How to Ask My Client for Another Task Politely

Do you need an answer to the question, “how to ask my client for another task politely?” Maybe you’ve finished up all of your deliverables and you are bored? Maybe you need some extra cash? Or maybe, you just want to show your client that you have what it takes to do more.

Whatever the reason may be, asking for more responsibilities from a client takes a particular type of approach. It can backfire if you do it the wrong way, even if your intentions are good. Asking for another task can be as tricky, if not trickier, than asking a client how to extend a project deadline. Not to worry, below are some things that can help you on ‘how to ask my client another task’.

Considerations for Getting New Tasks from Clients

There really is no one way to ‘how to ask my client for another task’ as this will depend on several factors. To help you get a grasp on the things you need to consider, check out the questions below:

1. How long have you been working with your client?

For any type of work environment, building trust is a must. The same goes for freelancers and clients, you need to establish a good working relationship and this really takes time. The point here is if you have only been working for a few days or weeks with a client, chances are they might not be up to giving you another task right away.

You need to prove yourself first before a client may start trusting you and then offer you tasks upon request. There are of course a few tips that can help you out when asking for new tasks that you can try. Check them out in the next section of this article.

2. What is your working relationship like?

Your relationship with your client can easily change the way ‘how to ask my client for another task’. If you know this person before you did freelance work for them, then you can try to bring it up in a friendlier and informal way. It can be as easy as dropping a message on Slack saying, “Do you have another task that I can do for you?”

However, if this client of yours is someone you don’t really know, which is the case for most freelancers, then you will need to be a bit more formal when composing your email. It has to be more like a pitch as opposed to just a simple message asking for a task.

3. What kind of task do you want to request?

You need to consider the type of task that you will be requesting, is it simply the same as your previous task? For example, if you are a writer and you just want more articles to make, then it’s all about the volume. This can be easier to request as your client already knows the way you work.

It gets trickier if the task you want to request is something you haven’t done for your client before. So, again, for example, if you are a writer who creates articles, maybe you want to branch out and do an ad copy or a social media caption, you have to be more careful when asking. Make sure to provide relevant details so that your client will understand why you want a task that is different from your usual.

4. Do you have a contract?

If you have a contract with your client, see if there is anything on it that mentions asking for another task if you are already done with your deliverables. In the future, you can add this to your contract so there would be no awkwardness when requesting extra tasks.

How to Ask My Client for Another Task – Tips & Tricks

Once you have answered the questions above, you probably have a better grasp on how to ask a client for extra tasks politely. To further help you with this, below are some tips and tricks that you may use:

• Be direct and clear

Aside from the usual salutations and thanks at the end, make sure your message or email is straight to the point. From the get-go, your client should instantly understand what it is that you want. Then just add supporting details in the middle or the end of your message. Make the first statement about getting another task and not an intro about your work ethic.

• Don’t call

There’s a reason why millennials hate phone calls and with good reason. Calls can cause disruption and your client will not appreciate receiving a call asking for a sort-of favor. Besides, you won’t be able to lay out your “pitch” if you do it through a call. You don’t want your client, or any person for that matter, to be in a bad mood, especially if you are asking for something.

• Lay out important details

To make a successful pitch, which is technically what you are doing when asking for another task, you need to complete all of the details. Your client should understand that you want a new task and include the following important information:

• Additional task
• Price or rate of doing the additional task
• Deadline
• (optional) Incentive

To help you out with such details, Kosmo, a freelancing software is the right tool for you. This site can show you the list of tasks that you do for your clients and also the rate (even the time it takes for you to accomplish specific tasks). With Kosmo, you can easily determine your deadlines so you don’t end up overpromising to your clients. You can also figure out if you can make discounts for your services.

• Don’t put it on a thread

If there is anything you don’t want to do is to make “how to ask my client for another task” seem like an afterthought. For example, if you have just sent a message to your client that you have already completed a task and then you continue on the thread, “BTW, do you have other tasks I can do?” is a no-no.

Asking for an extra or new task deserves a fresh email or message. When you do create this message, it should only pertain to that so your client clearly understands. and there is no room for overlapping information.

• Brush up on email and message etiquette

One of the difficulties of electronic messages is things can very much get lost in translation. Even talking to someone face to face there are miscommunications already, what more than an email with just words and no facial expressions (emojis don’t count) and voice tone to match?

Try to brush up on etiquette for emails and messaging to help you out. There are some messages that may be perceived as rude or impolite and you might not even know it. Do work on this soft skill to help you be more polite online.

Conclusion

“How to ask my client for another task” may seem fairly difficult at first, especially if you don’t know exactly what you are doing. But, when armed with the right tools and instructions, it should be fairly easy to get what you want.

Just remember that every client is different and you also need to consider the type of work person they are. Don’t feel too bad if they can’t give you another task right away. Just the fact that you asked may leave a lasting impression on your client that you are a go-getter, a freelancer that they may count on in the future.

Post written by:

kosmo on November 8, 2022