How To Identify and Deal With Different Types Of Clients
In business, being able to read people and quickly get a sense of who you’re dealing with is an invaluable skill. It turns your encounter with a client into an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the upcoming project and how it will need to be handled. It is one of the building blocks of a professional relationship.
In today’s digital age, the arena has shifted to the Web, and the online office space that most freelancers inhabit limits personal interaction. Though sussing out a client’s personality via online communication is difficult, it still remains an invaluable tool in your arsenal.
Image by Salva Barbera.
In the freelancing field, you will encounter a range of client types. Being able to identify which you are dealing with allows you to develop the right strategy to maximize your interactions with them, and it could save your sanity. Below is a list of the most common personality types and the tell-tale signs that will tip you off.
The Passive-Aggressive
Image by John Philip.
This is the client who is very passive when you ask for initial input, but when you submit the finished product, they aggressively attack it, demanding a lot of detailed changes, both major and minor. They had an idea of what they wanted all along but kept it mostly to themselves. Even though they showed appreciation of certain ideas and elements throughout the development process, do not expect the passive-aggressive client to keep any of them as they send revisions your way.
Identifying Characteristics
- Communication is mostly one-sided and unhelpful during project development.
- Makes statements such as:
- “I’m not really sure what we’re looking for.”
- “Just do something that would appeal to us generally.”
- “You totally missed the point of what we wanted.”
How to Deal
Patience is the key. Expecting the last-minute requests for revisions may soften the blow of the client’s aggressive behavior. Keep your original layered design intact so that you can easily refine and change it later (not that you wouldn’t, but it does happen). Also, make sure your contract specifies a limited number of revisions.
The Family Friend
Image by Celiece Aurea.
This is the client whom you have known for years either through personal or family interaction, and this connection has landed you the job. The relationship will be tested and perhaps marred forever by what could very well be a nightmare of a project. This family friend believes he deserves a “special” price and unbridled access to your work. They will sometimes unwittingly belittle your work or not take it seriously because of their personal connection to you.
Identifying Characteristics
- These clients are easy to identify because… well, you know them.
- Makes such statements as:
- “Could you just throw something together for me?”
- “I don’t want you to think that just because I know you I want you to cut me a deal.”
- “You’re going to charge me what?! But we go way back!”
How to Deal
The way to deal with this client depends on how well you know them and how much you value your relationship with them. But remember that anyone who would take advantage of such a relationship is not truly a friend, so respond accordingly. An honest approach could end up saving the relationship. But start off with a professional, not personal, tone, and they may follow your lead. Of course, if you truly value the relationship, you may want to pass on the job altogether.
The Under-Valuer
Image by Maxime Perron Caissy.
Like the family friend described above, this client will devalue your creative contributions. But there is a difference: you do not actually know this person. There is no rationale for their behavior. They feel they should get a “friend’s” pricing rate not because they want to be friends with you, but because they do not see your work as being worth that much… even if they couldn’t do it themselves. Not coming from a creative background or even having had exposure to the arts can mar someone’s appreciation of the work that you do. After years in our field, we make it look easy, and that is what the under-valuer sees.
Identifying Characteristics
- Does not respond to questions in a timely fashion.
- Makes such statements as:
- “It’s not like it takes much effort on your part.”
- “Couldn’t you just throw something together for me?”
- “How hard can this really be?”
How to Deal
Confidence is key here. You know what your work demands and how well you do your job. The under-valuer will recognize this confidence. Don’t back down or concede a point to the client when discussing your role in the project. Standing firm will establish the professional and respectful tone you deserve. If the client does not respond in kind, cut your losses and decline their project.
The Nit-Picker
Image by Bob Smith.
This client is never fully satisfied with the work you do and will constantly pick on minor details here and there that they dislike and want changed. Do not be surprised if they ask you to change these same details over and over ad nauseam. It is not a sign of disrespect (as it is with the other clients), but simply the nature of the person. They may have been burned in some other project and are now unsatisfied with everything in their path, including your work.
Identifying Characteristics
- Complains almost consistently about unrelated things.
- Personal outlook comes with a scathing bite.
- Makes such statements as:
- “How hard is it to [fill in the blank with any rant]?”
- “I’m really not sure about this element here. It just doesn’t pop!”
- “I don’t think you are really getting it.”
