WHEN CLIENTS SAY NO, Rejection, Mindset and How to Become A Resilient Freelancer

In talking to other freelancers (especially new freelancers just breaking into the business,) it seems like the biggest reason people avoid doing something is because they’re worried about someone saying no. They don’t want to ask for better pricing on a project because the client might say no. They don’t want to reach out to another artist to collaborate because they might say no. They won’t approach their dream client out of fear of getting a no.

If you’re interested in being a freelancer artist, I’ve got news for you:

You’re going to hear no a LOT.

And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just the nature of the job. In this post I’ll be sharing how I learned to deal with rejection, how to change your relationship with the word “no” and how to learn to say “no” yourself.

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The definition of resilience is “the ability to recover quickly from difficulties.” Nobody is just born with resilience, instead, we can build resilience in ourselves through overcoming obstacles. As a freelancer, the only way you’re going to get over your fear of rejection and hearing the word “no” is to actually hear it. You have to put yourself out there, no matter how scary it might seem and ask for what you want regardless of the possibility of being told no.

And guess what? After you’ve been told “no” once, you’ll realize that it’s not the end of the world. You’ll realize that you’re still alive, the world is still spinning, and really, your life is exactly the same as it was before you reached out in the first place. Success is a numbers game, not every single potential client is going to want to work with you or will like your pricing so in order to find those dream clients, you’re going to need to reach out to a lot of people. The more times you reach out and put yourself out there, the more chances you have to get a yes.

It might sound hard, but you’ll never know until you try. But one thing is for sure, if you never reach out, you’ll never have the chance to get that job, or do that collaboration, or make the money you deserve. Just remember what the 1980’s new wave pop singer Howard Jones said: “Things can only get better.”

CHANGING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WORD “NO”

In order to change your mindset with the word “no” the first thing you need to do is realize that YOU ARE NOT YOUR WORK. Just because a client doesn’t say yes to working with you, or doesn’t want to pay your rates does not mean that you are a horrible worthless person. So often artists and designers associate their own personal worth as a person with how their work is received, and that is a very dangerous path to go down.

Not everyone is going to like your work.

Your work isn’t going to be a good fit for every project.

Not everyone is going to believe your work is worth what you say it is.

AND THAT’S OKAY. Those people are not your target market, or in some cases, you just might need a little more practice before you’re ready to work with that dream client. 

There are so many reasons why a client might say no to working with you, and 80% of the time, the reason has nothing to do with you. For instance, if you reach out to a client about painting a mural for them and they say “no” it could be for any number of reasons. Sure they might not like your work, but what is more likely is that they don’t have a marketing budget for a mural right now. Or they are leasing the building they work in and aren't allowed to paint on the walls. Or they’re right in the middle of a rebrand and want to commit to the new style before they paint something permanent. Or maybe the owner is just going through a lot in his personal life and doesn’t have the mental capacity to add a mural to the mix at the moment. There are so many reasons why clients say no, so when you choose to ignore all those factors and choose to see yourself and your efforts and a failure, then you’re only hurting yourself. 

Try not to see “no” as the end of the line. Broaden your perspective, and view it as a learning experience and as practice. The more used you get to hearing “no” the less scary it will be and (I know this sounds weird, but it’s true,) the more confident you will become.

LEARNING TO SAY NO

It’s been my experience that the people who are the most scared of hearing the word “no” are also the people who have the hardest time telling others “no.” 

My advice to you is this: you are running a business. It’s not personal, it’s just business. If you tell someone “no” you are not a bad person. You are not a mean or uncaring person. You won’t make your client mad. You’re just running a business.

I constantly get emails from potential clients wanting me to work on projects, a lot of which are not a good fit for me and my brand. If I said yes to all those projects I would have two things:

-a portfolio full of work that I hated.

- no time to take on projects that were meaningful to me.

You also need to be comfortable saying “no” when clients ask you to do more work than what you’re being paid for. This is where it’s so important to have a contract. If a client comes to me and says “Hey I know we were just doing a logo, but can you also hand-letter our motto in the same style to go along with it?” then I politely say “ according to the contract, the project only includes the logo at the moment. I’d be happy to hand-letter the motto for you as well, it will just be an additional $700 on top of the current price.” It’s not mean. It’s not bad. It’s just business. If you can’t learn to say no when needed you’re going to end up doing a lot of work you’re not getting paid for and taking projects you don’t want to work on.

CONCLUSION

“No” is a tricky word, but if you can learn to create a healthy relationship both with hearing no and with telling others no, you will be a more resilient freelancer and will have more success and freedom in your business. My challenge to you is to reach out to someone today. It could be a fellow artist you want to collaborate with, it could be a client you want to work with. Just give it a try. They just might say yes. And if not, you’ll be better equipped to move forward and try again.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, let me know in the comments below! If you want more tips on how to reach out to clients, check out this post on how to contact clients.