As most experienced
freelancers know, sometimes we have to fire our clients, for their benefit and
ours. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Iused to think dealing
with frustrating clients was just part of being a creative. But then I realized
while, yes, there are frustrating parts of any relationship, frustration should
be the exception rather than the rule.
There are certainly times
when we want to turn into the freelance version of Donald Trump, screaming “You’re
Fired!” at everyone we disagree with. But the truth is, we deserve the clients
we get. Bad clients aren’t the result of some cosmic force working against us,
they’re more likely the result of our own actions.
Frustrating clients are
the result of some misstep we’ve made along the way. To do our best work and
work with the best people, we need to be diligent in our relationship with our
clients. Here’s how:
Have the guts to say
“no.”
If it doesn’t seem like a
good project for you, walk away before money is involved. Is that the type of
project you want to be known for? Like attracts like, so if you’re filling your
portfolio with work you aren’t interested in, all you’re doing is setting
yourself up for more of the same (Jason Santa Maria gave a great Creative
Mornings talk about the power and value of saying no to work). It can be scary,
but think past just this one client.
Walk away before money is
involved.
Clearly communicate your
values to the world.
The easiest way to do
this is to blog regularly on the same website that your portfolio is on. Write
honestly about the work you do. This immediately shows potential clients if
their goals and values match up with yours and saves time discovering later
that you and your client are out of sync.
Educate your clients.
Chances are, we’ve been
part of more projects involving our craft than the person that hired us. We
have a great opportunity to teach our clients what we’ve learned from all that
experience.
If a client disagrees
with something you know to be right, don’t get bent out of shape. Instead, go
into research mode. Show them using examples why what they want doesn’t work
for your project. If they can turn around and clearly illustrate why their
suggestion will work, you can concede (and learn something in the process). If
they can’t you’ve squashed an issue while educating your client for (hopefully)
many projects to come. Consider it an “investment” in a resource that you need
for your career to be successful.
Interrogate potential
clients.
What are their tastes in
design? Does that match the work you’re interested in doing? There’s no point
taking on a client that loves flashy bells and whistles if you like doing
subtle minimal designs. Screening clients lets you pick the ones that are
better to work with and provide you with the type of work you’re actually keen
on doing more of.
Be clear on the project’s
goals.
That way if there are
disagreements, it’s not a matter of what they want versus what you want, which
is highly subjective, it’s more a matter of what accomplishes the goals of the
project in the best way. Put these goals in writing and refer back to the document
when necessary.
***
It’s hard to say no to
clients (and their money), especially when you first start out. But like any
other creative endeavor, focus on quality early and your career will get
exponentially easier. After all, good clients lead to us good work, which leads
to us being more happy and fulfilled (and less complaining to our peers about
how our clients keep making bad decisions). Creating a body of work you’re
happy with can take a lifetime.
We are responsible for
the work we put into the world, so why not make that work great?
Courtesy: www.99u.com
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