What do you include in monthly reports?

whiz

whiz

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So I just finished my first month with my first client.

I texted him to remind him that tomorrow is the end of Month 1 and asked him how he would like to pay for Month 2. I promised him a monthly report with the package.

He texts me back "Let's meet on Friday to go over what was done."


This irritates me for a handful of reasons:


1. Why would I explain everything I did? Especially if his goal is to go up in rankings (and he did)? Why would I tell him the specifics just for him to complain and say it's not worth the money because I'm not doing backbreaking, spirit-crushing work?

I feel like he would just criticize it if I demystify it and tell him the specifics.



2. I don't feel like I have to "justify" my price or be judged on my price. I can just tell (by the type of person he is) that I could wipe his ass and shine his shoes and it still wouldn't be worth the price. I feel like he's looking for me to explain what I do just so he can tear it down.



3. It irritates me because he is demanding my time and physical presence, neither of which I wish to give. It appears like a power move to try to assert control, which I do not like at all.

I've been freelancing for 4+ years and I know how this goes - client tries to milk every penny and second out of you just to feel like they're getting some type of monster deal.



If he wasn't local he would probably try to do some Skype or phonecall etc...

I don't like this behavior. I am paid to produce results, not to explain how I produce these results.

I don't wish to provide lessons on Local SEO.

What can I do here?
 
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What are you selling?

Links or rankings?

If links provide a clean report with the work you did, if rankings get set up with one of the popular rank trackers and give him access or give him images.
 
As far as meeting some guys are just old school and want to know what's up. Just meet bring your rank reports and let him know how things are progressing. Good customer service and word of mouth takes an unwanted meeting sometimes. Your getting in your own head, I do it too, my wife keeps me grounded or I would have talked my self out of thousands like your abou to do.

Wish you luck

Canada
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
What are you selling?

Links or rankings?

If links provide a clean report with the work you did, if rankings get set up with one of the popular rank trackers and give him access or give him images.
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Rankings.

I did:

-citations

-a couple SEO articles/blogposts

-went to his location and did a photoshoot to have material for GMB/Yelp etc (and took a great picture for the review cards)

-designed/printed/delivered review cards and instructed him how to use (I gave him the cards 2 weeks ago and he went from 25 reviews to 35. He got 10 five* reviews)

-a couple paid citations/links




That's it really.
 
Th3 Canadian 3h said:
As far as meeting some guys are just old school and want to know what's up. Just meet bring your rank reports and let him know how things are progressing. Good customer service and word of mouth takes an unwanted meeting sometimes. Your getting in your own head, I do it too, my wife keeps me grounded or I would have talked my self out of thousands like your abou to do.

Wish you luck

Canada
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I just view me accepting this meeting as opening the door for further annoying "hand-holding" behavior.

Like I said, I've freelanced for years... the best clients are the ones that just trust me and pay me.

I work better and they get better results.


I don't believe there is any shortage of clients for me, and that's why I don't care about dumping him. I hate when people ask for my time unnecessarily.

The meeting will not change his rankings. It's simply because he can't trust me and wants to know my process (which he will then criticize).
 
whiz said:
Rankings.

I did:

-citations

-a couple SEO articles/blogposts

-went to his location and did a photoshoot to have material for GMB/Yelp etc (and took a great picture for the review cards)

-designed/printed/delivered review cards and instructed him how to use (I gave him the cards 2 weeks ago and he went from 25 reviews to 35. He got 10 five* reviews)

-a couple paid citations/links




That's it really.
Click to expand...

Selling rankings... give him ranking reports.

I sell both and give ranking reports to those that hire me to rank them and link reports to those that buy links from me but they know upfront what I am going to supply based on what they are buying.
 
Sometimes the hand hold customers are the best ones. I have one who calls me every day. Sure it gets to me but I have made more money off of her and her business associates. Customer service makes way more money then rank and dump my friend. Your method works for small clients but nothing in the large numbers game.
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
Selling rankings... give him ranking reports.

I sell both and give ranking reports to those that hire me to rank them and link reports to those that buy links from me but they know upfront what I am going to supply based on what they are buying.
Click to expand...

