Lost Sales Due to Lack of Integrated Communication Options

[silberma1976]

I love Fiverr. I have been on here five years, and have enjoyed the quality and successful experience. I have noticed, however, that I am losing possible work to lack of communication options here. It is against terms of service to communicate outside of the platform. Period, end of the story.

I get potential buyers who want to hear a voice or see a face, and I decline because I value my account over the ultimate sale.

I would love to see Fiverr integrate voice and video chat into the platform so our options to communicate increase, which will lead to customer trust and satisfaction.

I know other platforms have said option.

[j6nyc6]

I just had a quick vision of some perv buyer using the video chat inappropriately, ewwwwww.

[misscrystal]

You can always ask CS if you can be allowed to use a platform that utilizes live chat. However since you are a writer, I can’t see why a buyer would need to see and talk to you.

It opens up a can of worms when you realize you have a client unable to talk in coherent English, or appears in a bathrobe on cam, or does not keep the session appointment, or any number of other unforeseen difficulties.

[humanissocial]

It’s not a real loss. You don’t need these things to sell here and your prospects should be more reasonable.

Face-to-face prospecting is only helpful if the cost of what you’re offering greatly overrides the time spent doing the communication. I wouldn’t even do face-to-face or voice for a $200 order for this reason. And you don’t even know if they’ll accept it.

Plus, as @misscrystal explains, video and audio chat opens up all sorts of other issues. And Fiverr can’t protect you if you don’t have things in writing.

And, let’s face it: most buyers want video chat because they want you to figure out the job and jot notes about the scope so they don’t have to. They want to ramble on about their project. All of this takes time and negates the price of the order.

[misscrystal]

It’s not a real loss. You don’t need these things to sell here and your prospects should be more reasonable.

Face-to-face prospecting is only helpful if the cost of what you’re offering greatly overrides the time spent doing the communication. I wouldn’t even do face-to-face or voice for a $200 order for this reason. And you don’t even know if they’ll accept it.

Plus, as @misscrystal explains, video and audio chat opens up all sorts of other issues. And Fiverr can’t protect you if you don’t have things in writing.

And, let’s face it: most buyers want video chat because they want you to figure out the job and jot notes about the scope so they don’t have to. They want to ramble on about their project. All of this takes time and negates the price of the order.

They want to ramble on about their project. All of this takes time and negates the price of the order.

Live chat is a magnet for all types of unbalanced people with ulterior motives. As was said, there are lots of people who want to sit for hours rambling on to you about their lives and projects without any thought to compensate you for your time. Mostly these people who want this are interested in taking advantage of you.

[humanissocial]

They want to ramble on about their project. All of this takes time and negates the price of the order.

Live chat is a magnet for all types of unbalanced people with ulterior motives. As was said, there are lots of people who want to sit for hours rambling on to you about their lives and projects without any thought to compensate you for your time. Mostly these people who want this are interested in taking advantage of you.

Yes. And even those who aren’t and will actually hire you want to ramble on, especially. They don’t want to put things into a concise scope of work and statement of problem. They want you to do it for them and they want to go on to you about how great their business is. One of the reasons I like Fiverr is because I get to avoid this type of buyer, not encourage them to act this way.

[lenasemenkova]

I get 1 or 2 people monthly who’ll try to go: “Can I have a quick call with you, I can explain it better via the phone” route.

I just tell them no. 99% will then proceed to explain themselves in writing. I think it’s a good thing. Asking people to be precise and communicate clearly benefits both parties and works better in writing.

If, on the other hand, a potential buyer needs bells, whistles and a back rub to give you a basic project outline, it’s a red flag.

[cyaxrex]

I love Fiverr. I have been on here five years, and have enjoyed the quality and successful experience. I have noticed, however, that I am losing possible work to lack of communication options here. It is against terms of service to communicate outside of the platform. Period, end of the story.

I get potential buyers who want to hear a voice or see a face, and I decline because I value my account over the ultimate sale.

I would love to see Fiverr integrate voice and video chat into the platform so our options to communicate increase, which will lead to customer trust and satisfaction.

