Ever had a client turn a 30 minute call into a 2 hour rambling tour of every idea they've ever had?

And 45 minutes later you're deep in their cousin's startup idea, a logo they hate, and whether they should start a YouTube channel for their dog.

There's no such thing as a free tangent.

Something else always gets pushed down the list.

But most clients don’t see it that way until you show it to them...

Then the trade-off becomes visible and an honest conversation can happen →

Some clients just can't stay on the agenda, no matter what you do.

Every call runs over, and still nothing gets decided, wasting both you and the client’s time and money.

You run the call on your terms, hit every item on your actual agenda, and the client leaves thinking YOU were the pro who kept things on track.

(and more or less oblivious to the fact that they're the one who kept derailing it 🥲 )

Your gentle redirects and reminders only temporarily bring the meeting back on track.

5 minutes later they are derailing the convo again and you end up entertaining the idea in the hopes they will let it go and you can finally move on.

It’s up to YOU to take control of the call.

Part of your job is to make sure the important stuff gets attention and the call stays on time.

So, at the top of the call, say something like this:

"I want to make sure we get to everything that matters to you today, so if something comes up outside of what's on the agenda, I'm going to jot it down and we'll come back to it at the end. That way nothing gets lost, but we don't burn the whole call on it either."

This gives you permission to redirect the convo, without sounding like a jerk.

Even the best clients will get off-topic sometimes, and oftentimes your next project is hiding in those tangents, so keeping a running list of every tangent that comes up helps you and the client.

So whenever that happens, you just say:

"Good one, adding that to the Later list."

And then get right back to the agenda.

Then you can go back and address those other items at the end of the call (or via email, etc.)

You want to make it visual so they can actually see all the things they brought up.

Most people have no idea how many times they derailed until they see them in a list.

A good way to segway would be saying something like:

"Okay, before we go, let's run through everything you brought up along the way."

Then read the list back to them, item by item, and ask which actually matters right now.

9 times out of 10 they'll pick 1 or 2 and wave off the rest themselves.

And you never had to say no to a single idea…

They did it for you.

Or if it’s that 1 time and they see there’s an actual need for more of your services.

Now you’ve got an easy opportunity to earn more on another project with them.

There's a whole list of little client moments like this that nobody warns you about before you go freelancing →

Budget conversations, stalled projects, scope creep, etc…

And knowing how to handle them is the difference between where you’re at now, and the pro you want to be.

Join the pro freelancers inside The Freelancing Program that are managing tricky client convos like this, reaching their income goals, and generating leads consistently.

For $59/month you get:

Learn more here →

Best,

Jamie

P.S. Don’t forget to keep these “later” lists and revisit them when you’re ready to start another project with the client.

That’s an easy way for you to create those long-term, 6-fig client relationships every freelancer wants.

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