Clear communication gets you what you want

[jesseagan]

When ordering a Gig, the single most important tip to remember is to let the seller know exactly what you want.



After you hit the “Order Now” button, in some cases there are instructions from the seller asking for information that they need to complete your order. Make sure to provide them with what they requested. If something isn’t clear message them. If there are any additional details they might need like color pallet, text requests, etc., let them know about it.



Remember the Gig delivery clock starts only after these instructions are sent back to the seller so it’s important to get them the info ASAP so that they can start working on your order.



The key is to be as specific as possible so that the seller knows what you expect from them and can work to deliver exactly that.

[graphixgoddess]

I agree. I have instructions on my order instruction page on what to include and more often than not, buyers do not fill out in full the 3 simple questions I ask. Though they are PERTINENT to the order being completed correctly and to their needs.



BUYER INSTRUCTIONS are important requests on a sellers behalf and I believe it should not be much to ask that the buyer be clear about answering the questions sellers may require to complete the order.



In a hurry? It NEVER HURTS to ask this upfront- “Can you rush this order”, but please do not send reminder notes after placing the order that it is needed in a hurry. Please be kind and respect turnaround times. Sellers try very hard to accommodate buyers needs and requests, but many of us may have other ordeals, jobs, life issues, etc. that take up time as well. Requesting that we ‘please rush’ your order or ‘hurry up’, unfortunately, does not allow us any more time in the day to work. We are working as quickly as we can.

[anarchofighter]

I’d like to turn this point in the other direction: Remember the Gig delivery clock starts only after these instructions are sent back to the seller so it’s important to get them the info ASAP so that they can start working on your order.



That is, also remember that the Gig Delivery Clock STARTS the moment YOU respond …in the gig area… even if you have NOT responded to the request.



So saying something like, “Okay, I’ll get that to you next week…” on a gig with a 2 day delivery window, …well… that’s not going to work for anyone.



Having said that, if you’re serious about wanting a gig, ORDER FIRST, to show your commitment (even just at the $5 level) then go to http://www.fiverr.com/conversations/SELLERNAMEonFIVERR and then ask your question. It will get you great respect and much love.



Top sellers sometimes get 50 or 60 message a day! And half as many orders. So, just understand, customers come first. Be one, it’s $5!

[lparziale]

Good advice! You would not purchase an airline ticket to Zimbabwe if you did not know when it took off, where it landed, how many stops there were and how much it cost. You would ask questions and only after you knew the answers to those questions and were satisfied the ticket was the value you were looking for, purchase it. Think of all your gigs purchased as tickets to Zimbabwe.

[Guest tn5rr2012]

This is great advice and tips. There is not enough space for me to include all my required information so I put in the first reply to be on the lookout for another message (which 97% of the time comes right after they order) Sometimes as a seller I am writing at the same time my buyer is sending me the required information and other times I never hear from the buyer again.

[ajdrawings]

I really do agree with you. I wish more buyers would read this, I have a gig for drawing people in a sketch and in anime, and the buyer sent me three duds. One of them, she wasn’t wearing anything, which I stated it had to be a G rated photo. And she also sent bad quality photo shots, didn’t tell me what to draw her as. She said to draw her as a teacher, so I chose a random teacher outfit and she got upset at me, left a negative comment how it didn’t resemble her (it’s anime) at all, when I got her eye, skin color, hair color, features right.

[jasonm]

I agree with lots of points in this thread. If I know exactly what you want then I don’t have to worry about wasting your time and mine for a product that isn’t useful for you. If you don’t send instructions then your order won’t even show up on my sales page and I have nowhere to submit your product. My howl is to give you the product you need. Taking a moment to leave clear instructions helps us both.

[oranjewebdesign]

Jesseagan I completely concur my agreements. Some great points made above.



I found that the majority of issues I have as a seller is with communicating to certain people. Coming from the Uk with a background in German/Dutch, I thought I would be somewhat more able than most but apparently not.



There are many people out there sellers and buyers that are sometimes impossible to communicate too. These need to be taken on the chin. 99% Class, 1% Adequate.

[refugeek]

Clear communication is definitely helpful. But I’ve found that, especially for graphic design related gigs, it’s often hard for clients to express what they want in writing. I often just whip up a quick preview/work in progress and let the client give his feedback on that.



Having said that, I do request instructions on all gigs and some clients manage to give clear instructions that save us both some time.

[caiterz]

MORE is better than LESS! I try to stress this in the gig description!

[ghostwriter786]

@jesseagan Yes this is the important point for the buyers and the sellers both. All should communicate before placing any order. This is the best way to get the perfect thing what you that. Well said bro.

Regards,
@ghostwriter786

[creativeman]

I prefer people to ask for my examples before the order takes place. I sell a lot of services that people haven’t seen before so to really help them understand what I offer I encourage them in my gig descriptions to message me first.

[riverboys3]

Hi
I needed an about Us page copy.
I gave a what I think is a very clear brief, tothe writer on the background of company, current copies of an existing brochure text, key facts to include (3 attachments).

The person who did my gig responded in 3 days which is fine, but just didn’t get the key points across, put in incorrect and inaccurate information and used phrases that were just wrong tone, cliches that made the copy sound cheesy.

She did amends but still didn’t get what I wanted and after 2 rounds, ignored my emails and rejected my requests. So is that it.? I felt bad giving a poor review whilst she was working on the gig, but now that she’s rejected any further amends and I haven’t got the copy I want. Very disappointed. And feel stuck. What do I do?

[sophiacr7]

Yes! This is so true. So many revisions could’ve been avoided if my buyers were just a little more clear. 🙂

[contentcruise]

Beautiful, I couldn’t agree more!

As a seller in the article niche, I have had series of issues with buyers who would just drop a topic without clarification on how they want the article written and when I ask for more information, blank! you won’t get a reply from the buyer until the time is up.

I think not leaving a clear instruction for your seller on what to do, especially in my niche, puts the seller in a bind as to how to proceed with processing the order.

Again, it boils down to communication, I feel you don’t switch off when you bought a gig until your order is delivered and completed.

[emmaki]

To be honest, when they do that, I take it as a sign that they’re giving me full creative control. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone be unreasonable about it (aside from the odd “this isn’t quite what I wanted facepalm, could you tweak x, y and z a little?”)

[misscrystal]

My guess is that they don’t know what they want exactly until you deliver it, and then they decide on how they want it changed.