I know other platforms have said option.

I would love to see Fiverr integrate voice and video chat into the platform so our options to communicate increase, which will lead to customer trust and satisfaction.

I’ve worked on platforms which allow voice and video calls. I’ve also used ■■■■■ with several clients sourced independently of any freelance platform. I can safely say that there is next to zero ROI from communicating with clients in this way. What there is is a near 100% increase in people attempting to pull some kind of scam.

When agreeing to video chat with clients on a platform which allows this, I have been asked on almost every occasion to accept payment directly via bank transfer, PayPal, etc. In every other case, a client has revealed that while they posted a $500 project as available, they are actually looking for someone who they can pay $2.50 per 1,000-word article. (Or something just as ridiculous).

On extremely rare occasions where a video chat or call has not gone one of the above two ways, it has just resulted in a lengthy chat with someone who has no idea what they want. Usually, they have a deranged idea that their idea for a website is the best entrepreneurial idea ever and they want a free ego massage.

If you offer a high-value service, video chats and calls are fine in the context of calls forming part of a paid consultation. I’m pretty sure that Fiverr also allows this on request.

As far as my own experience goes, I’d also say that video chats and calls aren’t really trending in the world of freelancing. What is emerging as a trend is a bigger focus on quality.

When I started freelancing in 2013, everywhere was pretty much like Fiverr and the then Elance. Now the platforms I work on outside of Fiverr offer a completely different buying and selling experience.

• Freelancers have to pass stricter vetting before they are allowed to sign up. Typically, this means writing a test article or creating a the likes of a test voice over.
• All work delivered to clients is checked by human editors
• Turnaround times for projects are often capped at between 3 and 5-hours.

Big brands and high-paying clients seem to value quality guarantees and convenience over one on one direct contact with freelancers. This being the case, I would hope that Fiverr devs look at emulating a few quality guarantee features like those I just mentioned, before they look at rolling out things like video calls. In my mind, the latter will just lead to lots of huge seller headaches.

[fastcopywriter]

Oral communication is prone to miscommunication, and it’s a waste of time for sellers who live on opposite points of the globe.

Besides, do you really want to schedule a time to call your client? Are you home all day? I’m a Lot Associate at Home Depot (started this week) and I drive for Uber. I don’t have time for chit chat.

[cyaxrex]

Oral communication is prone to miscommunication, and it’s a waste of time for sellers who live on opposite points of the globe.

Besides, do you really want to schedule a time to call your client? Are you home all day? I’m a Lot Associate at Home Depot (started this week) and I drive for Uber. I don’t have time for chit chat.

I’m a Lot Associate at Home Depot (started this week) and I drive for Uber. I don’t have time for chit chat.

I’m always impressed by how many side hustles you keep on the go. Touch wood, I haven’t had to work outside of freelancing since 2016. My game plan for if sales nosedive further than they have already, is to move somewhere cheaper to compensate. Have you ever thought of doing the same? - Good luck with he new job btw!

Oral communication is prone to miscommunication, and it’s a waste of time for sellers who live on opposite points of the globe.

I second this. Chatting via video or a call also means that you don’t have a record of everything discussed unless you record calls or transcribe them. That adds another level of inconvenience.

The last time I engaged in a video call with a client, it went on for nearly an hour and only at the end did they clarify that they didn’t just want a lot of website content, but also their entire website designed from scratch. It was a huge waste of time and sealed the deal on why I now never communicate in this way.

[fastcopywriter]

I’m a Lot Associate at Home Depot (started this week) and I drive for Uber. I don’t have time for chit chat.

I’m always impressed by how many side hustles you keep on the go. Touch wood, I haven’t had to work outside of freelancing since 2016. My game plan for if sales nosedive further than they have already, is to move somewhere cheaper to compensate. Have you ever thought of doing the same? - Good luck with he new job btw!

Oral communication is prone to miscommunication, and it’s a waste of time for sellers who live on opposite points of the globe.

I second this. Chatting via video or a call also means that you don’t have a record of everything discussed unless you record calls or transcribe them. That adds another level of inconvenience.

