“Mmm… That’s not really what I’m looking for. Let’s revise this and give it another shot, okay?”
Usually, a revision request is perfectly fine. It’s normal and part of the job, in fact. Unless you have special powers or a crystal ball, you can’t read other people’s minds. Getting it right 100% of the time on every first shot just doesn’t happen.
That’s why revision policies are important. You need to clearly convey to your clients that you have some form of guarantee for their satisfaction, and you also need to make sure that you protect yourself.
Doing away with revision policies is just asking for trouble. You need a policy that clearly outlines your boundaries and limits the lengths you’ll go to for achieving client satisfaction.
Yes, sooner or later in your freelancing life, there will be someone who isn’t going to be satisfied. That person will ask for a revision, even maybe two. Or three. Or four or seven or twelve or whatever number it takes before you fall down dead from exhaustion or go insane while screaming for the torture to stop.
(Not good, that.)
You eventually hit on a client who will squeeze you for everything you’re worth, wringing you dry until the very last ounce of creativity you might have ever had in your life has dried away and not even the husk of its meniscus remains.
You will one day have a project that you pray for to end, to go away, and you will desperately wish for a dawn where the sun actually comes up and shines on you instead of yet another refusal slamming down onto your head with gloomy darkness.
You might think I exaggerate, but I’m not playing this one up in the least. Being revisioned to death is a painful, agonizing, slow journey. Ask anyone who’s been there – and I guarantee you will find freelancers who have.
Don’t fret. The good part is that you’ll come back to life. Freelancers are made of bone, steel and sinew, after all. And most clients are pleasant to work with – quiet fair about revisions indeed. You may not land on a client who revels in revisions for months, or even years.
Make no mistake, though, that soul-sucking day will come – unless, of course, you protect yourself against it.
Some freelancers believe that they shouldn’t stop working until the client is completely, totally, 100% satisfied. That’s a commendable philosophy and truly a nice idea. But what do you do when you start to work with a person who doesn’t know what they want, can’t take a decision, doesn’t care about other people, or enjoys the feeling of domination, condescension and control so much that satisfaction lies in grinding the freelancer to dust?
Nothing less will make them a happy customer.
Screw that, I say.
A revision policy has a clear goal and purpose that offers benefits to both freelancer and client. It’s protection for both parties, not just one. Here are just a few:
Benefits to Freelancers
- No more endless revisions and projects that won’t die. You have clear limits that indicate the boundaries of the project.
- No more vague direction from clients. Limiting revisions forces customers to provide clear feedback and think about what they want.
- No more unpaid hours, financial losses or energy drains. Your projects remain profitable, and you’re fairly compensated for the time you put into them.
Benefits to Clients
- Clients have a clear outline of boundaries so they know exactly what they get for their money and what they don’t.
- Clients have a guarantee that if they don’t like the work (it happens), they can ask for changes or even something new.
- Clients understand that they can provide direction, guidance and suggestions to make the project a winner.
The revision process is a necessary one, but that doesn’t mean it has to be tedious, frustrating, life-sucking or endless. With a good policy in place and a clear vision of how it helps you provide better work for your client, you can make sure that your revision process is proactive and smooth.
Do you have a revision policy in place? What are your boundaries? What do you offer clients? Where are your limits? Can you think of other benefits revision policies offer to either you or your clients?
I definitely think a revision limit is useful as it reminds your client not to be flippant with requested changes. I’ve worked in the past going round the houses with revisions only for them to decide it was the first version they liked anyway.
It gives them responsibilty to think about what they’re asking for rather than thinking they have a slave copywriter for ever and ever
Amy Harrison´s last blog post…Jack Bauer Would Love Twitter Search – It’s The Real Time Updates
Great advice, as ever! We usually mention revisions at the quotation stage with a simple note like “quoted price includes a, b, c, and up to 3 design revisions based on initial mockups supplied. Further revisions are charged at our hourly rate, which is currently £…”
Any company who offers ‘unlimited design revisions at no extra cost’ probably won’t be around for long. If you fancy a giggle that shows just how silly it can get, check out the $50 logo experiment over at 160over90.
Nick Cernis´s last blog post…Stick a Chart in it
Tell us how the no phone policy works.