How to Deal
Once again, patience is important (especially if you have some sadistic reason for taking on nit-picking clients). Try to detach yourself from the project as much as possible, so that the constant nit-pickery does not affect you personally. It is easy to feel hurt or get defensive when your work is repeatedly questioned, and you may begin to doubt your skill. But understand that this is not about you or your talent; it is simply a personality trait of the person you are dealing with. And once again, protect yourself in the contract.
The Scornful Saver
Image by Ivan Petrov.
This client has similarities to the nit-picker and under-valuer but is actually impressed with your work and skill set. The criticize you merely to undermine your confidence in an attempt to lower your pricing rate. Unlike some other client types, the scornful saver understands creative people and their processes. But they are cheap and manipulative, and their scheme may have worked in their favor once or twice in the past. So, they continue to subtly abuse the people they hire in the hope of saving every last penny.
Identifying Characteristics
- Compliments always come with a less-than-flattering qualifier.
- Takes time to respond to questions, sometimes making you ask more than once.
- Makes such statements as:
- “I really like what you’ve done overall, but I’m unsure about one or two things.”
- “You may not have gotten exactly what we’re looking for, but you’re close.”
How to Deal
Once again, it is all about confidence. Having a solid understanding of your field and being confident in your knowledge and abilities will keep this client’s manipulation in check. Standing your ground and even calling the client on some of their tactics could shift the balance of power over to you. Be prepared to walk away from the project if the disrespect and manipulation continues. There will be other projects and other clients.
The “I-Could-Do-This-Myself”-er
Image by Maria Beliakova.
Where to begin… When this client farms a project out to you, they make clear to you that they know how to do what they’re hiring you to do but that just don’t have the time to actually do it. They may be working at a firm or an entrepreneur; either way, you are there to pick up their slack. If they’re at a firm, you could be in for an interesting situation; they were likely hired for their particular style and proposals, and now you will have to please two sets of people: the person who hired you and the people who hired him.
Identifying Characteristics
- Will generally be (or look) hectic and rushed.
- Communication from them often takes the form of short bursts of information.
- Makes such statements as:
- “I could easily handle this if my schedule weren’t so full.”
- “Really? Not sure that’s the direction I would’ve gone in, but whatever.”
- “Remember, you are filling my shoes, and they’re pretty big.”
How to Deal
The “I-Could-Do-This-Myself”-er will likely have recognized your talent and skill right away, which is why they hired you. They merely want you to know that this project (and thus you) is not above their ability. And though these reminders will grate on you periodically, they will let you run with your ideas, perhaps offering suggestions or feedback on the final design.
The Control Freak
Image by Michal Zacharzewski.
This client desperately needs to micro-manage every little detail of the project, no matter their qualifications. No decision may be made without their explicit input and approval. This tiresome client forces himself into your workflow, heedless of either invitation or protest, and will demand access to you at whim. The concepts of boundaries and strict work processes are easily lost on the control freak, who constantly disrupts the flow. They may also believe you lack dedication or preparedness, further reinforcing their need to interfere.
Identifying Characteristics
- Initial contact is long, detailed and one-sided, with little input sought from you.
- Your input remains unsought as the project pushes forward.
- Makes such statements as:
- “This way we can keep in contact 24/7 in case you have any questions, or I do.”
- “I really know best what is right for the project and what is not.”
- “What do you mean, I’m distracting you? I am the only thing keeping this project on track!”
How to Deal
If you absolutely must take on this client, for whatever reason, resign yourself to the fact that you will not be steering at any point. You will have to detach yourself from the work because you will have no control at all. You will merely be constructing, not designing, so just let go and let it happen. You may want to exclude this project from your portfolio.
The Dream Client
Image by Piotr Lewandowski.
This client, widely dismissed as a myth, does in fact exist and understands the full scope and artistry of your work. They value your role and creative contributions and want you in the driver’s seat as soon as the project gets underway. They are timely with responses and payments… payments that they did not “negotiate” but rather accepted for what they are. They reflect on your suggestions and have confidence in your capabilities.
Identifying Characteristics
- Is enthusiastic about the project and your involvement in it.
- Communication shows awareness of and respect for your role.
- Makes such statements as:
- “Here’s the brief we prepared. The rest is pretty much up to you.”
- “We like what we’ve seen and trust you’ll do great things for us.”
How to Deal
Don’t brag! Just enjoy the ride and hold on to them for as long as you possibly can!
