Touchy Clients

Ever had those clients that are not afraid to tell you how they feel about your work, your discipline, how you respond emails etc etc. Unfortunately all my clients are like that. But there very few clients that come around that really give it to you and you keep asking yourself "Why did I come to work?" Fortunately, I have three of them. These are the clients who tell you how the logo should be, what colour you should use and so on. Since they know what they want, why were you hired you may ask?

Being a "silver-lining-kind-of-guy", I love what I learn from these clients because it makes me better at my job, the domino effect felt by my other clients. Here are a few pointers/ideas/ideals whatever you want to call it, that help me deal with "touchy clients".

1. Remember you are helping the client. They should never tell you how to do the work they hired you for. If they keep this up, then its time to end the relationship period.

2. Research, research, research. You must know more about the industry your client is in, to better aid them differentiate their offering and positioning. When showing knowledge during meetings, the client is likely to put his trust in you when you make decisions.

3. Write everything down. In meetings, emails, texts etc etc. Have a paper trail and ensure that you have signed approvals/signoffs on work/milestones when reached.

4. Always have the clients best interests at heart. Put yourself in their shoes and empathize. After all, its their company, their baby, their everything.

5. If all else fails, get your tongue lashing and take it like a man/woman. People dealing with clients should have a hard shell and NEVER take things personally.

Whatever ideals you may use from the above or maybe you have your own ideals, remember to have fun and never give up. Whatever the case, you will get better at your job.