Christopher Garlington´s last blog post…“A page of good prose
I spend enough time revising myself to death. Clients asking for too much is enough to finish me off.
It’s a good idea to define the scope of a project before getting started. That way everyone knows what to expect. Putting a number or limit on revisions is a good idea, one I’ll have to start using.
I never thought of defining the scope as a way to encourage clients to be clear about what they’re after but that’s exactly what it does.
Great post. I love a change in perspective.
Having a revision policy is great – though make sure the client sees it up front. I include mine in my fee proposal, and I change it depending on the job. I thinks it’s important to be realistic about what the client may require, and build it into the fee. For example, if someone just wants a quick review and polish I include one draft and one final version – if the job is going to be more complex then two drafts and a final version may be more appropriate.
Great post.
Sally, Snappy Sentences´s last blog post…What a book about a hippo eating cake can teach us about writing
What I found worked for me was a segmented contract based on milestones.
Once a milestone was met the client had a period of time to review the work that was done and had 3 free revisions before we both signed off and work continued.
Any more revisions would incur an additional charge. Admittedly I haven’t had much work but it hasn’t failed yet.
Marc – Welsh Scribe´s last blog post…Open Discussion: Should We Under Promise and Over Deliver?
@ Nick – That’s exactly what we do. “We offer X revisions, blah blah, and extra revisions are available at Y price.”
As I was mentioning to someone on Twitter, the inspiration for this post was a mention from someone checking us out who was “feeling nervous about the revision policy.” Which made me a little nervous too…
@ Marc – Oh crap, I forgot that – TIME limits! Well done. Long ago, I once had a client who came back six months later to cash in on the revisions. Lesson learned.
@ Henry – It’s always important to decide what YOU want, and then find out how that benefits the client. Because it always does, even when it’s restrictive.
Take our no-phone rule. People sometimes think that’s bad for clients – no communication, right? No way, man. GOOD for clients. Written track record, total focus, no distractions, and fast service.
@ Christopher – What?! And reveal all my secrets? Actually, that’s covered in an upcoming post, but you can read more about it here:
http://menwithpens.ca/should-you-turn-off-your-telephone
@ james A very good friend of mine pointed out that I needed a time limit so as not to give them an opportunity to procrastinate or just plain forget to act.
I think the wording of the contract stated they had 7 days to review the work, if I hadn’t heard back by the end of the week then it was assumed to be “signed off” and they lost their free revisions.
I remember that No Phone post. It was the second post I ever read on Men With Pens, the first being a Drive by Shooting which I just didn’t get. That phone post convinced me of my fallacies.
@ James- I agree. If you don’t set limits you can live with you’ll be miserable and the work will be crap. Every playground needs rules or kids start getting hurt.
Hmmm…I offer unlimited revisions. In the extremely rare instance that I get a client who is unreasonable about revisions, I walk away from the job with least my 50% initial payment in hand.
Why? 1) Offering unlimited revisions offers a competitive advantage, at least psychologically (I’m not imposing limits on the client like other writers), 2) The number of clients who go overboard is really REALLY low, at least among the clients that I attract, 3) If a client pulled a “Mr. Monk” on me, I don’t want to work with them anymore anyway, so walking away has very little negative impact on my future business.
I can’t remember when I went past a second revision on a project, and even that is occasional. Yes, I do understand that “insane revisionist” clients are lurking out there in the shadows, but I’ll take my chances.
Trish Lambert´s last blog post…Flying solo in a flat world
Walking away to actually write down my revision policy now…
I’m one of those people who scribbles some vague policy in an e-mail to a client… which means that if I like a client (which is often), that “policy” disintegrates and suddenly I’m easily roped into free extra help. Never had a nightmare problem, but now that you mention the coming-back-6-months-later client… I think a firm policy is in order
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Zoe´s last blog post…Community Contemplation: Get Paid For Doing What You Love?
James,
OK, my to do list just got a bit longer and the priorities shifted. I’m getting this done.
I’ve also learned a valuable lesson in terms of project definition. I have a client that was looking for some blog postings and a little help with getting the word out about his product. He confessed a small budget, I confessed a small workload. A marriage made in heaven.