Wrap-up
Being able to identify the type of client you are dealing with will prepare you for the job ahead. It will also help you decide whether to accept the job in the first place. Your contract will reflect the power dynamics of the project, so the more you know about the client, the better able you will be to adjust the contract as necessary. Have you come across other types of clients in your freelancing career? Please let us know in the comments.
Further Resources
Because contracts are such an important tool, here are some resources to help you draft them.
- Using Freelance Graphic Design Contracts
An article by David Airey dealing with the whys and hows of using freelance design contracts. - Business of Design Online Forms
This website offers a number of useful forms, free for downloading and use. - Freelance Contracts
A great contract template that makes it easy for freelancers to fill in their own information.
(al)
miles dean
October 16th, 2009 8:31 amhow about clients that are all of the above(minus dream)?
Steve
October 16th, 2009 8:56 amWould be funnier if it wasn’t so true. I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed it.
Mark Carter
October 16th, 2009 9:36 amSo painful coz all so true ….. lord!
Laura Wright
October 16th, 2009 1:25 pmRead this from a client we currently have been dealing with now for 6 months. He makes no sense and is driving us (well me especially) crazy. Please make sure you read the entire novel of an email we got because the ending is unbelievable I have no idea what he is talking about. Also note that in our contract it states we only do 2 revisions to a design but this project has 13 revisions and counting and we are trying to be nice and not charge him anymore however he is wanting a discount now. WHAT? I don’t see that happening.
We need to be somewhere between revision 5 and revision 7. Revision 5 works great below the red horizontal navigation bar. The only change I suggest is removing all curl-effect shading from the left/right edges (of the cream-colored/brown areas containing the text/buddha face … not the red border’ish area; please leave the red border’ish area alone). The left edge is fine; do not adjust it. As to the right edge, again – only BELOW the red horizontal navigation bar, remove all curl-effect shading (i.e., the quick fade to black along the right edge, that being the edge of the brown section (which has the tree fading to the buddha face), not the red area; please leave the red border-ish area alone). Basically, I’m giving up on the trying to have a curl effect BELOW the red horizontal navigation bar, and so I want that area (BELOW the red horizontal navigation bar) to appear to lie flat on the red border’ish area background type thing. From (and including) the red horizontal navigation bar up to the top, I prefer revision 7 – sort-of; we finally got the shading to take over the right edge of the stacked-rocks image, but that has (1) darkened the red border to a not-pleasing color that is different from the rest of the red border (so we need to remove the shading from the red border); and (2) it has caused the shading to be a little to dramatic in the horizontal gold accent bars and the red horizontal navigation bar (so we need to dial that back). As to the left side of that upper area, the shading over the image section is just fine in revision 5 but, in that same revision, it is not enough over the horizontal gold accent bars and the red horizontal navigation bar. In revision 7, the shading over those horizontal bars ends up being slightly too much, and the shading over the image section ends up being way too much. Finally, the red border on this side, too, ended up getting darkened so that it is no longer the right color, and so that needs to be dialed back to the color that it was. The effect we’re looking for here is, coupled to the flat, almost 2-dimensional look of the below-the-horizontal-navigation-bar section, something of a 3-D marquee that is flat across the front, which sits somewhat in the foreground (compared to the lower section), and which has rounded sides. If you were to take a line of double-AA batteries lying side by side, lash them together (kinda like a raft of batteries), and stretch cloth across the ‘raft’ to create a smooth surface, that’s the shape of the upper section (i.e., a marquee with short curved sides). Then, imagine the bottom section as a flat sheet of paper suspended from the bottom of this relatively 3-dimensional marquee. That’s the concept.
Speedo
October 16th, 2009 1:50 pmLOL @Laura Wright! Good luck with the project :)
Great article!
Anita Henderson
October 16th, 2009 1:58 pmI’ve created a bookmark to this article so that I can quickly refer to it the next time I am almost driven to tears by customers that sometimes belong to several of the categories above. And it reminds me that I’m not alone.
Thank you so much for this article. It has made my day.
Oranj
October 16th, 2009 6:59 pm@ Luara, wow just wow. BTW what exactly is a curl effect? Now I want to see this curl effect. You know what this thread needs? It needs more curl effect(queue Christopher Walken).
Josh
October 16th, 2009 7:35 pmThat is not what passive aggressive means. Using a term that means one thing to describe something else for the sake of an article is retarded.
Also keep your layered work around so you can change it? REALLY? Because you would always do this? But it does happen? What.
