.

    To close a client on signing a retainer agreement with you, you need to be clear about what benefits you are providing them. These benefits should match what they are looking for.

    They may need marketing services, website maintenance, content writing, or graphic design, to name just a few examples. They will expect their services to be delivered on time and at their desired quality.

    They anticipate you to be available for a specific number of hours per week or per month and dedicate your time to their projects and meeting their business goals.

    Unlike a per-project client, a retainer client won’t need to wait weeks or months until a highly skilled freelancer can work on a project with them.

    Another benefit you can offer a retainer client is extra value services, such as a few bonus hours of meetings, a report, free consultations, or a discount on a smaller, one-time project.

    When Should You Negotiate a Retainer with a Client?

    A client with an ongoing need for your services is a great candidate for a retainer agreement. For example, retainer clients may require services such as cold calling, daily social media engagement, or regular administrative assistance.

    You may have started with one project with the client and decided you both work well together. They value your work and see a need for you to continue providing services at a fixed budget on a monthly basis.

    You may have liked working with the client on the project:  they pay on time, are clear with expectations, and don’t micromanage your every decision. The logical next step is to propose a retainer fee for steady, ongoing work with this ideal client.

    On the other hand, proposing a retainer agreement with a new client can intimidate freelancers. You haven’t built any rapport with a new client. They haven’t seen your skills at work, and you don’t know if they would be a dream or hell to work with. Should you even suggest starting with a long-term partnership?

    One way to begin working with a new client is a short term project. For example, you build their website. Upon completing the project, you propose a retainer fee to assist with website maintenance and future IT issues.

    Another way is to find retainer clients through referrals. A new client recommended by one of your clients would be more likely to trust you before working with you. Similarly, you would be more likely to trust a new client if a client referred them to you.

    That referral will help you close a retainer agreement with a new client from day one.

    Why Should Clients Pre-Pay Before Seeing Results?

    From the freelancer’s point of view, clients who pre-pay are serious clients. You know they aren’t going to ask you to provide your services,  then disappear without paying. Also, if they pre-pay, you know they are invested in the results.

    However, before you pocket that pre-payment, you must convince them of your value. To do that, you first need to establish rapport with the new client and make them confident that you have the skills they are looking for.

    Have a portfolio of past work and a list of testimonials or references to show the client. Your portfolio should have examples of the skills they need.

    Be clear about what services and value you will provide, from monthly deliverables to monthly results. Show that you understand their pain points and how you will solve those challenges for them.

    Explain that a pre-payment is needed to reserve your time for them because you’re currently taking on new clients and have limited availability in your schedule.

    Common Objections to Monthly Retainers

    A new client may object to starting with a retainer agreement for many reasons. Find out what is holding them back.

    Are they unable to pay the price you are asking for? Are they concerned about your skills because they haven’t worked with you before? Or are they worried that you won’t deliver the results they want?

    If the concern is price, work with their budget and decide what you can offer them for that price. Some freelancers offer services at various pricing tiers. You can add more value to your services at the price point you agree on. For example, adding some hours of free consultation or additional services.

    If the concern is your skills and the results, suggest a paid trial period. At this point in the discussion, you’ve already shared with them samples of your past work and testimonials from clients. They’ve seen your skills, and you can negotiate your value for your price.

    Emphasize that with a retainer, a set number of hours each month of your time is dedicated to providing services to that specific client. They will have peace of mind if they need work completed on time.

    Steps to Follow to Close Your Client on a Retainer Agreement

    Closing a current or new client on a monthly payment model can be done in person or online. It may be easier to close a client in person because you can build rapport and trust first. However, with the global economy and remote work, it’s also possible to close a client in another city.

    First, introduce the idea of a retainer agreement at your in-person or virtual meeting. This can also be done over the phone but with fewer visual cues. (Some people find it easier to judge a client’s reactions based on facial expression and body language, not just verbal cues.)

    Then, clarify the details by email and written contract. Some points to cover:

    • Meet with the person who will make the final decision on the retainer agreement details.
    • Discuss what they think your expected deliverables, volume of work, and expected results will be. What are the client’s goals? Be prepared to discuss the value of having a retainer agreement.
    • Confirm what monthly services you will offer and suggest additional services that you may provide.
    • Discuss your flat monthly fee for these services. If you have a package of services that you offer at tiers, share these offers. For example, Tier 1 is $1000 for x, y, z services, and Tier 2 is $2000 a month for x, y, z, and a.
    • Explain how a retainer agreement works and include the benefits of having a retainer agreement.
    • Follow up with an email proposal with your rates and retainer options. Include any add-on services. Set a date for the follow up on your proposal. Then formalize a retainer contract for yourself and your client to sign.

    How to Keep Your Retained Clients Happy

    Managing expectations keeps both clients and freelancers happy. When you’re working on the details for your retainer agreement, clarify what you expect from each other.

