Freelancing Mistakes: Don’t Give Your Clients What They Want
The customer is always right, right? Wrong. Clients can make insistent requests that would actually be detrimental to their business or intention. This usually happens if the client is inexperienced or misinformed in your field of work. Sometimes the cause is simply bad taste. Most of us have probably encountered more than our share of these clients. You can recognize this type of client easily, especially when they’re telling you the following things:
“Can we put frames and flashing images on my website? I like the way they look.”
“Maybe if you use red, orange, and purple on my logo it’d look more harmonious and professional.”
“I want my business press release to start with a poem my 5 year old son wrote.”
Sounds familiar, right? Due to the destructive nature of these requests, I’ve learned to call these types of clients “Self-Destructing Clients”. They want us to deliver the best results, but their requests are preventing their own success. My experience with these clients taught me so many lessons that I now know how to nip the problem in the bud, fix existing problems, and communicate better. Hopefully, you can learn from my own experiences rather than going through that difficult road yourself.
Recognize these clients before you sign the contract
The first thing you can do is to recognize the Self-Destructing Client the minute they walk into the door. If you do most of your work online, you need to do this within a couple of emails. For example, you may receive a query about your web design services. Your potential client might say “I want you to make me a page that looks like this”, with a link to a website that looks like it was made in 1997. It has a background MIDI file playing, flashing bright yellow cursive text, and frames. It would’ve given anyone conjunctivitis. Apparently, this is what your potential client wants.
Now, this request wouldn’t be a big deal if your potential client wanted a page where design wasn’t very important. However, design will be the primary factor if the client also wants a “professional look” that would make their business look established, as if it were a Fortune 500 company.
Obviously, either this prospect has bad taste or hasn’t been looking at websites of Fortune 500 companies. This person is obviously a Self-Destructing Client.
As you’ve probably noticed, it’s easy to spot Self-Destructive Clients based on their examples of the desired finished product. You can automate this step by including it in your standard client questionnaire. (You have one, right?) Apart from basic contact information, it should also include the following: “List down 3 websites/ illustrations/ articles that best represent what you want me to do:” Your potential client’s answers will give you a better look at their expectations and their understanding of what you can do for them.
Now that you have a Self-Destructing Client on your hands, what do you do?
If you haven’t signed the contract yet, it helps to educate the client about what’s best for her needs. You don’t do this by writing her a lengthy email that resembles a college course for your field. Here are some tips on how to show a Self-Destructing client that her requests are bad for business:
- Give it a polite start. Try to give your message in the most tactful way possible. “Although the examples you listed are great, they don’t seem to be the best solution for you right now.”
- List the reasons why you think that your client’s examples aren’t ideal, and support your statements. Don’t just say “Because yellow text on black background hurts my eyes”. Not only is that insulting, but you’re also implying that she has bad taste. Instead, say “Other design options are better” and link to a study or news item that shows research about blue (or some other color) being the optimal choice if you want to give a professional impression.
- Give your own examples of what would work best. At the end of the email, make your own example list of what will work better as a finished product (preferably, use similar companies or organizations).
- Make it short. Your client probably doesn’t have the time or patience to read a lengthy email. Plus, writing lengthy explanations can sound self-indulgent.
Doing this will gain your potential client’s trust, especially since you’ve just displayed that you are truly knowledgeable in your field. If she still hesitates, you can show her the work you’ve done for previous clients as “case studies” – and make them sound as good as they really are. “ABC Company wanted the same things you did at first, but I just applied my expertise and they’ve just told me a month ago that my redesign caused a 200% increase in sales.” Sometimes, educating the client and showing case studies is enough for them to go from self-destruct to success.
What if my Self-Destructing Client is very insistent on these absurd requests?
One thing you can do for stubborn Self-Destructing clients is to make them a deal. Tell them that you’re a real expert in your field and that you’ve seen good results repeatedly come out of your efforts. If they let you do it your way and they get the results they want – whether it’s sales, comments from visitors, etc. – then they get to keep the work you made. If they don’t get the results that they wanted, then you promise to redo everything their way, no matter how absurd the outcome (of course you don’t tell them the part about absurdity). Of course, this requires you to have the following things: a concrete way to measure results, unbreakable confidence in your own work, and the luxury of time to redo the project should they be unhappy with the results. If you’re delivering a high quality product, odds are they’d be happy with your work and recommend you to friends.
