New clients can be like Christmas morning. You open your presents and you've either got that wicked new bike from dad, or a hideous sweater from grandma. Either way, dealing with clients is all about learning to make the best out of what you've got!

If you unwrap a new client and discover a project or relationship that is fraught with difficulty, endless spec changes, unnecessary amounts of correspondence, control/trust issues, or any other of a range of annoying and shady behavior, you need to be prepared. These things happen. Consider the following points and good luck to you!

 

1) Have a game plan and follow it

Having a consistent protocol with every client will not only make things clear and smooth for you as you work on the project, but will facilitate a kind of structured clarity that puts clients at ease; you’ve done this before, you aren’t frazzled or daunted or scrambling, and that immediately instills trust. Once you have a client’s trust, they are far less likely to give you trouble down the road. At the beginning of a project, carefully lay out how you do business: the timeline you will follow, how often and by what means you prefer to communicate and give updates, exactly how the money is to be handled, etc. Granted, there is always a little room for adjustment depending on the nature of each project, and it does help to be slightly flexible to accommodate your client’s needs...but still to your guns. You have a protocol for a reason. You might even want to list it on your website so people know what they’re getting before they even contact you.

2) Document every correspondence

This especially can be useful when dealing with someone who likes to change the parameters of the project all the time, who asks for one thing and then upon receiving it, says they wanted something else, or just a client who is really inundating you with a lot of superfluous communication. Save every email, make notes about every phone call and meeting, including dates and times - these things will be valuable if you ever need to clarify something for either of you.

3) Stay in control

Yes, they are paying you for your services but you are not a client’s employee. This is a place where a lot of professionals can go wrong; once money starts changing hands, a natural power structure gets established. In the world for design services (among other freelance professions), this is not the case. You are the one who knows how to do something that they need. They are essentially paying you to be their boss on this particular project - and you should remember that. It’s not a good idea to be a jerk about anything, but make sure you stay in control and not let a power-tripping client start calling all the shots. You want to listen to their needs and work with them but at the end of the day, it’s your job to take the lead on getting something done.

4) Explain things

One reason many clients get upset is because your way of doing business, whether it’s making decisions or the frequency of communication and hitting goals, might be different from theirs. They don’t always do the best job of articulating that this is why they’re upset, but hey, everyone is human. Chances are, if a client is upset about almost anything, neutralizing the situation is a simple as calmly and carefully explaining to them why you are doing what you’re doing. Or why they should do what you’re asking them do. Or why a certain decision has to be made. Whatever it is, just explain it, while reassuring them that you know what you’re doing and you’re on their team to complete this project. Don’t engage them or get defensive. More flies with honey, and all tha

5) Learn when to say no

Sometimes, the best way to deal with a troublesome project is to simply say no. Especially with the more experience you gain, you’ll be able to start seeing red flags about certain clients from the beginning, before you even commit to a project. It’s always tempting to say yes to anything that will help your bottom line, but you should get comfortable with turning down projects that seem to be more trouble than they’re worth. After all, the best way to deal with a problem is to avoid having one in the first place.

 

 

Source:

Jessica B. on DesignersCouch