Average article is average.
104 : This is why talking in person is better but people refuse to believe it(not that you are not doing that but a lot of people seem very pro non-person contact).
mariek
October 17th, 2009 12:15 pmaaaaah, the under-valuer……
Ali Suarez
October 17th, 2009 7:27 pmGreat article! Thanks!
Cathy
October 17th, 2009 7:31 pmGreat article. I think we have all had these problem clients.
I can truthfully say that all of my clients are dream clients! Yes, you read that right. Stay at this business long enough and you can spot (and quickly dismiss) problem clients before you take them on as clients. Just takes years of practice and being very honest with yourself AND your potential clients. Heck, me being honest with my clients about what I expect weeds out a good number of problem clients.
I keep a ready supply of other developers who will take “anyone” as a client and I pass the problems on to them. Evil, yes…but it works. ;-)
Dot
October 18th, 2009 8:12 pmthank you so much for the article. It helps a lot. And i learn a lot
dezino2
October 19th, 2009 3:16 amlol…….love the article…but after reading i found every type in one single client……but thnx to you now i know how to handle him…..thnx
Silv
October 19th, 2009 3:29 amGreat article. Now I can be sure it’s not me it’s them.
Usually I recognize trouble coming when they start telling what they don’t want, but asked what do they want are not able to tell anything.
Luckily I had few of Dream clients in my way. If not them I would give up on being a designer by now.
P.S. Sorry Laura :) Your client is a hardcore, but, hey, look at the bright side – it happens once a lifetime (well,… at least not every day). My suggestion – tell him changes he has requested will take a month to do and ask him to specify each of the points he mentioned. :)) I’m not sure it will work, but what do you have to loose? Client? :)))
Michiel Ebberink
October 19th, 2009 3:58 amThanks for this article. Loved it.
lovewebdesign
October 19th, 2009 7:56 amI love this article, it just about sums up “clients” in one easy article. Obviously allow “leeway” but brilliant article…
videodude
October 19th, 2009 4:11 pmCool
You missed one though
the “End Game” Client.
Those people are all about hammering on delivery date and useless about the required details in getting there, only tell you about mission-critical details after you have completed a layout or edit.
Phrases:
“When are you finally gonna be done yet?”
“Cant you just ________ by tomorrow?”
“I have a major Investor looking at the site” ( usually a lie )
They are big on fire-drill urgency that doesn’t actually have substance.
I tell these people that “You cannot Frost a Cake while its still in the oven”
Jeff
October 19th, 2009 9:50 pmSooo spot on!
I have been in the business for a while and pretty much ran into all of them, will definitely do some social experimenting with your advice! Great stuff and thank god im not the only one dealing with this!
orth3rion
October 19th, 2009 11:29 pm:)) yup … everywhere is the same. Nice article
Palash
October 19th, 2009 11:47 pmi’m a regular on this blog/resource/website but this is the first time i’m commenting :)
great article, well put. am facing the sad brunt of a control freak for the last eight months so i can fully sympathise with this post. loved it!
had a question though, could i turn it into a short booklet (with credits and print-res files sent your way as well)? i’d like to distribute it to some of the students i teach at srishti, india (you’ll find their site online, just not posting here). thanks!
Corinne
October 20th, 2009 12:09 amLove it :-) So true!
However, it is partially up to ourselves to push the client in the direction we want. Never give in, do not let you get used in any way, stick to your policy, NEVER TAKE ON A PAID JOB FOR FAMILY OR FRIENDS and when some client does not give you the right feeling, be strong enough to refuse the job.
Sam M
October 20th, 2009 3:40 amgoood job Smahing!
actually the worst clients I’ve ever had was ‘The Control Freak’,
seriously you may loos most of your hair during the project.
I’m almost bald now…..
and also I hate “no-content client” as Simon said…
Wendy
October 20th, 2009 11:43 amOn the nose! Applies to in house designers as well; my job is proof that a whole corporate culture can be one type of client. Mine is “Control Freak”. Lucky me. <sarcasm
GGD Chavez
October 20th, 2009 1:16 pmYeah, true, I have seen the passive aggresive client before. Totally, cool and acts like they are comfortable with everything through the entire job, and then *BAM* a huge packet of irrelavent changes and then acting like your lagging. I just keep it cool, because mostly it is them projecting thier anxiety upon your design, thinking that the link color is going to affect thier sales…Just stay cool…and be like…”yeah…I’m happy to met your needs and taste, just send me the changes and I’ll send you the invoice for the extra work.” and then see what they say…:>
Jon
October 20th, 2009 3:44 pmGreat article! Anyone who has worked with clients for anywhere from a few minutes to many years will run into every one of these types. This could have been just a fun read, but the fact that you included sound advice for how to deal with each type made this truly useful.