Making this kind of deal is only a great solution if you really know, whether from experience or hard facts, that you can deliver the results they want. Otherwise, this would be a very risky move. Be sure that you are informed, skilled, and determined enough to make it work.
Even if you offer potential clients this deal, some of them won’t want any part of it. In the end, either of you has to give in. At this point, it’s your call whether to accept the job or to tell your client that you obviously can’t give them what they want from you and that they should look for other freelancers who can. If you need the extra income, doing the job won’t hurt – just don’t add it to your portfolio if you don’t think it’s your best work. However, if you can afford to walk away from the job, I suggest that you do. Obviously, this person won’t trust your decisions and expertise. Accepting the job means encountering multiple frustrations along the way. In the end it’s a choice between money and your sanity.
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I found this article (and the site in general) very useful.
Celine Wrote:
”
If they don’t get the results that they wanted, then you promise to redo everything their way, no matter how absurd the outcome (of course you don’t tell them the part about absurdity).
”
// I think you are giving bad advice, very bad advice. If you haven’t signed a contract yet and you notice that the client is “Self-Destructive,” and they are “Self Destructive” to the point of no return, why risk it? You are only putting yourself in harm’s way by associating your business with this type of client.
Furthermore,
You should never offer to do something for free if the first attempt doesn’t work out! You will run into many problems if you do this. It is very risky to base your contracted work on how well the clients business did after the re-design/re-branding. First and foremost, doing so enables the client to (for whatever reason) become unsatisfied with the results. And then, you’re screwed.
FreelanceSwitch is a great site in my opinion. I’ve come to it many times because the design elements are inspiring. This is however the first article I’ve read.
A quick Google search shows that Celine Roque is the Head Writer & Owner of “Web Content Wow.” And now folks we’ll dig into the irony of it all. I hate to say this because I’ve come to expect quality from FreelanceSwitch but Celine is not like the Experienced Designer she describes in this article. She is inexperienced and I would go as far to say that she has poor taste in every aspect of web design. Don’t get me started on the logo.
What’s even worse is the Testimonial’s page. Were all of her clients “Self Destructive”…?
http://www.webcontentwow.com/testimonials/
A message to the Editor & Owner of FreelanceSwitch:
You have a beautiful site. Please do research on the qualifications of you writers. Celine is inexperienced (which is ok), but articles like this chip away at the reputation of this site.
One thing I always found very important when dealing with clients (and it applies to any project mangement as well) is to Manage Risk and Expectations.
Make sure you understand their expectations, and manage them accordingly. Another very import point comes from negatiations (Harvard Concept): Negotiate interests, never negotiate positions.
Applied to the above example, this means:
Does the client wants “yellow on black, flashing” or does he wants a sticky webpage wich increases his traffic? If you can confirm that his interest is the later, then it’s much easier to convince him that “yellow on black” is not the point to focus on.
Klaus Wiedemann
This is a really interesting view! In my day I’ve come to a different conclusion with this situation. Give the client what they want. Which is to say, make your point and your recommendations clearly. Make sure they understand why you believe that what they want will be detrimental for their business, back it up with any previous experience that you have on it. But if they still want to keep going in the face of that, build it out for them. Either they’ll be wrong and what you said was right and they learn something about that and hopefully give your opinion more weight next time or they’ll be right in which case you’ll have learned something.
There’s been countless times where I’ve been sure that a mistake was being made, where the same move has been made by other clients to great ill effect. But, in the end, for this client, in these circumstances it worked.
It happens that a clients doesn’t like any samples provided and isn’t able to find what exactly he/she likes. The client needs something with exotic look that should be different. And here’s a trap because a designer (I’m talking about web designers) should guess what he wants trying to deliver the final product based on his own experience. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
I had a client who approved the whole layout, colors, the logo – everything. The site was completely ready except a bunch of simple icons. After I made them and sent for an approval, he just disappeared and never came back. I have no idea what was the reason. That site is still under construction.
