Client Relationships and you, Setting a professional tone with your clients
Hey guys, I really wanted to share my perspective on how you should interact with clients for maximum professionality.
It is in fact skewed to a perspective of a graphics designer, but when you're working as a freelancer, more or less any type of work should be pretty much the same.
Every single element of your work is an art form. The work that you do, all the way to the contracts you write. Interfacing with your client is an artform as well. When it comes to discussing work and potential projects, there is a certain tone that you should use.
We're going to go over interfacing with a make believe client, and I'll go over what and how you should be sounding to the client.
THE CLIENT
So here's the example:
Chris is the CEO. Based on everything he told us, he was born a coding prodigy. He started coding since he was 12, by the time he was 15 he was hacking airport databases much to our amusement. He’s got a dream to redefine everything we know about coding. And he really like our style of graphics design. He likes pandas and everything about pandas. Recently he’s finished a prototype of some sort of coding language and is ready to take it public.
But Malice, why should we know these things?
Well, we must use all information to our advantage. And setting a bond with our client is one of the most important things we can achieve. If our client is willing to share this much information with us, we’re off to a flying start. But be careful, there is such a thing as too much. We want to forge a strong business relationship, not become the client’s best friend. And trust me, it’s easy for that to happen.
But Malice, a best friend client, that sounds awesome!
You. Don’t. Know. What. Your. Asking. For. If the client sees us that close and personal, he’s going to want the very best of what we can do. He’ll start asking for extra revisions and “One more thing, can you..”. Every single thing you say has the potential to be used against you in the future.
Never say things that can be interpreted as you working for free. You have to be subtle as a feather, at the same time, solid and impenetrable like a mountain. If the client sees us as a close friend, or even friend, he’s going to want favors. And we’re not in the business of favors. We’re in the business of selling our services.
Be formal. Always. Treat your client like.. Your friend’s Dad. You want him to like you, but you don’t want to go fishing with him. You want to get the inside scoop, and a strong business relationship. But to do this, you have to play a major mind game.
It’s hard to explain, but let me go over a few scenarios with you.
Client: Wow man, I really like your graphics designs, I’m pretty excited to be working with you!
Your answer:
Wow, I’m totally flustered by that comment man, I’m really happy to work with you too. I’ll do everything in my power to meet and exceed your expectations. Together we will make your dream a reality.
What the hell is wrong with you. Don’t act like such a fangirl. Show that you know that you’re good at what you do, and why it was certainly kind of Mr.Chris to complement our work, but we don’t need to bend over for him either.
Revised Answer:
Thank you very much Mr.Chris. It’s taken awhile, but I’ve really nailed the formula of what I do, and I’m fairly excited to work with you too.
Formal. Formal. Formal. Always be formal, or you’re going to regret it. Keep things short and sweet. We retain our respect and complement from Mr.Chris, but we don’t go overboard.
1 part Formal, 1 part Respectful, 1 confidence
It's a complicated formula, and it's something that will be hard to master. But when you do, you'll notice how much more easier it is to actually vocalize with your client. And you will find that more and more people will come to respect you and your opinions. Clients will come to you for advice and your thoughts. It's how you become an Authority in your field.
Hopefully, this can get the ball rolling in your mind, perhaps it may even be something you want to adapt.
It's certainly not easy, and it takes a passive thinking. I personally thought that there is just not enough content on this subject on the web, and in my honest opinion, is just another thing that seperates professionals from amatuers.
That's everything I have for now.
Tell me about your experiences with interacting with your clients
I'd love to hear about everyone else's experiences on this subject. Please come discuss with me.
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I've written some articles about sales back in the days, i've read many many more - but your post is now one of my favorites. Thank you for that. I will not be able to add more in this matter :)
Good post, very informative and great advice.
p.s I want to meet Chris.
Really do appreciate this post, I love how you compared two different conversations.
Well, I figured that alot of the fields out there are pretty much the same. When I was looking at a development chat the other day, I kind of saw how one of the developers were talking. I could tell he was new. And while he didn't really say anything wrong. But I felt bad because his client walked all over him.
It's very important to find the relationship between client and developer. Sometimes very hard to do, because people don't realize how long it takes to finish a piece. I feel for ya man.
oh man, more of these, people have a hard time understanding the dynamics of professional to personal relationships.. this is great. great work
I remember one client who kept wanting me to make a large amount revising a logo. When I told him more revisions would cost. He said i should do them because i was his friend... Yikes that was awkward..
lol yikes
GOOD INFO - thnx Mal and good fun reading your tips - i decided to upvote and follow you to connect and keep you moving up --love n light brother D
I spent many years as a Procurement Manager, literally buying the goods and services for major corporations, in effect, I was a professional client.
You are spot on with the friendliness trap, I would often have to step in to these kind of relationships where someone in my business was, what we in Procurement call 'captured' by a supplier. They had forgotten this was really a business arrangment for the betterment of our organization, and were happily approving invoices on trust. Just as bad on the supplier side, I saw companies which had become overly reliant on the business we were providing, if they lost us as a client then they would basically go out of business; bad for the supplier but bad for us too, that kind of instability means other issues can make the supplier fail unexpectedly, which has negative impacts on our business.
Unraveling these kind of relationships, isnt a method to being popular, there is definately an element of fear on both sides, but relationships can be made professional again. Invoices can be checked for things like correct amounts, correct payment terms and questions can be asked about quality of deliverables, the supplier is just as entitiled to follow up on late payments, not serve unreasonable demands and have fair treatment.
Buying things is the easiest job in the world, doing it well is another story.
Wow, thank you so much for the insight on on the client end. I can say honestly, this article is based on my experiences working with clients, particularly on the startup end. There were honestly lots of moments where clients would take advantage of my over-eagerness, and entrap me into doing more work for less money. By now, I have refined the tone of how I work with these clients by being Respectful, punctual, and professional. I give my client their due respect, but also make sure to draw a line in the sand. The line of, we are here for business.
Once again, thank you for your insight. I thought it would be cool to cover some of the things that aren't covered normally. Perhaps, maybe even 1 or 2 people might actually learn from my mistakes when they start up their commission based services. Thanks again @scalextrix
I really enjoyed your post, its nice to see people thinking about this stuff, like you said its not about being at arms length, but you do need a line somewhere.