Yikes. I started receiving things to do from him, sometimes 6 or 7 things a day – (here’s a link to add, contact this site, add this article…)
I never clearly defined the project, I figure my hourly rate with the guy has dropped to about 4 cents and now I’m kinda stuck.
I still have this albatross, but at least now I clearly define project parameters with new clients.
Cheers!
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post…An open letter of apology to all of my editors
@ Tumble – That situation takes action – gentle, kind and firm. You can simply write in and say that you’ve revised your policy and will now have to blah blah blah – but then point out the benefits to the client.
@ Zoe – Ah, the disintegrating policy… Yes, yes, those often happen when we want to be kind, go the extra mile or impress someone. And then we regret it later, no?
@ Trish – I’m a bit curious. If you have an unlimited revisions policy, how can you walk away at any point without damaging your reputation? “Hey, I know I said I’d be here forever but I’m changing my mind.” I don’t know, but I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable with that.
Also, revision policies don’t impose limits on clients. They tend to enhance the project and result in better work in a faster turnaround, which leaves clients more impressed than not!
My take on it, anyways
@ Henry – A miserable worker has leak-out effects on many people, too. Side symptoms are never fun.
@ Marc – You’re the third person this week to mention the word “fallacy”… MORE post fodder!
@James So that’s one blog post and one word so far this week. At least you now have the answer to why your muse has suddenly developed a Welsh accent
Totally agree! But I did smile at your description of a 12-time revision. I’ll bet customers like that really do exist (I’m very lucky – when I build websites for folk, they’re generally happy with it at the end. I always make certain to FIRST get tons of input before even beginning a design – tedious, but really helps in the final analysis).
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog post…Trampoline fitness even an elephant can do
I didn’t have a revision policy and one client I worked with was extremely difficult. I turned into evil Cassie for quite a few weeks until that job was over. (My kids learned to stay far, far away from me). You’d think that would snap some sense into me, but NOOO. I still don’t have a revision policy. I’m glad I read this post and was reminded of it. I’m definitely putting one in place now!
Cassie – MamasOnTheWeb´s last blog post…Autoresponders – are they really worth the money?
Excellent article! Now I just need to find some clients… LOL Anyone interested in an enlightened blogger???
Jonathan | EnlightenYourDay.com´s last blog post…Stillness Speaks: Meditative thoughts by Eckhart Tolle
My Dad was a carpenter-contractor, and he once had a client who had him paint the INSIDE of her closet seven times before she was satisfied with the color. He was in that state of mind that you described above.
Dot´s last blog post…Under the Weather
@ James – I’ve definitely felt like I undersold myself in the cases where I put in more time than expected. I usually felt that it was worth it, because I really liked the project/client, but after reading your “How to say no to a client you want to keep” I think I can have more rigid policies and still keep the cool clients. I hope!
Zoe´s last blog post…Community Contemplation: Get Paid For Doing What You Love?
Great point on setting boundaries and expectations.
I’ve found it’s always better to set expectations up front than try to wiggle yourself out of the thick of things … it’s a slippery slope.
J.D. Meier´s last blog post…Avoid Mental Burnout
Well yes, revisions – if too much can dump your earnings on the project. I never thought in offer “unlimited revisions”
3 – 5 sounds reasonably to me if the overall work is well done. You have to state the conditions clearly before accepting a job otherwise lot’s of people just trie to use you as an experimental platform.
NEVER offer unlimited revisions with new clients. It never works out well. I’ve had clients ask for like 10 “revisions” (which were more like re-writes) of the same few articles.
ahh… the dreaded revision request. had a few of those. my way of placating and avoiding ‘em, after being burnt waaay too many times, was to just word the deal in such a way that they bear the blame for their lack of good explanation in the brief – and always make sure they give the brief and not you suggest it – which becomes a total nightmare.
i agree that they’re important, but like the rest of the sheep i’ma have to parotphrase some tim ferriss and say i’d rather have the fewer clients with no grief and less work than including the hagglers.
really like the way you weigh up the benefits to freelancers and clients.
cool stuff
talk to you soon
alex
These revision policies are making life of FreeLancers hectic. Sorry but its true..