Be nice, even to your problem clients

Recently, instead of being the copywriter, I was the client on a team that had hired a PR firm to do a communication plan. After several months of work, the plan was incomplete and showed a lack of understanding of the problems we faced.

I sent a strong critique of the work to my team and asked that we talk about it at our next meeting. Unfortunately, one of my team members - the person who had actually hired the firm - thought it was a good idea to send it directly to our hired gun even though she thought my comments were "unprofessional." (That's a story for another day.)

The response from our PR person was surprising. His response dripped with defensiveness. As the client, I didn't appreciate it and wondered if we hired the wrong firm.

Don't let the bastards get you down
As a hired gun myself, I was surprised by his defensiveness. Yes, I've had clients piss me off. But have I let them know? No way. It's part of my job to keep them happy and meet their needs. That means getting work to them on time as promised, and being up front with how much the project will cost them.

Also, clients talk. If you work in a small community - and I do - if the word gets out that you are rude, defensive or unprofessional, it will hurt your business.

What about problem clients?
These are the clients who constantly change their minds or insult your work. You need to develop a thick skin about criticism and not take it personally. Also, you need to be up front how much changes will cost them. If they continue to change their mind, act like a professional and charge them.

Since I work with start ups and small business people, my problem clients are the ones who freak out when I send them an estimate. Even though I've explained my hourly fee, they are surprised how long a project will take. For example, I had a potential client who wanted a naming convention created for a line of products. He wanted a company tagline, too. I told him my hourly fee, and that I would get him an estimate after reviewing the documents he sent me and doing some research. He told me to proceed with the project and get him an estimate in a few days.

Then he emailed me saying that he needed the estimate immediately. Since it was urgent, I gave him a ballpark figure of five to 10 hours. His first response was that the project was a go. Then he emailed me a few minutes later saying he wanted to limit the project to $400. A few minutes after that, he canceled the project saying he would do the work himself since it shouldn't take more than an hour.

Well, maybe the writing would take an hour. But he didn't consider doing research, seeing what the competition was doing, running Google searches, and brainstorming were billable activities that I would need to do to create quality work.

At least he paid me for my time, then asked me to bid on doing copy for a website. If I had told him that I thought he was an idiot, I would have never been asked to bid on the second project. (Side note: The bid never happened. After emailing him twice to remind him about payment, he told me that he was going with a copywriter he used in the past whose work was excellent and reasonable. I was glad that she was getting the work instead of me. I didn't need the grief.)

How to deal with problem clients
First, swallow your ego - it's what the best leaders do. Instead, be nice and act professionally even if you have to fake it. Never let the client know that you think she's stupid or cheap. Vent to your business partner, best friend, shrink or spouse if you need to. Get the project done as soon as possible, thank them for their business, and get paid quickly.

In the future, if she contacts you for more work, politely turn her down saying "you're booked up." Then refer your problem client to your competitor and let them deal with her.

Comments

[Brian Robinson]

Don't be afraid to fire your bad clients. Learn to recognize the 80/20 rule (where 20% of your clients give you 80% of your headaches). Move toward 90/10 or better.

The customer is NOT always right.