Good morning friends! Today I want to cover yet another very important issue that you should be prepared to deal with as a freelance web designer – and that is knowing when you should decline or turn down a certain client or project, and how to do so professionally and in a way that leaves a good (yes, its possible!) impression on the client.

Which Clients or Projects You Need to Say ‘No’ To

There are a two main reasons that would make me (and hopefully you!) consider turning down a potential client. I am sure that we each have our own particular reasons that would make us not take on a certain project – so leave a comment below and let us know what your ‘red flags’ are!

1) The client’s budget is much much smaller than you would ever consider designing the site for. I know from experience that this is not a good idea – I did lower my price to match the client’s budget one time (never again!), and in the end, it was not worth it, it would have been better for both me and the client to have not taken on that particular project. So, stick to your price range and don’t lower your prices just to get a project.

2) After sitting down with the client, you can tell already that you and they will not work well together (something we discussed in Two Types of Clients You Deal With As A Freelance Web Designer). If you get the sense after just one or two conversations that you and this client would be butting heads the entire time and that this could turn into a very difficult project, you have to decide whether its worth it to you or not. Personally, I would rather do a smaller, less lucrative project for a client that I work well with than a more profitable project for a client that I dread talking to – but that’s just personal preference and it’s something you will have to decide for yourself.

Worst Case Scenario: You Decide to Drop a Client Halfway Through the Project!

This is definitely one of the worst case scenarios as a freelance web designer. Leaving a project halfway through it is a very risky decision – your reputation as a designer may really suffer if you don’t handle this well. I am sure many designers might even argue that you should never quit a project halfway through. I personally have have stopped work on a project that wasn’t complete, but I do think that in certain situations you might have to.

These are the two situations that would make me consider abandoning a project.

(Note: Most, if not all, of these situations should be addressed in your contract, so that everyone involved is aware ahead of time what will happen should these situations arise).

1) The client is not making payments on time or anywhere near on time. If the client hasn’t been paying you for the work you’ve been doing on time or at all, I think that is one of the times when you consider halting the project where it’s at. I have never had to do this myself, so I am speaking theoretically here. But I think that you should make sure your contract is very clear on when you would have the right to stop a project – one of which is if payments are not being made within a certain period of the time when they were due. Needless to say, if you kept going with a project like this, it is probably going to be stop and go the whole way.

Let’s say that the client pays the down payment and you start working, working, working (since you are trying to get the project completed within the set time frame – as we talked about in Deadlines and Time Frames – Managing Freelance Web Design Projects) and then it comes time for the second installment of payment and it never comes. So you wait, and you wait, and you wait, and now it has been four weeks that the project has been at a standstill. Obviously – this can be really bad for your business. You really can’t take on another project at this time, since the client might pay you tomorrow so work can resume and then you’d be overbooked! If it comes down to this situation , and you have already outlined in the contract that this will happen in this situation, you can simply hand over the project as is – if they have paid for the amount of work that’s been done. If they haven’t paid for all of the work that’s been done, then I would only hand over the part that is paid for. You could always resume the project later on down the road if you wanted to, but it should be taken on as a completely new project with a new contract (in my opinion).

2) An even more controversial reason for abandoning a project is because you are having trouble working with the client. Then what? This scenario is extremely hard to end well. That is why you be as careful as possible about who you take on as a client. Even so, sometimes you get blindsided and you really didn’t see how difficult working with this client was going to be. I think in many, if not most, cases that you will simply have to stick with it and finish the project as best you can and try not to make the same mistake again! However, if you really don’t think that the project is going well, and neither you or the client are very happy with the whole thing – then you may be able to get out of the project by referring the client to another web designer or developer. Of course, you will need the client’s permission to do this, and you will both have to agree on the terms. This is another situation I have never been in personally, so I would love to hear from those of you who may have dealt with this. How did you and the client  resolve the situation?

How to Turn Down a Project or Client Safely Without Hurting Your Reputation

My advice for turning down a client or project is to refer them to another designer or developer that you know. If you cannot or will not take on the project for any of the reasons listed above, you can still impress and help the client by referring them to someone who will be able to take on their project. Be as honest as possible about your reason for referring them to another person – “[other designer's name] has more experience designing websites in that particular field”, “[other designer] can help you get up and running for less money”, etc., etc. This  can go a long way towards building good relationships with other designers and developers and also with leaving a great a impression on the client.  It is a win-win solution.

Ok, so that’s all I have to say about that. I think. But, let’s talk about it some more – let me know your thoughts and experiences with deciding when and how to turn down clients or projects.

Related Posts:

• Researching a web design project – keywords, competitors, and target market
• Freelance Web Design: Writing Proposals for Potential Clients
• Project Spotlight: RefugeFriends.com
• Meeting and collaborating with your potential web design client
• Freelance Web Design: How to Get Your Foot in the Door
• Freelance Web Design: What To Do With Your Time in Between Projects