Riyanweb
October 20th, 2009 3:55 pmLoL ( You cannot Frost a Cake while its still in the oven” ) true true………
Vivified Design
October 20th, 2009 4:42 pmI have had my share of all types of clients and the one thing I have always found that holds true is that no matter how frustrated I may get – the client is 10 times as frustrated.
It is the nature of the business we have chosen to deal with the best and the worst.
My only advice is to be patient – I have had more great clients than bad. In the end I usually just try to teach them what they do not understand and hope for the best.
Thanks Smashing Magazine for breaking the silence on this subject though.
Cheers,
Cameron
Tom
October 21st, 2009 12:15 pmThis post is funny!
Reminds me BigLebowski profiling post, I came across the other day.
Thanks
Maicon Sobczak
October 21st, 2009 2:51 pmGood article.
I have some couples of “Dream Clients” an this make me feel motivated.
Michael
October 21st, 2009 11:52 pmSo true. Very useful. Thanks.
Damian
October 22nd, 2009 7:55 amThank you Smashing magazine. I read through all the comments, this is such an edifying topic to the design community. Keep up the rocking work!
Jessica
October 22nd, 2009 7:11 pmI loved this post. So many of these client types are people I have dealt with in the past. I’m happy to say that I have had a few “dream” clients, but also a good deal of the rest, especially the under-valuer.
I have a few hosted clients with little or no understanding of websites. They are reluctant to learn, always claiming not to understand computers, and don’t want to listen to advice. One client actually wrote to me in an email that she is just too old (she’s 60 – my grandfather learned to use the internet in his 90s, so maybe I’m biased) to understand the internet, and it’s not fair that I use words she can’t understand (“hyperlink” and “search engine”) when emailing her about her website. She also thinks that all work we do for her should be free, since she’s a non-profit.
For me, this is the worst sort of client to work for, because the person undervalues what I do for a living AND refuses to give up control, but plays the ignorance card, so there’s a hint of passive aggressive behavior mixed in. The result is a horribly outdated website that I don’t even like to admit I’ve worked on.
But that sort of client really makes me appreciate the good ones, who value opinions and experience, and allow me to do my best work. :-)
Selvam
October 23rd, 2009 4:49 amReminds me some of the past client I worked……hahahaahaaa thanks
Drew Horine
October 23rd, 2009 5:30 amA lot of great additions to the client types in this article. The one I didn’t see is the “not-for-profit.” These people have little or no money, but want something that will pump in donations like a well-spring of living water. They are usually extremely grateful and extremely needy all in the same sentence.
I have done some freebie work for non-profits from time to time with one stipulation: don’t tell anyone who did your site. Otherwise, the organizations wanting free work will multiply at your doorstep like tribbles on the Enterprise.
If you really care about an organization or your church, do some work for them quietly, without credit. If it’s a website, always build in the ability for the organization to self-manage so you can build it and step aside. You’ll have treasure in Heaven and time to work for paying clients.
adsgraphicsfirm
October 23rd, 2009 1:27 pmWe’ve seen our share of most of the clients listed above.
We take the good with the not so good, and do it all with a smile.
~ADS
Morgan
October 24th, 2009 5:56 amGreat article! I’m a carpenter and have had everyone of these clients in my 30 years of work.-including the ‘poke in the eye’ client! Passed article to my wife who recognizes several of her managers.
Shane
October 24th, 2009 6:15 amJeff said…
Jeff-the writer is telling you tongue-in-cheek- if you want to save yourself stress-not to do work for friends . If you really want to keep a relationship-help them move or buy them a drink. ‘Friends’ still fall under the other types and I rarely have done work for a ‘dream friend’.
mrinalini
October 26th, 2009 4:01 amIsn’t that real valuable guidance…Looking forward to more such educating articles …Thanks !
Phil Simon
October 26th, 2009 12:21 pmThis is a great post. I’ve worked with all kinds and this sums it up nicely.
Not buying it
October 29th, 2009 8:07 pmSorry to be the skunk at the picnic here.