But do I go to this meeting?

I really dislike the fact that he replied to my text with:


"Let's meet on Friday to go over what was done."


He didn't acknowledge when I asked him how he wanted to pay - he simply ignored it and assumed I was free Friday, then barked the order "let's meet".

I am seriously debating not texting him back ever - he can keep his money if he chooses to communicate like this. I know where this road leads.

I work with clients as equals in partnership, I don't put myself below them - I find his behavior condescending.


Am I taking this personally? Yes. But this is a result of patterns I noticed in my dealings with over 200+ clients in my lifetime.
 
whiz said:
But do I go to this meeting?

I really dislike the fact that he replied to my text with:


"Let's meet on Friday to go over what was done."


He didn't acknowledge when I asked him how he wanted to pay - he simply ignored it and assumed I was free Friday, then barked the order "let's meet".

I am seriously debating not texting him back ever - he can keep his money if he chooses to communicate like this. I know where this road leads.

I work with clients as equals in partnership, I don't put myself below them - I find his behavior condescending.


Am I taking this personally? Yes. But this is a result of patterns I noticed in my dealings with over 200+ clients in my lifetime.
Click to expand...

Go to the meeting bud, you have no chance if you don't go. Best way to take power back is reschedule for a time that works for you.
 
whiz said:
But do I go to this meeting?
Click to expand...

I'd probably go but you and I are different people.

I'd explain where his site was and where it is in Google and also tell him that I normally don't explain what we do to make that happen much like Coke doesn't explain how they make the soft drink in detail.

But, if the guy is too irritating for you and you don't want to deal with him you can thank him for the business and explain that you don't see you and he as a good fit. I'd probably refund him at that time as well.
 
BassTrackerBoats said:
I'd probably go but you and I are different people.

I'd explain where his site was and where it is in Google and also tell him that I normally don't explain what we do to make that happen much like Coke doesn't explain how they make the soft drink in detail.

But, if the guy is too irritating for you and you don't want to deal with him you can thank him for the business and explain that you don't see you and he as a good fit. I'd probably refund him at that time as well.
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I'll probably reschedule and go, but I don't want to explain everything I do.

If it gets to that point, I'll explain that I don't want to explain.

And if he doesn't like that, I'm just walking out.


No refund though. I spent hours and hours the first month


I just see it as silly for me to drive all the way over there and take time out of my day to tell him he's going up the page on Google
 
whiz said:
I'll probably reschedule and go, but I don't want to explain everything I do.

If it gets to that point, I'll explain that I don't want to explain.

And if he doesn't like that, I'm just walking out.


No refund though. I spent hours and hours the first month


I just see it as silly for me to drive all the way over there and take time out of my day to tell him he's going up the page on Google
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Or just make it super in depth to the point where he's like that's what I'm paying you for you deal with it. Go from key word research all the way to alt tags, anchor text, link diversity to getting guest posts and make his head hurt, reverse psychology him.

You could even give him a list of light reading to understand more. 20 Books at 20$ or more
 
Go to the meeting.

When you step in the door tell him that you got 30 minutes time and then you’ll have to leave for another client meeting. Next tell him you’re glad that he invited you, because you still got a couple of questions.

Ask him what he (still) considers his biggest obstacle in meeting his business goals. When he answers you with something, simply ask him why. “Why do you consider X problematic?” When he explains the problem, write it down and them ask “why?” again. Let him answer. Then ask him what else is holding his business back. Follow it up whit the same question: why? and “what you think will happen if X isn’t fixed” or “why is that important?”

If he gets annoyed tell him you understand that it is annoying to keep hearing “why?”, but you need to ask that because you want to help him to the best of your ability and you’ll need to know what then exact problem(s) are or else you can’t really help him.

After he doesn’t have any other problems to share, start to recap what the just told you and follow that up with the question if you got that right. If he comfirms, tell him you will send him a proposal around Wednesday for what you just discussed and you will call him on Thursday to ask if he got any questions about the proposal.

Then remind him about the review cards you made and ask if he still hands them over to every client he gets. After that go over the Yelp results for a couple of minutes and remind him again about the importance of the review cards.

