Jump to content

How do you respond to Buyers who ask to speak offline?


chloeskye

Recommended Posts

Hey Fiverr community!

I’m in copywriting but I think this can apply to most industries. As any Seller knows, an order request from a Buyer can be anything from the super simple to the “this is gonna take an hour to unpack.” Sometimes, when I ask probing questions to get to the heart of what the Buyer needs, they will say, “Hey, let’s discuss this on a call.”

My response is always something to the effect of, “Sorry, Fiverr does not allow conversation outside of the chat- plus, let’s keep it here so everyone has a clear record of what was discussed!” which works the overwhelming majority of the time. I realize that many Buyers are not intentionally trying to cut into your time/not compensate you and they genuinely just think it would be easier to chat. Those that are pushy and just don’t get it I would cut off immediately. But how do you handle it either when:

a) A Buyer isn’t familiar with the Fiverr system and approaches you like any other freelancer, and doesn’t understand why you can’t discuss outside the chat (but otherwise has a project you’d like to work on)
b) You know that this conversation will take awhile except the 1-2 hours you spend in the chat is cutting into lucrative work time

Any sophisticated ways of twisting this so it’s a win-win for both? Thanks! 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi @chloeskye, this is a commonly known issue throughout Fiverr. But to save time and work progressively with a new buyer on Fiverr. It is important they submit a form or paper depicting their whole idea. Maybe you can create it and even display it as a requirement to fill in 🤓

Thanks for your response - I’m not quite “new” anymore 🙂 I’ve been working on Fiverr for over a year and am Level 2. I am just wondering how others have responded to this in a way that they felt good about it and it put the Buyer at ease too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Talk to CS about it. I like to have a voice chat with clients before starting an order, that saves me immense time vs writing, increases customer satisfaction and allows me to charge more because I can show them the value proposition better.

How often do they grant your request to call, given that TOS puts a lot of stress on “only if it’s necessary to the order” (which I guess is both flexible and intimidating enough :D)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Fiverr community!

I’m in copywriting but I think this can apply to most industries. As any Seller knows, an order request from a Buyer can be anything from the super simple to the “this is gonna take an hour to unpack.” Sometimes, when I ask probing questions to get to the heart of what the Buyer needs, they will say, “Hey, let’s discuss this on a call.”

My response is always something to the effect of, “Sorry, Fiverr does not allow conversation outside of the chat- plus, let’s keep it here so everyone has a clear record of what was discussed!” which works the overwhelming majority of the time. I realize that many Buyers are not intentionally trying to cut into your time/not compensate you and they genuinely just think it would be easier to chat. Those that are pushy and just don’t get it I would cut off immediately. But how do you handle it either when:

a) A Buyer isn’t familiar with the Fiverr system and approaches you like any other freelancer, and doesn’t understand why you can’t discuss outside the chat (but otherwise has a project you’d like to work on)

b) You know that this conversation will take awhile except the 1-2 hours you spend in the chat is cutting into lucrative work time

Any sophisticated ways of twisting this so it’s a win-win for both? Thanks! 🙂

But how do you handle it either when:

a) A Buyer isn’t familiar with the Fiverr system and approaches you like any other freelancer, and doesn’t understand why you can’t discuss outside the chat (but otherwise has a project you’d like to work on)

b) You know that this conversation will take awhile except the 1-2 hours you spend in the chat is cutting into lucrative work time

a) I politely inform them that, as per Fiverr’s Terms of Service, all the information and materials exchange must go through Fiverr.

b) I send them a list of the questions that I need answered in order to do the work. If necessary, I politely inform them that I don’t offer consultations (I work on small and, more or less, simple projects, so basically, I need the buyer to answer my questions, and I need them to know what they want).

Of course, b) only works because of the type of projects I work on. If I worked on bigger or more complex stuff and it looked like the conversation was going to be a lengthy one, I’d charge them for it (a consultation fee or something). If you try charging them for your time, they might suddenly find out tht they don’t need a lengthy conversation. 😃

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How often do they grant your request to call, given that TOS puts a lot of stress on “only if it’s necessary to the order” (which I guess is both flexible and intimidating enough :D)

It was my success manager when I became Pro, not CS itself, and they cleared me to do it whenever I thought it would be helpful.