Sure clients are a pain. They are also the reason you exist. If you want someone to just give you money and receive what you so generously decde to bestow upon them, go into fine art.
Design is all about making things useful, and that means collaborating with people who know their business and their customers better than you do.
The arrogance implied by this article doesn’t do much to overcome the haughty know-it-all stereotype that defines too many hacks.
Stephanie
November 17th, 2009 6:53 amGreat article! I think we’ve all run across a gamut of client types, and learning how to work effectively with them is key – identifying their strengths/weaknesses early on in the process is a wonderful way to construct a good working relationship that produces well designed and results-driven work.
Joshua K.
October 4th, 2010 2:13 pmThe article is not arrogant. There is obviously a limit to what is reasonable. Example: For one project, because my price was fixed, I calculated that I was making well under $10 per hour for a certain project because the client would not stop demanding constant changes to the site. This takes time.
You said it yourself. “Design is all about making things useful, and that means collaborating with people who know their business and their customers better than you do.”
But there is a HUGE different between “collaboration” and making unreasonable demands. You are confusing the two. Some clients want to control details right down to the pixel, and I don’t exist to make these specific changes all day – that is not design anymore – that is just him designing, me at the computer. I exist to turn business requirements into a design. If the client knows all about the discipline of design and wants to control every single bit himself, then why is my job title “designer”? My job title should be “slave at the computer”.
The client should communicate the business requirements, and the designer should interpret those requirements and do the design. That is the reason why designers exist.
KDzyne
November 18th, 2009 6:15 pmThis is by far one of the greatest posts I’ve read in a really long time. For many reasons you probably already now and won’t bore you with. Thanks man!
Jim Abbondante
November 27th, 2009 11:00 amHey Robert – As someone who has been in the training industry for years and in the people business all my life – I totally enjoyed your article and found much if not all of your insight to be right on target! Great Stuff! Jim A.
Alexander
November 29th, 2009 4:12 pmThanks for the great article! :-)
I think I have a possible stereotype for you:
The Underminer
He’s probably a very weird case of a I-Can-Do-It-Myself-er.
Maybe you know him from before this project. He’s usually a part of the client’s company or organization but has nothing related to the project you’re working on, he’s probably not even someone from the people who have a say in it. He’s the type that probably has competence in art, maybe even graphic design. He most likely sees a very flattering image of himself when it comes to his professionalism. He would likely try and get in touch with you about his idea about the site’s design. If you reject him he will probably start saying negative things about you or your design, behind your back and in front of the others from the company/organization. He might even try and convince the people responsible for the project to give his own design to you for the site (and effectively reduce you to just a technician). He usually thrives when the boss’s hand is not firm enough.
Some characteristics:
Says things like: “Hey, we should get in touch to fix up the site’s design”, “But I’m one of the best in the country”, “This is a [insert the organization type here] site, after all!”, “The site needs to have more style (than what you’ve made so far)”
Probably won’t start doing “his version” of the design until he realizes his time to do it is running out, unless he had it ready all along.
Very insisting.
Probably doesn’t have the best reputation in the company/organization.
How I dealt with him:
Be patient. Keep passive for as long as you can. Always double-check what he’s telling you about what other people said to him. If it starts getting out of control, talk with the boss, quote what he told you, and request to know their position on this. In case you lose over him, you probably wouldn’t want to keep working on such a task anyway. Ah, and you might also want to block all online channels of communication with him.
This is actually a current site design+maintenance job of mine, I’m talking about.
Matt
December 5th, 2009 2:09 pmI’ve found several dream clients. In order to do so, I ditched a few others. Boy, was it worth it! Loving my work again.
Dzior
January 20th, 2010 11:03 amI just love this post, i’ve red it maby a hundred times !!! I’m less of a freelancer, more owner of a design company now, at the begginig of my bussiness I was designing and creating everything, now I usualy just manage the projects. We mostly do Web stuff and 3D Design. I have some expirience of mine:
1. I found that the Web clients are much worse than the other. Usualy they think, that they realy have the taste in design, couse “what’s the deal with drawing a line here and there…”. It differ much from the “3D world” where the “3D” still is a magical word, and customers can’t realy tell what and how to change, couse they just don’t know.
2. I run my studio at a middle size city, which is big enough for a “world class” design, but to small for a “world class” prices, so we’re stuck somewhere inbetween – the client demmands a class which he can’t afford.
