Trust and working with freelancers is a big thing online. I see a lot of it and sometimes I have to experience it with some first time clients. A lot of people take time to earn trust – some easier than others.
It might be due to experiencing the bad side of human nature where lying and stealing might have been an issue. The thing is – when it comes to online, even though we might put our pictures, our voices, information about us or our families, and our hard work, the constant struggle of earning another person’s trust is there. It especially is there when working too.
Earning trust usually is not all that hard. You just have to be genuine and honest. Now, when I mean honest, I mean, not ‘blunt in your face rude’ kind of honest. I mean the ‘tell the truth and be polite about it’ kind of honest.
However – what happens when you earn that trust? Or how do you know if you earned someone’s trust, especially when you are being paid to work for them?
Some signs you have earned their trust:
- Are they friendly? Are they eager to engage with you?
- Are they reading what you share or write?
- Are they buying your stuff or referring people to you?
- Are they open to your ideas? And in the case they have suggestions, are you listening to their ideas?
If a person does not trust you, they are more than likely to be a little abrasive, have little contact, or perhaps have no confidence in your product or a hard time believing what you say.
If someone is working with you and you have already done a project, but still a bit skeptical to continue with others, stop working and find a way to make sure both parties are on the same page.
How can you work with someone you cannot trust? It is moot to keep working with anyone as the contract could end badly with no work being done and lots of arguing going on.
For example, in freelance web design, it is not uncommon to have a client that has had a bad past experience with another freelancer, or they are so intimidated by the process that they have gone to all the wrong people to get advice – and it is the designer that has to sort it all out. Business in general, or even freelance web design, if you are paying someone to do work for you and you cannot trust them to do the job and give you advice on the services they are performing – you made a huge mistake from the beginning.
Last Thoughts On Trust
As I said – be genuine and honest. Be prepared to answer questions if someone asks. Communicate and engage. If you cannot do it – stop. If you do not know, say so, but also direct them to the right place. This makes you honest and resourceful.
Trust can be a hard thing to earn from some people and easy for others. What do you advise for freelancers still having the issue of earning trust from their employers?
When working with freelancers, especially when outsourcing programming, it is essential that you have advanced programming skills as well so that you can convey your specs accordingly, otherwise the freelancer may take much longer than anticipated completing the project.
The problem is a lot of the people hiring freelancers are not always going to be savvy project managers. A lot of them are everyday small business owners that do not have an idea of technical terms or sometimes need guidance to find out what they really want.
I guess building good rapport with freelancers is the key to gaining trust. Moreover, before working with a freelancer you must have knowledge and skills in computer, web and those kinds of stuff. Hiring a freelancer should be taken fast. It needs time to think about it before deciding.
I agree it takes time. Since I have been in the field of freelancing for years I meet people from all different levels of education, when it comes to web design. Some know nothing and barely know what they want, while others know exactly what they want.
The trust between freelancer and employer is important… I mean hey… it might mean more work or getting great referrals from other people. 🙂
I agree, earning trust is not difficult if you are naturally a honest and genuine person. I can imagine how trust is a very important element when it comes to freelance web design.
I think if freelancers want to earn trust from their employers they should demonstrate that they know what they're talking about, they're experienced in what they do, and that they genuinely want to help their employer. Great advice Nile.
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Hi, Nile. Trust is indeed one of the basic components in business that we should achieve. Without this, we will be floundering and won't be able to get the success we want.
I am a freelance translator and I do my job right and I have never had any problems with gaining the trust of clients. However, although freelancers do need to earn the trust of their clients, I think the reverse should also apply. Since I accept payment only after delivering the project to the client, there were a few times when the client didn’t pay me because they thought they could get away with it (well, they did). My point is, trust is a two way street in freelancing.
It is not easy to gain somebody’s trust. We badly need to exert effort to know the freelancer. After the huge time spent with them, that will be the time you gained trust.
hello
nile I think if freelancers want to earn trust from their employers they should demonstrate that they know what they’re talking about, they’re experienced in what they do,
yes, trust is hard to earn
moreover it is online world where scammers is everywhere
i think to gain it
is work the best as you can
Hiring a freelancer, especially in SEO field is very crucial because one wrong mistake may damage your brand.
Trust is great things for any work. Basically freelancing marketplace we trust people for do our work.If freelancer acquire trust their employer they should work freshly mind & rightly.
Really there needs to be a mutual trust, well trust is all the whole internet concept is based upon. Loved your article. The design is complimenting the name of the website.