    For yourself: What day of the month do you expect to receive your monthly retainer? What is the specific amount you’ll be paid? How will you be paid? For example, through an app, etransfer, or third party service?

    For your client: What deliverables will they receive? What results will they see? If they aren’t detail-oriented and don’t track results, you can keep track of that data for them. Report on your progress and results. Have you met the monthly goals set out in your contract?

    Keeping a record of what you’ve accomplished for your client demonstrates your accountability. It’s also effective when you need to raise your rates because you can show that you are worth the value you deliver.

    Also, your happy client is more likely to provide testimonials and refer other clients to you. Negotiating retainers with a referral is much easier than a cold lead who knows little about your skills and value.

    Key Takeaways

    Negotiating a monthly retainer agreement is the best payment model for a steady income for freelancers and contractors.

    You benefit from regular cash flow, so you can focus on providing value to your clients instead of constantly looking for new projects and clients.

    Clients prefer to work long-term with someone they trust who provides the value and skills they need to meet their business objectives.

    You can negotiate a retainer agreement with an existing client after the end of a project. Or you can negotiate a retainer agreement with a new client on a trial basis.

    Continue to provide value and reliable service to your retained clients. Keep them updated on your progress and results. In the long term, you will have a reliable income and your clients will have the value and skills they can trust.

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  • Inspirational Quotes

    Inspirational Quotes

    Time to reflect! We’re now one month and a bit into 2024. It’s also the end of another week. What are you grateful for? What inspires you?

    There are so many wonderful things: family, friends, the weekend, another fulfilling week… the list goes on. 

    As we think about the things we’re grateful for, we’ll share some inspirational thoughts from writers and storytellers.

    “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” — A. A. Milne

    “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”  — Neil Gaiman

    “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” — Isaac Asimov

    “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page” — Jodi Picoult

    “Saying nothing… sometimes says the most.” — Emily Dickinson

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  • What is your dream job? (how to switch jobs for a day)

    What is your dream job? (how to switch jobs for a day)

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s your dream job?
    View all responses

    My dream job is a job that I’ve had before, which is to interview people and learn about what they do for work. I think it’s an eye-opener to learn what people do. A person’s job is never as simple as you think. Spending a short time in their shoes gives you a better appreciation of other people’s work when you see it through their eyes. It’s like that behind-the-scenes moment of a movie.

    First, I interviewed people about what they do. What is a typical day? What do they read? Who do they talk with? Surprisingly, most people think the interviewer will be bored from listening to them talk about a typical workday. But when you ask questions like, “What is this machine used for? Why do you enter information in this way? What do you do to protect yourself from injury?” They are excited about explaining how calculations are done, and how equipment works, etc. You open their eyes to a new perspective on what they thought was an ordinary task. Now they see their own job through the eyes of an outsider.

    Second, I get to spend time at their job, whether it is an office or an atypical job site. It may seem boring, but not everyone gets to go to a construction site, the staff areas of a hotel, or a manufacturing plant, just to name a few places. You feel like you’re an actor trying to fit into a scene where you feel out of place. If you usually work in an office, like I do, you become hyper-aware of the hazards around you when you’re working out of an office. The worker you’re interviewing isn’t afraid of heights (falling), fearful of the dark (in a mine) or wary of moving machinery (in a warehouse). 

    These places and situations are a chance to put on a different hat and be another person for a day. But when you watch a movie that features workers for the jobs that you interviewed, you find yourself saying, hey, that’s not how they actually do it! So fake! You’re not at the job site observing anymore. Now you want to walk into the movie set and change the incorrect ways of doing things, the unrealistic portrayals of jobs.

    These interviews are certainly interesting experiences. Definitely one of the best jobs in the world is discovering what other people do. You are constantly learning, never bored, and increase your appreciation of what other people accomplish.

    What’s your dream job?

  • 3 Ways to Connect with People and Communicate Online

    3 Ways to Connect with People and Communicate Online

    Daily writing prompt
    In what ways do you communicate online?
    View all responses

    Why communicate online? You may think it’s less personal than interacting with people face to face. True, you don’t get the same sense of what a person is like when you aren’t in the same room as them. But it has become one of the best ways to connect with people around the world. 

    As someone who works remotely, I’ve made friends in other cities, and found work opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without the communication technology that we have. Technology has also allowed us to instantaneously send and receive information, and make human connections that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

    To celebrate how online communication has improved my life, I’d like to share some ways I communicate online.

    Interactions with coworkers with apps and video

    Remote work has made it possible to run a business online. Meetings are run on Zoom, WebEx, and Google Meet. This is the next best way to connect, other than with in-person meetings. It’s possible to run an entire team that lives in different cities and time zones.

    You can also share work tasks and collaborate using various apps such as ClickUp, Slack, Telegram, and Asana. Yes, some of those apps are difficult to use and sometimes confusing, but it also makes tracking project milestones and deadlines for several people in one place easier.

