What is a good excuse not to meet up with a client? It's simply because I don't like meeting up with clients as it consumes too much time.

 

But I can't just say "your not paying me enough to meet me" lol, so has anyone got a good excuse I could use?

What is a good excuse not to meet up with a client? It's simply because I don't like meeting up with clients as it consumes too much time.

 

But I can't just say "your not paying me enough to meet me" lol, so has anyone got a good excuse I could use?

 

Just say it in a different way. Charge for call outs. Explain it takes up 50% of your day which could be spent working and so you have a standard £50/100/150 charge for face to face meetings. Set it enough so that you won't mind going out for that

Just say it in a different way. Charge for call outs. Explain it takes up 50% of your day which could be spent working and so you have a standard £50/100/150 charge for face to face meetings. Set it enough so that you won't mind going out for that

 

...and in future, add a project management charge into your quote. Inflate it for clients who seem likely to want their hand held - there's a great guide by Andy Rutledge on pricing around the client.

@henbast very nice idea!

 

@Renaissance-Design thanks for the link will definitely consider doing this for future clients.

In my opinion, meeting clients is the best way of gaining trust. So whether they give big or small projects,it didn't matter as long as we were able to meet people and discuss views. Surely there will be referrals soon.

 

If you really don't want to meet them, call and explain or even discussed politely your reason. I guess it won't hurt that bad.

I have the same perdicment as you on tuesday i have to catch 2 trains for an hour to meet a client which i would rather use a phonecall to have a meeting... but if it gains them trust etc. why not ey! specially if there paying you, dont be lazy

It got to a point for me when a client wanting to meet me face to face became an annoyance.

I feel real bad saying that or feeling like that but it is true.

 

If a client emails me, i then have everything in writing, all assets and clear guide to refer back to.

This is another reason why i prefer email over telephone calls too.

 

At the end of the day a client can expect to spend quarter of an hour writing out a bunch of questions for me and i'll reply within the half hour with a neat written record compromising of the question, the answers, any questions i have for the clients, a list of all assets i may require and links to content they may be interested in researching.

Compare this with a face to face meeting which is usually far more expensive and time consuming (travel, drinks, food etc). This can normally take several hours (and several £'s). Taking notes while meeting face to face i rarely do, it just doesn't flow right for me.

 

To top it all off, i've recently moved to Norfolk to house sit with the intention of then continuing on up to Scotland, most of my client work still comes from the south east (mainly London, Essex) and they can forget me commuting down there for meetings!

 

 

Just to edit... I will always chat to a client on the phone initially but it will always be an informal 'get to know each other' also i will do the same at the end of the contract.

Edited March 7, 201115 yr by MikeChipshop

Granted, it's nice and quicker to sit at home answering emails in your pants...

 

Are you watching me?!

 

..but on a serious note, i will always try to meet a client at the beginning and the end but several clients i have had have wanted to meet almost every other day! In the end it just isn't productive or efficient.

 

 

 

I have the same perdicment as you on tuesday i have to catch 2 trains for an hour to meet a client which i would rather use a phonecall to have a meeting... but if it gains them trust etc. why not ey! specially if there paying you, dont be lazy

 

'Now for the bad news, I am absolutely shatterd from work today and can't make it to the meeting later purely because ive been up since half 6 and 2 hours of trains and back will kill me right now. However if you would like to ring me or for me to ring you between 4.30-5.30 we can go over things on the phone. 07-------'

 

I actually was really tired, but we had a phone conversation instead and now meeting saturday when ive had lots of sleep haha

Edited March 9, 201115 yr by kingy da killa

The worst is when you're working at a company and you have the dreaded "meeting" involving about 7 people all talking over one another and takes 3 hours, and at the end of it - you have as much information as you could have had in a short email/word doc from your boss, and you now have a backlogue of three hours work. Bloody waste of time. Used to happen to me about once a week. However at work at least you're getting paid for that time.

I agree with Rallport to an extent - factor it in. Give them one or two face to face meetings as a sign of goodwill. However if they consistently want 3 hour meetings just to satisfy their insecurity that's a different matter.

I think face to face meetings are important, although annoying at times. They can provide great incite to the clients level of knowledge and their acceptance or views of you or your company which is next to an impossibility to detect from an email and difficult with a phone call.

 

This is often a problem for hosting as well as web design/development as our industry is essentially for the most part faceless and without any prior contact with a client it can be increasingly difficult to provide a comprehensive answer in a manner that would not be patronising to an experienced user, which without the client indicating through wording or otherwise is difficult to determine.

 

Hence where meeting clients or phone calls fill in the gaps, the former tends to be the normal for us simply because larger or small business expect to meet a representative to discuss their requirements, ensure that both parties are on the same page and get a feel for us as a company. An example being a 110 mile round trip (car) Friday for one of our staff members.

 

I think this is something that is concreted into our society in that you wouldn't buy a BMW/Audi/Ferrari/ Lamborghini etc without first visiting a show room, testing their product and experiencing their customer service. Even if you where later to purchase the vehicle online, simply due to the figures involved and the perception of quality.

 

Quality is another aspect of the face to face meet that clients would not otherwise see and can make or break the mood for further relation, a good example of this could be a contact I have, His role is that of a CEO/MD in a large pharmaceutical, he is not able to meet a client without wearing X suit, X watch, X shoes and driven in X car, these rules have been set by the board of directors of whom must also maintain a similar appearance such that their clients will take them seriously, despite being one of the largest companies.

 

As to the cost of meets perhaps consider specific vehicle for the role? We use Toyota Aygo's 65mpg, £20 roadtax/year and they look quite snazzy and are easy to explain to clients in terms of their minimal environmental impact compared to a BMW

Edited March 9, 201115 yr by CSN-UK

To be honest, not wanting to meet a client because it takes too much time is not an excuse. You need to get out there and invest yourself and not talk over email. Besides, every client i've had are always fun to talk with and get on with so I don't see the big deal.

Also, you should of put your prices higher instead of bring up to the client that it will cost to meet up, that could seriously put off clients and find someone else.

Edited March 13, 201115 yr by CreativeShelf

Granted, it's nice and quicker to sit at home answering emails in your pants, but that's simply not always possible.

Ah but did you know some clients are in their pants as well when answering email?

 

I'll usually jump at an opportunity to meet a client. When you work from home 24/7 any excuse

I've always found physical meetings much more useful than most people seems to give them credit for. As long you meet with one person and they have a good idea of what they want then they usually express it better in person.

Do you really need to give it such a deep thought and ask people around what excuses to give to a client not to meet him/her? It simply tells that:

 

1 - you have enough work in hand

 

2 - you have enough contacts/clients that give you regular work

 

3 - you don't have the desire to meet a client personally to discuss his/her project

 

 

Hence, you don't have to really break your head to figure out what excuse to put across to a new prospective customer. If someone reaches you or wishes to meet you, tell them politely that you prefer an email / instant chat or at the most voice communication instead of saying that 'I am busy ' or 'my granny is Ill and needs me by her side 'etc..... As simple as that.. And if you really don't have time to handle new prospects and convert them to sales, appoint someone that can work with you and meet the client, gather information and pass it over to you (provided you are getting a lot of requests from prospective clients to meet )

 

 

Cheers