Expectation Alignment: The Key to Client-Writer Harmony

The last thing I want to hear from a client is, “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

That question is no different from, “How come you only have a single-digit IQ score?”

Haha!

Do you know what’s more embarrassing?

It’s as if scratching your head even when it’s not itchy or holding your nape as if you have high blood pressure upon hearing the question.

I started freelance writing in 2001 during my first year in college.

I entered freelance writing not because I was good at it.

I just got better along the way.

I did freelance writing because I had to; otherwise, that first semester would be the last.

When you’re in a situation where you feel you’re hanging by a thread, you are more careful.

You are not nonchalant.

So, proactively setting expectations became my second nature.

Then my clients started to consistently and specifically praise me for that habit.

So I thought, “Ohh, that impresses you, huh?”

Every time I send a bid to a project or receive a new contract, I set crystal-clear expectations about:

how I understand the project
what I will deliver
when I will deliver
where to contact me
why I choose to do it the way I want to accomplish what’s expected of me

How. What. When. Where. Why.

Some first-time clients will tell you, “Just do it the way you think it’s supposed to be done.”

Trusting that much should come later when you can bet your life on the ability of that freelancer to deliver according to, if not above, your expectations.

By setting expectations, you’re not just trying to save yourself from hearing why-didn’t-you-tell-me-that, but you’re also helping that first-time client to always treat every new hire with a fair amount of skepticism.

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Jaycee De Guzman

Founder and CEO at iPresence Digital Marketing

I am Jaycee de Guzman and I am a Filipino. I am the co-founder and CEO of iPresence Digital Marketing. While being a computer scientist by profession, I have been in the digital marketing business since 2001. I am also the founder and CEO of Equilyst Analytics, one of the longest-standing stock market consultancy firms in the Philippines. On the side, I manage Alpha Agventure, our livestock farming business, which is known as the number one backyard farm in the Philippines. I am on a mission of being a jack of many trades and a master of them all.

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