    Online chat groups in online communities

    Meeting in person is one of the best ways to connect, but it isn’t practical to coordinate a meeting of like-minded people whenever you need the advice of people with experiences and backgrounds similar to yours.

    Groups on Facebook, Discord, and Slack, for example, allow people in the same profession or with similar interests to discuss topics. In these groups, people from different cities and time zones can post their advice or opinions about topics such as how to handle a difficult work situation, how to write a resume, how to deal with relatives, or where to buy a product for your pet. It’s like reaching out to a human encyclopedia of knowledge.

    Voice, video, image, and chat messages with friends and family

    Long-distance calls are expensive. Sending postcards and letters take days, if not weeks. The best way to communicate with friends and family in other cities and countries in a cost-effective and quick way is online. 

    You can make group video calls or audio calls using apps. As long as you have internet, you don’t need to worry about long-distance costs. You can send text, photos, and voice messages instantly. While having dinner, you can send a photo of your meal to share your moment with your family, even if they are in another state or province. 

    It’s like your friends, family, and coworkers all live in your neighborhood. The world is more interconnected and a much smaller place because of online communication.

    Key Takeaways

    Online communication has greatly improved, to the point that we can create and maintain connections with people who live far away from us. Technology allows us to be part of a larger community that supports each other. Online communication also offers many more ways for us to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away.

    What do you think about online communication?

  • Where to reduce clutter in your life? 3 Tips for a More Stress-Free Life

    Where to reduce clutter in your life? 3 Tips for a More Stress-Free Life

    Daily writing prompt
    Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
    View all responses

    Trash is treasure – you’ve heard that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. So how do you decide what to remove and what to keep? We can reduce clutter in every aspect and place of our lives, from objects that get in the way to thoughts and people that take up unnecessary space.

    For certain, if you reduced the clutter in your life, you would have a more stress-free life. So here are three tips on how to get started on removing some of that weight from your day-to-day living.

    Tip 1: Define your clutter and gain some space

    Some people like a messy workspace because it boosts creative thinking. Or they keep objects because of the memories attached to them. Having a past and inspiration is a good thing. Or you might be the opposite and your desk is always organized and you’ll never find crumbs on your kitchen table. All your clothes and shoes are organized by color. Keeping pristine is also a good thing.

    If you can find the things you need, like your house keys, or the TV remote, or that matching sock, you’re organized in your own way. As long as your life is not a hazard to your health, like that big stack of boxes in the hallway that might topple anytime and injure you. Or photos that evoke painful memories and affect your mental health. In that case, maybe it’s time to let things go.

    No matter how you keep yourself organized, one rule to try is this: if you haven’t used that item before its expiry date, it’s time to toss it. This rule applies to old clothes and anything in your attic. If you haven’t used it in five years or you didn’t remember you had it, maybe it’s time to clear it out.

    Reducing clutter is hard, but it can also be rewarding as you gain space in your home, and you feel lighter because you’ve gotten rid of memories that weigh you down.

    Tip 2: Remove clutter that restricts growth

    Clutter can restrict your growth. You can trap yourself in your past. Just because you dressed a certain way for years doesn’t mean you have to have the same look or style tomorrow. Changing things up can refresh your life, especially if you’re feeling like you’re spinning in a rut. Time to rearrange furniture, get rid of extra belongings, and create a new phase in your existence.

    It’s time to rid yourself of the clutter in your brain: toxic thoughts like imposter syndrome. Whose thoughts are living rent-free in your head? A co-worker who keeps saying you’ll never get the promotion? A relative who keeps asking you when you’ll accomplish something in your life?

    Remove the mental clutter by setting small goals. If there’s a big project looming in your life, start with something small, like setting up the files for the project. It’s a small achievement, but you’re one step further ahead than yesterday. Complete big projects by finishing smaller tasks a bit at a time and the big project won’t be so impossible. It’s one way to slowly remove the mental clutter caused by negative thoughts.

    Tip 3: Remove toxic people

    People can be clutter too. Toxic coworkers or a toxic boss won’t help with your career. Make an escape plan. Sometimes you just need to quit right away, other times your financial situation requires you to be patient while you search for another job.

    Spend less time with toxic family members. Reconsider toxic friendships. Crabs in a bucket will pull at each other and keep each other down. Escape may not be easy. Make new friends, and build a new network to offset the toxic one. These new connections can also help to find a new job, lift you up by being there for you, or give you advice on how to change your life.

    Key Takeaways

    You can reduce the clutter in your life in several ways. By reducing clutter in your home or workspace, you’ll reorganize and refresh your surroundings. By assessing your mental load and your relationships, and reducing negativity, you’ll open doors to improved relationships and connections, and positive thinking.

    What do you do to reduce the clutter in your life?