It’s important for any business to get to know every prospective client before taking on a new job. The relationship with your client is very crucial. A healthy client relationship means easier and more enjoyable work. It is also good for your wallet and overall success.
We’ve All Been There
I have learned the hard way that some clients are just not worth the aggravation. You’re putting in way too many hours, dealing with an unhappy customer and ultimately a bad project.
Before you accept a new client you need to figure out whether your services and abilities match your client’s expectations. Taking on a project that doesn’t really fit with your skills and abilities will only guarantee a dissatisfied client and more workload for you. You also have to make sure that your personalities are a good match.
By far, however, the most important question you need to ask yourself is “Will this be a high-maintenance client?”
Some client can not only cause a lot of stress but can cost you money. However, there are warning signs that every designer should look for, signs that may point to a ‘problem client’ and they might just save you a lot of time and stress.
- Bargain Client – There are plenty of clients who will want to haggle you down in price as if you were selling apples at a flea market. These people have no understanding of or just no respect for your skills and abilities. Do research and figure out what you are worth. Then stick to it.
- Tire Kicker – This guys will call you, email you, ask questions and do everything else but get on board. Tire Kickers “shop around” but never intend to actually become your client. Don’t waste your time. Recognize them and move on.
- Tight Budget Client – My favorite type of client is one who wants a gorgeous website with all the bells and whistles but gives you a warning right up front that they are on a very tight budget. Move on.
- “Whatever” Client – This guy will tell you that you can do anything you want: layout, design, color theme are all up to you. The reality is that everyone has a vision and you need to figure out what it is that your client wants / likes / dislikes if you are to create a successful product. Otherwise, you will be going back and forth, often starting from scratch.
- Do-It-Yourselfer – This is the client who thinks “I could do this myself but I don’t have the time.” If he thinks he can do it himself, he thinks he can do it better than you. You’ve been warned.
There’s no getting around it. At some point in your career you will be dealing with a difficult client and it will make you question your skills, your career choice, your sanity. It often takes one client from hell to wreck havoc in your professional life so the more prepared you are to spot them, the better off you are.
Martyn ZombieTuesday
Amen to all that sister!
what about the ones that INSIST you use a non standard web font all the way through a website? to the point where they say ” surely we can just replace ALL the text with images!”
ARRGH! drives me mad 🙂
Pete
Spot on although I would like to add one more client to the list. After two or three design revisions there is the client who says “I’ll show the design to my next door neighbour, there eldest boy is doing design in college”
Andrew
Pete’s got it. “Design by Committee” – avoid like the plague!
Rob Hurley
also, the one who wants a basic site, then keeps adding things he wants without offering to pay for any additional work
philwebservices
I agree. There are different types of clients and designers should really cooperate with them so that the result would be amazing. Thank you for posting this.
Lukasz
If you are a business owner you have clients. Some are great, some come back for more. And yes, some are a pain to deal with. Yet, it’s the clients who make your business go on. And how successfully you deal with them, great or difficult alike, is what makes your business grow!
Ray Girvan
Oh, tell me about it. I haven’t run into any lately, but an annoying variant on the Do-It-Yourselfer is what I call the Fiddler. They want the site set up so that they can edit it, so you set it up as bullet-proof as possible (e.g. they can edit page content, but not break the site template). Then somehow they find way after unexpected way of breaking the site just by fiddling with content that had no conceivable need for them to alter.
maribel guardia
Awesome Story, I can TOTALLY Relate and am in a similar situation with upcoming success. Thanks for the Inspiration and keep developing awesome stuff!