After that, tell him you’re glad you’ve met and that you guys will go out for drinks in a couple of weeks time, on you ofcourse, to discuss progress. Then it’s time to leave, because you got other clients waiting.
 
You’re getting him ranking improvements. That’s great.

However, look at it from his perspective. He needs to see a return on his spend.

This is why client SEO is not easy. Clients say they want to rank for X, Y or Z. What they actually mean is, ‘I want more business’.

How many new customers did he gain, or how many new enquiries? What was the value of those customers? Does it provide a return to cover your work? If so, that’s probably what he needs to hear.

If not, then have you/he chosen the correct keywords? Can you expand his areas? Do you need to look for links that bring genuine business rather than ones they are built for SEO, can you branch out to PPC?

If clients have enough work, they invariably don’t care what you’ve done to get it for them. I believe that questions are asked when the work does not cover the SEO. At that point, you need to adjust the SEO, adjust your prices, or accept that it won’t work for that business.
 
You have to attend the meeting, otherwise, you'll probably lose him as your client. Furthermore, maybe you're reading too much into his message, and the subtext isn't as harsh as you imagine it to be? Sure, maybe he will be one of those customers that require hand holding. But, there's only one way to find out. Go to the meeting and provide the proof he needs that you're doing what he paid you to do. However, make sure to take a firm stand, and discuss the future payments that worry you as well as the work you did. Be confident and don't let him see that you were annoyed by his message.
 
NotAllenTuring said:
Go to the meeting.

When you step in the door tell him that you got 30 minutes time and then you’ll have to leave for another client meeting. Next tell him you’re glad that he invited you, because you still got a couple of questions.

Ask him what he (still) considers his biggest obstacle in meeting his business goals. When he answers you with something, simply ask him why. “Why do you consider X problematic?” When he explains the problem, write it down and them ask “why?” again. Let him answer. Then ask him what else is holding his business back. Follow it up whit the same question: why? and “what you think will happen if X isn’t fixed” or “why is that important?”

If he gets annoyed tell him you understand that it is annoying to keep hearing “why?”, but you need to ask that because you want to help him to the best of your ability and you’ll need to know what then exact problem(s) are or else you can’t really help him.

After he doesn’t have any other problems to share, start to recap what the just told you and follow that up with the question if you got that right. If he comfirms, tell him you will send him a proposal around Wednesday for what you just discussed and you will call him on Thursday to ask if he got any questions about the proposal.

Then remind him about the review cards you made and ask if he still hands them over to every client he gets. After that go over the Yelp results for a couple of minutes and remind him again about the importance of the review cards.

After that, tell him you’re glad you’ve met and that you guys will go out for drinks in a couple of weeks time, on you ofcourse, to discuss progress. Then it’s time to leave, because you got other clients waiting.
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This is one of the best response posts I've ever seen on BHW. This is customer service.
 
redarrow said:
A full indepth report , might gain more business
Click to expand...


Nah - we deal with budgets of 10k+ a month - full blown reports waste time. We have ranking and traffic reports and bullet points - and phone calls

The ‘report’ should have been set up and agreed before any client is ever taken on.

Long reports Never get read
 
ThatSEO said:
Nah - we deal with budgets of 10k+ a month - full blown reports waste time. We have ranking and traffic reports and bullet points - and phone calls

The ‘report’ should have been set up and agreed before any client is ever taken on.

Long reports Never get read
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i fort a good in depth report show your working hard for the clients increase work.
 
redarrow said:
A full indepth report , might gain more business
Click to expand...
An in-depth report will just give the client a template to follow on his own, or pass the job along to some relative.
whiz said:
I'll probably reschedule and go, but I don't want to explain everything I do.

If it gets to that point, I'll explain that I don't want to explain.
Click to expand...
Did your contract clarify the content/delivery of the report? Personally I go with a one-page PDF of the results, delivered via email along with the next invoice.

In this case I would go to the meeting, but I'd make it clear that this is a one-time courtesy, and remind him that he's paying for results, not trade secrets. You are an independent contractor, not his employee, so you are neither legally nor morally obligated to go running to his office every time he calls.
 
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