But it will depend on what you do - if your average order is $10, it’s not advisable. If your average order is $1000, then it starts to make sense. The higher the price the more it pays to have a call. People spend $5 without thinking twice, once the values start to increase a sales call gets more and more important. Big clients with big budgets will be hesitant to drop a lot of money without speaking to someone first, so it’s also in Fiverr’s interest to allow those calls to happen, since they will make them more money in commission.

One way you can work around this for lower values is to have a gig just for it - “I will have an exploratory call with you”. Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call. The downside with this method is if the client ends up not liking the call and decides not to hire you for the job, or if you find the order is not a good fit for you, he can cancel the call order or leave a bad review, hurting your stats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was my success manager when I became Pro, not CS itself, and they cleared me to do it whenever I thought it would be helpful.

But it will depend on what you do - if your average order is $10, it’s not advisable. If your average order is $1000, then it starts to make sense. The higher the price the more it pays to have a call. People spend $5 without thinking twice, once the values start to increase a sales call gets more and more important. Big clients with big budgets will be hesitant to drop a lot of money without speaking to someone first, so it’s also in Fiverr’s interest to allow those calls to happen, since they will make them more money in commission.

One way you can work around this for lower values is to have a gig just for it - “I will have an exploratory call with you”. Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call. The downside with this method is if the client ends up not liking the call and decides not to hire you for the job, or if you find the order is not a good fit for you, he can cancel the call order or leave a bad review, hurting your stats.

Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call.

I think that voice call feature isn’t available to everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call.

I think that voice call feature isn’t available to everyone.

Really? I can’t see why it wouldn’t be. Oh well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was my success manager when I became Pro, not CS itself, and they cleared me to do it whenever I thought it would be helpful.

But it will depend on what you do - if your average order is $10, it’s not advisable. If your average order is $1000, then it starts to make sense. The higher the price the more it pays to have a call. People spend $5 without thinking twice, once the values start to increase a sales call gets more and more important. Big clients with big budgets will be hesitant to drop a lot of money without speaking to someone first, so it’s also in Fiverr’s interest to allow those calls to happen, since they will make them more money in commission.

One way you can work around this for lower values is to have a gig just for it - “I will have an exploratory call with you”. Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call. The downside with this method is if the client ends up not liking the call and decides not to hire you for the job, or if you find the order is not a good fit for you, he can cancel the call order or leave a bad review, hurting your stats.

It was my success manager when I became Pro, not CS itself,

Voice call appears to be only available to Pro sellers and only if an order is placed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was my success manager when I became Pro, not CS itself,

Voice call appears to be only available to Pro sellers and only if an order is placed.

That was not what I was referring to. My success manager authorised me to do Skyp. calls BEFORE an order. I can do the calls inside Fiverr after an order is placed using their system. The thing is, I need to make calls to get the orders in the first place. It’s a catch-22. Fiverr should allow for calls outside orders, just as they allow text messages. It would make everything simpler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was not what I was referring to. My success manager authorised me to do Skyp. calls BEFORE an order. I can do the calls inside Fiverr after an order is placed using their system. The thing is, I need to make calls to get the orders in the first place. It’s a catch-22. Fiverr should allow for calls outside orders, just as they allow text messages. It would make everything simpler.

Fiverr should allow for calls outside orders, just as they allow text messages. It would make everything simpler.

Only if it was optional.

It would help sellers like yourself, sure, but for others, it would be a nightmare (think accents, and prospects talking forever about a potential $5 order). On top of that, for work in certain categories, it’s really better to have it all in writing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How often do they grant your request to call, given that TOS puts a lot of stress on “only if it’s necessary to the order” (which I guess is both flexible and intimidating enough :D)

“only if it’s necessary to the order”

I’ve tried using my expert level technical writing skills including using If, then, else statements to explain featurs, benefits and modifications to some Android App or even regular websites. I’ve learned that those professing to even have some CS degree will ALWAYS demonstrate a lack of English Comprehension skills training, and will quickly prove this fact to me by wanting me to “verify” what I wrote.

