Tips For Dealing With Difficult Clients

Working with a variety of clients takes patience, and a general understanding that you and another person may not see eye-to-eye on the same things although working towards the same goals. Here are a few words of advice based on personal experience working with select type of clients:

Mr. I’m Not Sure What I Really Want – These type of clients probably have ideas shooting from their brains left and right, but never focus their thoughts. What you should do is get a general feel for the direction they’re going, and hone in on that and roll with it. Of course, make sure it’s a solid plan. This client needs someone to implement his vision.

Ms. I Don’t Know What I Want, But It Isn’t That – This is the evil counterpart of Mr. I’m Not Sure What I Really Want. These are exceptionally difficult clients to work with. These clients tend to be a “No-Man” where they just like to say no to say no. Again, try to get a general feel for the direction they’re going. You want to make them think they thought of the great idea.

Mrs. I Care So Much That It Hurts – These clients are interesting. These are the clients that make you say to yourself “why am I even here?” These clients tend to have type-A personalities, and perhaps control issues. When working with them, provide them with solid reasons as to your approach. If it’s a good idea with a solid foundation, there should be no reason they would say no. These clients need reassurance and an explanation.

Mr. I Don’t Really Care, Just Do Whatever You Want – These clients can either be easy to work with or frustrating depending if they like the end product. My suggestion on approaching these type of clients is to keep them in the loop throughout the process, even though they may not seem to care. Ask questions and feedback from them to ensure they are actually looking at what you’re producing for them so there aren’t any last-minute changes or roadblocks down the road.

Mr. Everything Is An Emergency, Mrs. This Won’t Take Five Minutes?, Ms. Lurker, Mrs. We Don’t Have A Deadline – Oh, Wait, Yes We Do And It’s Tomorrow, Mr. I Needed This Done Yesterday, Mr. What’s A Weekend – What you’ll need to do with these difficult clients is to clearly set their expectations. Again, clients don’t know how much work is involved – that’s why they hired you. Part of your job is to set their expectations so it falls in line with the actual level of service and at the speed which you will deliver. Ignorance can lead to many issues, so continually communicating and setting expectations will be key in dealing with these clients.