I’m coming from the desktop application world and I completely agree. There is a term that is used and that is “scope creep”, Oftentimes clients do not know exactly what they want. They have an idea of what they want but they do not know the amount of work involved in implementing it. I’ve been involved in several projects that never finished because the client kept adding features or changing the goal posts as the project progressed. Nowadays, I sit down with the client and give him an idea of how the development process would be. I let him signoff on the features that we both agreed on and also signoff on the fact that additional features will incur additional costs. It works all the time.
Gotta say, this article didn’t’ do it for me. I’ve worked with a couple serious self destructors, and it doesn’t matter what you say–they would like some shit, please. If you’re like me, and having a consistent portfolio of creative, quality work is priority one; just don’t take these clients.
I’ve also noticed that self destructors like to go through a few hundred revisions. You make something just as ugly and unprofessional as they asked for, and guess what? They suddenly find it ugly, and unprofessional. A HUGE waste of time you could of spent with a good client or creating some eye-catching personal work.
The article was right, you should sniff them out quickly and then stop returning those emails. Momma don’t need no scrubs!
Great article.
It’s a delicate balance. I used to work for a creative director who would take on an assignment and insist on putting her own personal spin on it. “I know what’s best for these people”, was a common phrase we heard around the office. It wasn’t always a successful approach and at times could prove very frustrating for our clients.
So I guess my point is don’t totally dismiss your clients input and be sure to listen with an open mind… Then give your design advice.
There may be a very good reason why they need you to design with orange and green. After all even though your client may be color blind, they didn’t get to where they are without knowing their own business.
BiKlops –> You’re exactly right, well said. Avoid such clients from the offset, and avoid them like the PLAGUE!
BiKlops: You should always be careful in how you dismiss these types of ’self-destructors’. Quite often these nightmare clients may have terrible taste and judgement, but they’re loaded with cash or have business contacts in high places. It’s alarming how often this seems to be the case. I’ve found the best strategy is to identify them early, and price accordingly! If you simply turn them away as clients, that’s negative publicity.
Thanks for all the comments folks!
@Brandon
I’m not sure I understand your argument, Brandon–you’re welcome to your opinion about her site (which I don’t find to be all that awful, personally, having seen some bad sites in my time), but I don’t understand why you think she’s inexperienced or her advice is off the mark. I think the point of doing the free work is to get a chance to give your client what they’ll really benefit from. If they don’t pick it up, fine, you have the code/design/etc. for later projects.
This is different from spec work (which I don’t condone), as the rights do remain yours and should be protected (you can even send over exported files rather than source, if you prefer–jpg’s instead of psd’s, for example).
Anyhow, just my two cents.
an excellent read..
This post really puts a lot of things into perspective for people who don’t know how to say no.
I was particularly impressed with the part about negotiating on the basis of the confidence one has on one’s authority and work…
Celine,
You’re a great fit at FSw. Lovely article—so true!
Kristen:)
I recently had a “bad-taste” client, but I did what she wanted. I tried to talk her out of some of her choices – tried to tell her how better to approach the problem – but she wanted it how she wanted it.
I gave up and gave her what she wanted. The site is HORRIBLE and I left my name and business completely off of it. I am so embarrassed, I don’t want to be associated with it at all in the least! But, she loves it.
At one point, I thought about saying “find another designer” but she had a big budget and was more than willing to pay. So I caved.
So all in all, I feel like I whored myself out. I compromised my design (and myself) in order for the fat paycheck. But I guess we all have to do that every once in a while, huh?
Of course in some kinds of freelancing you just about never get the opportunity to do it right.
Press releases are the classic example. I am almost never allowed to write something other than buzzword-laced mush and judging by what I get when wearing my other hat as a magazine writer neither is anyone else.