To make it 100% clear to me they lack common sense is they often reply to a Buyers Request and pretend they are the only seller responding. I’m sure there is some indication of the number of Sellers replying to a Buyers Request. To pour salt into an open wound let’s say you’re trying to respond to a list of 50 replies to your offer. First you may sort by price and immediately delete all who proved they don’t understand your language, because they bid substantially higher than your stated budget.

Next, you may sort the list by feedback and begin with the most experienced, those with the highest numbers of feedbacks. Some Seller will have more than 100 sold jobs but will tell you they lack understanding of what you wrote so would you please VERIFY they are on the same page. Absolutely ridiculous.

So if you have a website you may spend time crafting a clear MP3 explanation of the desired work product, you’ll review it then upload it to be seen by all interested parties. It never fails someone will say they require a written version. Do a written version and someone wants to talk to you for more info. This is all only a game being played by those wasting your time, and so you must determine quickly using Donald Trumps’ style, which ones to say “You’re Fired” to.

Some of your prospects though, will provide contact info if only a link to their website so you can review the “contact us” page for the necessary info. One of the 1st things you can do is ask do they have a business website. I’d open another TAB, locate the contact links, then get into a conversation. Of course your little informative chat would be concluded with a custom offer detailing the agreed upon work. You don’t want to have someone give you one of their standard gigs and you complain to CS later the job wasn’t done to requirements, now do you? CS pros have to look at which of you have the most well documented understanding in order to determine the loser in any challenge. So I can’t convince you of how important it is for you and your buyer to understand/agree 99% BEFORE you post their fees into Fiverr.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

“only if it’s necessary to the order”

I’ve tried using my expert level technical writing skills including using If, then, else statements to explain featurs, benefits and modifications to some Android App or even regular websites. I’ve learned that those professing to even have some CS degree will ALWAYS demonstrate a lack of English Comprehension skills training, and will quickly prove this fact to me by wanting me to “verify” what I wrote.

To make it 100% clear to me they lack common sense is they often reply to a Buyers Request and pretend they are the only seller responding. I’m sure there is some indication of the number of Sellers replying to a Buyers Request. To pour salt into an open wound let’s say you’re trying to respond to a list of 50 replies to your offer. First you may sort by price and immediately delete all who proved they don’t understand your language, because they bid substantially higher than your stated budget.

Next, you may sort the list by feedback and begin with the most experienced, those with the highest numbers of feedbacks. Some Seller will have more than 100 sold jobs but will tell you they lack understanding of what you wrote so would you please VERIFY they are on the same page. Absolutely ridiculous.

So if you have a website you may spend time crafting a clear MP3 explanation of the desired work product, you’ll review it then upload it to be seen by all interested parties. It never fails someone will say they require a written version. Do a written version and someone wants to talk to you for more info. This is all only a game being played by those wasting your time, and so you must determine quickly using Donald Trumps’ style, which ones to say “You’re Fired” to.

Some of your prospects though, will provide contact info if only a link to their website so you can review the “contact us” page for the necessary info. One of the 1st things you can do is ask do they have a business website. I’d open another TAB, locate the contact links, then get into a conversation. Of course your little informative chat would be concluded with a custom offer detailing the agreed upon work. You don’t want to have someone give you one of their standard gigs and you complain to CS later the job wasn’t done to requirements, now do you? CS pros have to look at which of you have the most well documented understanding in order to determine the loser in any challenge. So I can’t convince you of how important it is for you and your buyer to understand/agree 99% BEFORE you post their fees into Fiverr.

will ALWAYS demonstrate a lack of English Comprehension skills training

Funny you say that when your entire message is quite hard to understand and full of gramatical mistakes. I don’t even get your point, to be honest. Are you a seller or a buyer? And then you say stuff like this:

" First you may sort by price and immediately delete all who proved they don’t understand your language, because they bid substantially higher than your stated budget."

