Had a client last month who taught me a lesson about over-promising

I was working with a small business owner in Austin who kept asking for revisions on a landing page. She wanted new features added after we already agreed on the scope. I was trying to keep her happy so I said yes to three extra rounds of edits without charging more. But then she called me out on it during our Friday call. She said "you keep agreeing to things but never tell me what it costs, that makes me nervous about your prices." That hit me hard because she was right, I was being unclear to seem helpful. So now I send a quick estimate before adding any extra work, even if it's just a few hours. Has anyone else had clients get scared off by silent freebies?

4 comments

4 Comments

jackson.max7d ago

That note about sending a quick estimate is exactly what I do now too, keeps everyone on the same page.

margaret5518d ago

Oh wow, I used to be all about giving extra stuff for free to keep people happy... thought it built trust or something. But this totally flipped my thinking. Had a client last year who got weirdly quiet after I threw in a free revision, then later admitted they thought I was hiding the real costs. Now I always send a simple note before adding anything, like "hey this extra tweak would be about 2 hours of work" just to keep it honest.

ryan_hart387d ago

That "hiding the real costs" thing is exactly what happens. People get suspicious when things don't add up, and free work messes with their mental math. It's like when a friend keeps buying you coffee and you start wondering what they want from you. The whole "no such thing as a free lunch" thing is real. Giving away stuff for free just makes people paranoid about the hidden price tag.

thomas.river8d ago

Does @margaret551 have a point that freebies can actually backfire like that? It's like people start wondering what's hidden behind the curtain when you give away work for nothing. I figure being clear about small costs upfront stops them from making up scary stories about your prices in their head.