Styles differ of course, but I have to agree with the poster who said the author of the article is apparently inexperienced. If I get a situation like this I have a sit-down with the customer and point out that a) Of course we can do it that way, but b) doing it that way means they’re wasting money and possibly damaging their company and c) if they insist I’ll take their money and do it that way, d) it’s your choice.
If they decide they don’t want me, oh well.
And as for portfolio building, with the best will in the world, not everything I do goes in my portfolio. A portfolio is supposed to show off your best work and, IMAO, shouldn’t contain more than six items, with 2-3 being ideal. The customized portfolios I put forth for potential clients are just about never more than 3 carefully selected items out of the thousands I could submit. (Thousands? Remember I’ve been freelancing for a _long_ time.)
Wow… so many bad advices in such a short article. If you’re new in the business, do yourself a favor and forget you ever read this. Instead go buy yourself a copy of “The business Side of Creativity.” 95% of the business related posts on this blog are dumbed down versions of what’s in that book.
Sorry freelance switch, but publishing such garbage is border line criminal.
Love the article. I would also love to see an article about client questionnaires.
I was about to leave a comment saying that as soon as you recognize a self destructive client you should bolt for the door. Sometimes you definitely should, but then as a few of the other comments remind me, a few of the self destructive clients I’ve encountered have helped me pay many bills over the years. Sure, it is kind of soul destroying, but it doesn’t have to go in your resume/portfolio, and hopefully you still learn something valuable from the whole experience, such as a greater understanding of the business world, and how incredibly fickle and nonsensical it can be
I wouldn’t suggest making such a deal, I’ve done it – and it was painful. I don’t want to spend my time making an ugly tables-infested site, so I’ll never agree to anything of the sort again. If a potential client is requesting things that just aren’t right, and they don’t want to listen to any suggestions, then they’re not going to be my next client. Simple as that.
Don’t make your life difficult!
I worked with a self destructive client before , budget for the project was $100 and I had to re-do every thing cause he didnt know what he want. If I had the chance to charge him for more I would ask for additional $400
He had a bad taste, bad choose of colors and when I suggested some of the ideas he started to discuss them and totally spoiled their beauty
I finished this project and decided not to do such jobs anymore. Now he’s trying to contact me and I am making excuses! No more waste of time!
There is some self-destructors that accept the advice, leave everything to you If he understand you’re a professional. I say if your client liked your adviced and was convinced with them, go ahead and continue working. If not just finish it and stop working with them
Great Article , thanks
Keep it up
Another very helpful article! Thank you
Harry
The article makes more sense for people that haven’t done their homework when getting a project and assumes that the freelancer has the best taste in the field.
When dealing with “Self Destructive” clients, you should explicitly agree to the work, break and charge on small pieces.
Ultimately its the client who owns the result, not you.
About portfolio that some mentioned – it can simply be added with different comment or not added at all
I just came home from working on a gig that i HAD to undercharge the self-destructor for because the organization and contacts I made by doing the job will change my life FOREVER!
MUMRA!! THE EVER — LIVING!!!
This article is very honest. This is still business and you try to sell your stuff as much as you can. And just like any other business, you can’t satisfy everybody. But sharing your ideas with clients gives you better chance of them coming back than settling with what they ask of you and creating something mediocre.
“What’s even worse is the Testimonial’s page. Were all of her clients “Self Destructive”…?” – Brandon
What kind of argument is that?
I think this is really right on. So often people hire a designer and tell them that “they are the designer”, but they really dictate every inch of the design. Personally if I can’t be super proud of something we’ve worked on I don’t do it. I don’t care how much a clients wants it, if it’s a bad idea, it’s a bad idea.
Of course we will always try things first if we’re not sure… but, as they say, we’re the designers.
Thanks Celine, great article!, even though it’s too late for me (I have already run away from this kind of clients a couple of years ago), many others will find this lines crucially important in their freelance careers.
Anyway, I want to make a note of this article: If you find a client like these “self-destructive clientes”, drop her, don’t work for her, apologize and run away as quickly as you can, they aren’t worth the trouble neither the effort. There are a lot of good clients in the world, believe me.
Bye!
I do not believe this