When I bid higher than the budget, it’s because the budget is ridiculous and the customer is delusional. It doesn’t mean I don’t understand the language. It means that if he wants it done well, he will have to spend more. If he deletes me and others bidding at my price, that’s fine. Let him hire trash, then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have the client place that order, and then you can voice call inside Fiverr from the order page to set up the “real” order, and possibly give him a discount on that equivalent to what he paid for the call.

I think that voice call feature isn’t available to everyone.

Yes, I have never seen it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fiverr should allow for calls outside orders, just as they allow text messages. It would make everything simpler.

Only if it was optional.

It would help sellers like yourself, sure, but for others, it would be a nightmare (think accents, and prospects talking forever about a potential $5 order). On top of that, for work in certain categories, it’s really better to have it all in writing.

Definitely- I like having it in writing particularly because there is no guarantee on Fiverr that someone will work with you long-term (or even have a sense of collaboration at all). There’s also no guarantee they know what they want or can/are willing to be helpful. Offering a phone call may also end with the client ultimately not respecting your time. That’s why I prefer to keep it in the chat, but I’m just puzzled about how best to handle it when it truly is complicated and becomes a time suck. I don’t want to say, “sorry I can’t do this,” but I want to incentivize an order too 😛

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely- I like having it in writing particularly because there is no guarantee on Fiverr that someone will work with you long-term (or even have a sense of collaboration at all). There’s also no guarantee they know what they want or can/are willing to be helpful. Offering a phone call may also end with the client ultimately not respecting your time. That’s why I prefer to keep it in the chat, but I’m just puzzled about how best to handle it when it truly is complicated and becomes a time suck. I don’t want to say, “sorry I can’t do this,” but I want to incentivize an order too 😛

That’s why I prefer to keep it in the chat, but I’m just puzzled about how best to handle it when it truly is complicated and becomes a time suck.

Some sellers have consultation gigs for that purpose. Serious buyers will find it perfectly normal that you wish to be compensated for your time, and those who are not serious are unlikely to order anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I simply tell them it is against Fiverr terms of service to communicate outside of the platform, and I can lose my account for doing so. If they post contact information, I educate them and tell them that is against terms of service and can have the same negative result. If that stops a sale, so be it. Not worth my account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That’s why I prefer to keep it in the chat, but I’m just puzzled about how best to handle it when it truly is complicated and becomes a time suck.

Some sellers have consultation gigs for that purpose. Serious buyers will find it perfectly normal that you wish to be compensated for your time, and those who are not serious are unlikely to order anything.

I’ve debated on doing is. I’m sure it would drive a lot of people away, and if the call didn’t go well I could risk a cancelation or bad review.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I simply tell them it is against Fiverr terms of service to communicate outside of the platform, and I can lose my account for doing so. If they post contact information, I educate them and tell them that is against terms of service and can have the same negative result. If that stops a sale, so be it. Not worth my account.

Good point, thanks 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Fiverr should start a calling option where we can discuss more about the project with buyer. Fiverr can keep the record of the conversation for TOS.

Hopefully Fiverr will think about this 😇

Fiverr can keep the record of the conversation for TOS.

Can you imagine a CS representative listening to an 1 hour conversation to determine who is right or wrong? That would skyrocket CS costs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fiverr can keep the record of the conversation for TOS.

Can you imagine a CS representative listening to an 1 hour conversation to determine who is right or wrong? That would skyrocket CS costs.

You’re right. but now this time we have AI 🤨

They can program it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That’s why I prefer to keep it in the chat, but I’m just puzzled about how best to handle it when it truly is complicated and becomes a time suck.

Some sellers have consultation gigs for that purpose. Serious buyers will find it perfectly normal that you wish to be compensated for your time, and those who are not serious are unlikely to order anything.

Some sellers have consultation gigs for that purpose. Serious buyers will find it perfectly normal that you wish to be compensated for your time, and those who are not serious are unlikely to order anything.

Yes, and teaching English or teaching ANY language online is what seems to be the most common method. You can always offer a refund or just add it into the final bid amount you quote for the job if you offer a refund.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...