The TAAC rule for dealing with flaky clients

[The Writer’ s Life] January 27, 2017 Hi {NAME}, I wish I'd read Ben Settle's essay for today back when I was first copywriting … Except, Ben wasn't writing way back then. Too young (and probably still in primary school). But I could definitely have used his advice about what to do with flaky clients. It would have saved me a lot of time, grief, and aggravation. A warning … Ben has a forthright voice. He tells it like it is with his own unique style … Yours for a successful copywriting career, [Signed] Will Newman --------------------------------------------------------------- The TAAC Rule for Dealing with Flaky Clients By Ben Settle Ben Settle "I will never play into a flake. Never. There are literally hundreds of other women within 5 square miles of my place. Thousands within 10 square miles. I'm going to worry about how to act with one of those? Crazy. If she flakes, she's out of my mind, permanently." — A.B. Dada A while back on Flakebook, one of my customers ran into a flaky client. The short version is this: The copywriter spent a lot of time on the phone (multiple meetings) talking to the client, his team, his partners, etc., gave away a lot of his best ideas to them, only to find the client acting completely flaky when it came time to make a deal and get things going. Anyway, he wanted advice on how to handle it. What should he say? What should he do? How could he salvage this gig? My answer? The fact he was even asking about this meant he cared too much. It's like a guy who likes a flaky girl, asking his buddies how to handle it, when she isn't even thinking about him at all other than (maybe) as a backup, and is chasing someone else who is most likely ignoring her while he's chasing some other tail. In both cases, the answer is the same: Find a better option instead of chasing the flaky ones. It's much easier to find a new relationship than try to fix a toxic one. So why reward the flaky client's bad behavior by even bothering to communicate with them at all? The correct action to take is this: Ignore the flaky clients. Keep generating new leads. And, continue to improve your skills. Do those three things and you'll be just fine. More: There's also a scarcity mindset thing going on with the copywriter. If you're a freelancer (of any kind) listen up, listen good, and never forget the "TAAC" rule. TAAC stands for: "There's always another client." Always. There are tens of thousands of clients out there. Why waste your time with the flaky ones? This is not only the attitude to have for anyone who jerks you around, but it's also the mindset my new Persuasion Secrets of The World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains book teaches. You think Lex Luthor would put up with some client like that? Or the Joker? Or Loki? Or Bane? Or Sauron? Hellz naw. (More likely they'd have the flake tortured, not that I am suggesting *you* should do that … ) People wouldn't dare flake on them. Anyway, remember there is always another client. If you're a freelancer, yes, you need clients. But, you don't need *that* client who flakes, jerks you around, and wastes your time. There are too many clients on the client tree to waste time with flakes. Anyway, enough of this clacking. Ben Settle --------------------------------------------------------------- FROM WILL: Ben loves to tell it as it is, doesn't he? As I said earlier, I could have used the TAAC rule when dealing with flaky clients. I didn't have the confidence. More important, I didn't know it was even allowed. I learned the hard way. But you don't have to learn the hard way. In fact, you don't even have to deal with clients ever again and you can STILL make your living as a writer. How is that possible? Ben figured out how to make over six-figures a year writing on subjects he loves and sharing that with people who admire him. Best of all, he doesn't have a single client. I don't want to give away all the details, but you can learn more about his "client-less" copywriting method [right here]. Let us know if you have the courage to use Ben's TAAC rule by commenting [here]. And I look forward to seeing you next week. *** What We're Recommending this Week *** AWAI Exclusive: Ben Settle's 10-Minute Workday AWAI and Ben Settle have recently joined forces to show you step-by-step how you can create an email copywriting business of your own. Ben's "10-Minute Workday" email writing business is tailor-made for anyone interested in writing for a living but don't want to work with clients. You'll learn how to choose a "market" you can write about (one you absolutely love), create products that help people, build a fanbase of readers, and how you only need to write one email to make it all happen. [Learn more here.] --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here]. For questions or requests: [contact us online]. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2017 American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here]. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Inc. 101 SE 6th Avenue, Suite A Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561) 278-5557 or (866) 879-2924 Ensure your subscription delivery. 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