The last time I engaged in a video call with a client, it went on for nearly an hour and only at the end did they clarify that they didn’t just want a lot of website content, but also their entire website designed from scratch. It was a huge waste of time and sealed the deal on why I now never communicate in this way.

My game plan for if sales nosedive further than they have already, is to move somewhere cheaper to compensate. Have you ever thought of doing the same

That’s a dangerous plan. Suppose your sales nosedive to $100 a month, where in the world can you live for $100 a month?

My advice would be start looking for multiple sources of income now. Don’t wait for disaster to strike to take action, that’s what I did in the past, and I regret it.

I engaged in a video call with a client, it went on for nearly an hour

Exactly, and you didn’t get paid for your time. Today I did a 3-hour orientation, I got paid for my time. $11 an hour.

[silberma1976]

You can always ask CS if you can be allowed to use a platform that utilizes live chat. However since you are a writer, I can’t see why a buyer would need to see and talk to you.

It opens up a can of worms when you realize you have a client unable to talk in coherent English, or appears in a bathrobe on cam, or does not keep the session appointment, or any number of other unforeseen difficulties.

There are times when they are able to communicate, but want to see a face or hear a voice to verify I am real and who I say. Some people, understandably, have online trust issues.

[silberma1976]

It’s not a real loss. You don’t need these things to sell here and your prospects should be more reasonable.

Face-to-face prospecting is only helpful if the cost of what you’re offering greatly overrides the time spent doing the communication. I wouldn’t even do face-to-face or voice for a $200 order for this reason. And you don’t even know if they’ll accept it.

Plus, as @misscrystal explains, video and audio chat opens up all sorts of other issues. And Fiverr can’t protect you if you don’t have things in writing.

And, let’s face it: most buyers want video chat because they want you to figure out the job and jot notes about the scope so they don’t have to. They want to ramble on about their project. All of this takes time and negates the price of the order.

The last part makes sense about them wanting me to take notes. If the project is large enough, and that is part of my job, it is worth it.

[silberma1976]

I get 1 or 2 people monthly who’ll try to go: “Can I have a quick call with you, I can explain it better via the phone” route.

I just tell them no. 99% will then proceed to explain themselves in writing. I think it’s a good thing. Asking people to be precise and communicate clearly benefits both parties and works better in writing.

If, on the other hand, a potential buyer needs bells, whistles and a back rub to give you a basic project outline, it’s a red flag.

Point well taken. Makes sense.

[silberma1976]

Oral communication is prone to miscommunication, and it’s a waste of time for sellers who live on opposite points of the globe.

Besides, do you really want to schedule a time to call your client? Are you home all day? I’m a Lot Associate at Home Depot (started this week) and I drive for Uber. I don’t have time for chit chat.

Great point. Not really interested in making time for all that.

[silberma1976]

My game plan for if sales nosedive further than they have already, is to move somewhere cheaper to compensate. Have you ever thought of doing the same

That’s a dangerous plan. Suppose your sales nosedive to $100 a month, where in the world can you live for $100 a month?

My advice would be start looking for multiple sources of income now. Don’t wait for disaster to strike to take action, that’s what I did in the past, and I regret it.

I engaged in a video call with a client, it went on for nearly an hour

Exactly, and you didn’t get paid for your time. Today I did a 3-hour orientation, I got paid for my time. $11 an hour.

I agree with fast copy here. Multiple income streams keep you safer in case one dips

[fynwriter]

What would one who is looking for a writing gig want to do with the voice of the writer? Think of it that way and you would discover that maybe they are trying to scam you.

[catwriter]

What would one who is looking for a writing gig want to do with the voice of the writer? Think of it that way and you would discover that maybe they are trying to scam you.

What would one who is looking for a writing gig want to do with the voice of the writer?

They might want to check whether the writer speaks proper English, especially if they live in a country where English isn’t the first language.