3. It’s a good thing to do a little “investigation” on who You’ll be working for – just type the company name in Google, this way You’ll be able to determine if the client can afford Your time, couse a good designer do a great work, that’s why he isn’t cheap. When the potential client have a lousy design now, that means usualy that they can’t afford to have better.
4. The higher the price the better the client cares about the project !
Thank You for this great post, have a lot of dream clients folks !
AlMubdi
February 21st, 2010 10:30 amGood & usable post i like it
333Colectivo
March 3rd, 2010 6:50 amGreetings from the Dominican Republic, Just today I was looking for information on dealing with clients to calm myself down a bit, I will be dealing with people this weekend during an event im participating in. All this information was really useful to refresh things in my head and im looking forward to put it in practice. Gracias !
Anything Graphic
April 22nd, 2010 4:25 pmThis is such a great article on SO many different levels….
Sarah Lam
September 20th, 2010 9:15 amI am lucky enough to get good clients who aren’t too picky and they are not cheapskates. At least I get someone who appreciates what I do and pays me well enough for my work.
smArtist DesigNerd
September 28th, 2010 10:28 amIf you are having trouble with receiving payment for already completed work, just shut off their site until they pay. Or deny updates to their site until payment is met. Works every time!
Of course my contract includes a clause for this very situation, excessively late or failure to make payments as designated in the contract results in potential “down-time” for the client… which is almost ALWAYS unacceptable to them or their superiors. This can also become true if they are slack on payments BECAUSE of excessive changes, bad communication, or lack of deliverables to you. You will ALWAYS have the higher ground, morally and legally, and this will give you the confidence in your process to hold them accountable and not become a whipping boy.
Great in alleviating almost all kinds of clients listed above, including family :)
P.S. I am all for “in-person” communication, as people are usually busy and that way they will actually “REMEMBER” talking to you, however, ALWAYS get a confirmation of the conversation/decision in writing/txt-message/IM/email/voice-mail, etc. and then also confirm whatever the communication is a second time, or you’ll be sorry.
Joshua K.
October 4th, 2010 1:21 pmI can deal with the others OK, but the control freak and the nit-picker types are by far the worst imho … I’ve had really, really bad experiences with these types.
If the client wants to control every detail down the the HEX value of a color and the exact sizes of images, etc, then why did they hire a designer at all? They obviously believe they know better than me. If they hired me for the technical expertise i.e. markup and programming, then why didn’t they create the design first then hand it to me to code?
Even worse is when they say a mockup is OK, go ahead and code it. Then later they say something doesn’t look exactly the way they want. Then I have to spend days re-coding the HTML/CSS and buy new images to use because they didn’t like those stock photos either.
These types of client are a massive time sink. I figure that I’d have to give them 10 times the attention of other clients and almost constant contact through phone and e-mail, but get the same or less pay. Looking through my inbox 80% of all e-mails are from a single control-freak/nit-picker client, and the rest 20% are normal clients. I also get phone calls at any time of the day requesting changes to several parts of the design … and this is HTML/CSS, not the mockup stage…
It is a nightmare. Avoid if possible – but you don’t know until you’re in the job.
albert awuah
November 12th, 2010 7:31 amthis is a useful presentation i think it will help me with my research on types of clients. thumbs up!!!
Jack L.
October 17th, 2011 6:00 amGreat post. I’ve been freelancing for just over a year now and have dealt with both dream clients and awkward ones. I can’t complain though as it’s all good learning. My advice is don’t rush into a job -make sure you have a clear brief, that is signed by both parties (to stop the goalposts moving), a solid contract (where the client agrees to respond in a timely manner), and various sign off stages (to stop clients suddenly change their mind 3/4 through a project. I’ve learnt the hard way but *touch wood* the design process is getting smoother.
Kathy
January 15th, 2012 12:08 amMost of my clients have been great, but I’m dealing with one that is driving me nuts right now. They tend to go back and forth between kissing my butt about how good I am, and complaining about something or other (usually claiming they asked for something different than what I gave them, even though I have the details in writing). They also love to arrange to meet in person and then cancel at the last minute, or conveniently forget. Their website is down now (the funny thing is I have nothing to do with it).
Judy Caroll
February 13th, 2012 5:49 amVery helpful. Customers really come in all different shapes and sizes; some of them are mean, some are funny, some are serious. But ultimately, these are the people who would assist us in growing our business, that’s why it’s important that we treat them well no matter what.