Had a client in Austin tell me my contract was too "aggressive" because I had a kill fee clause

She literally said "I feel like you're expecting things to go wrong" and I told her, yeah, that's exactly the point, because I got burned on a $4,200 project last year where the scope creep ate my whole profit, and now I never skip it, has anyone else had a client push back on kill fees like they're offensive?

3 comments

3 Comments

alex8204h ago

Oh man, I gotta push back hard on this one. Look, I get that you got burned before, but a kill fee clause literally says "I expect this to fail from the start." That's not a good look when you're trying to build trust with a new client. If my doctor handed me a form saying "I get paid even if the surgery doesn't work" I'd walk out too. The real problem is you're focusing on the wrong thing maybe your contract or pricing is off from the beginning. If you're so worried about scope creep, charge more upfront or break the project into smaller paid milestones instead of a kill fee that feels like a threat. Clients can sense that you're defensive before anything even happens, and that kills the relationship faster than any profit loss. Sometimes you just have to eat a loss, learn the lesson, and adjust your whole approach instead of slapping a fee on there that screams "I don't trust you.

the_rowan6h ago

Kill fees are pretty standard in a lot of creative fields, it's not like you're asking for anything unusual lol. Maybe frame it as protecting both sides from a bad situation rather than expecting failure.

gray3146h ago

Used to think kill fees were kinda paranoid or something. Realized real quick that's just how you learn after getting screwed over. That client's reaction says more about her than you. She's comfortable taking advantage of people who don't protect themselves. Lost $4,200 myself once and never again. Now I call it a "professional protection" clause and it filters out the bad clients fast.