[melanielm]

I’m a writer and get a few people per week asking for voice/video chat to explain their project, etc. I don’t even do that off Fiverr anymore because I’ve discovered it to be quite a waste of my time. People ramble and explain themselves poorly. Quite a few try for free extras, to flirt with me (ugh), or just seem to want a friend instead of a professional service provider. I’d rather have everything they request in writing that I can quote and refer back to easily if they start to prevaricate in any way. I do understand why some would want the ability, I suppose.

[humanissocial]

The last part makes sense about them wanting me to take notes. If the project is large enough, and that is part of my job, it is worth it.

By “notes” I mean about the scope of what they want. No, it isn’t your job to have to write down everything they want just so they don’t have to. It’s their job and they need to take initiative. You aren’t their notetaker or personal assistant, unless you’re charging more to do those kinds of things, but I doubt you are.

The cost of your gig just refers to the deliverables. It doesn’t mean you have to compensate for a Buyer’s laziness.

@melanielm That doesn’t surprise me. People want to video chat so they don’t have to take the time and effort to put their thoughts into a cogent, concise scope.

[terrygrantvo]

If I’m being honest, I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) the number of times that speaking face to face did me even as much good (nevermind more good) than a well thought out email.

For some clients though, speaking face to face just seems to them like it would be more efficient, even though it rarely ever is.

[humanissocial]

If I’m being honest, I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) the number of times that speaking face to face did me even as much good (nevermind more good) than a well thought out email.

For some clients though, speaking face to face just seems to them like it would be more efficient, even though it rarely ever is.

That’s a great point. It can be the impression of value that prompts a Buyer to pursue a Seller. But, as you say, it’s of no value to the Seller. Even if it does make that particular sale more likely, the amount of time and energy you spend on a video chat negates the cost of the order and these Buyers are also likely to be difficult to work with.

[cyaxrex]

I’m a writer and get a few people per week asking for voice/video chat to explain their project, etc. I don’t even do that off Fiverr anymore because I’ve discovered it to be quite a waste of my time. People ramble and explain themselves poorly. Quite a few try for free extras, to flirt with me (ugh), or just seem to want a friend instead of a professional service provider. I’d rather have everything they request in writing that I can quote and refer back to easily if they start to prevaricate in any way. I do understand why some would want the ability, I suppose.

I don’t even do that off Fiverr anymore because I’ve discovered it to be quite a waste of my time.

I’m pleased I’m not the only one who has come to this conclusion. My overall experience is that the better the client, the less communication they need. The more picker and more hard to please the client (usually, because they don’t know what they want), the more communication they need.

Even if it does make that particular sale more likely, the amount of time and energy you spend on a video chat negates the cost of the order

There is also a security risk. In the past, clients who wanted voice chats, etc, wanted to chat via that S platform which rhyms with hype. Doing that meant handing over your contact details.

Now a lot of people want to communicate via apps linked directly to your phone number or email. This means blindly sharing a lot of personal information with complete strangers online.

[humanissocial]

I don’t even do that off Fiverr anymore because I’ve discovered it to be quite a waste of my time.

I’m pleased I’m not the only one who has come to this conclusion. My overall experience is that the better the client, the less communication they need. The more picker and more hard to please the client (usually, because they don’t know what they want), the more communication they need.

Even if it does make that particular sale more likely, the amount of time and energy you spend on a video chat negates the cost of the order

There is also a security risk. In the past, clients who wanted voice chats, etc, wanted to chat via that S platform which rhyms with hype. Doing that meant handing over your contact details.

Now a lot of people want to communicate via apps linked directly to your phone number or email. This means blindly sharing a lot of personal information with complete strangers online.

Definitely.

One of the reasons to use Fiverr is to PREVENT those kinds of things from happening. We give a 20% cut, so we may as well use it to protect ourselves.

[misscrystal]

There are times when they are able to communicate, but want to see a face or hear a voice to verify I am real and who I say. Some people, understandably, have online trust issues.

There are times when they are able to communicate, but want to see a face or hear a voice to verify I am real and who I say. Some people, understandably, have online trust issues.

There are so many nice clients out there who are a joy to work with, why try to cater to those who insist on chatting live with you? These are extremely difficult to please people.

This would be the type I would weed out and not want to deal with.