Many things about our business make one glad to be creative; and there certainly are things that destroy the very soul and one’s will to carry on. Client interaction can either lead to strong relationships that last a lifetime or make you feel low and worthless.We look at our designs as our own children, and why not? We create our work from our mind and very being. We have an emotional attachment to our work. But we also need to earn a living from that creativity, and there lies the door to our problems and aggravation.The question arose on a blog about how to screen a client. Perhaps talking about it in terms of how to spot a sketchy client would be a bit much, but like any freelancer, I need to dump my anxieties on those who sign my paychecks. From corporate clients to the single-owner businesses, clients are our lifeblood… and they can be a cruel, cruel mistress. No wonder we drink.How to Spot a Sketchy ClientThe number one recommendation of many is to have a strong contract. True, this legal instrument can be easily ignored by clients, who know full well that you may never collect. The contract spells out the terms and rights — terms that will soon be tossed aside by the client (I swear, almost gleefully at times).The contract is usually the deal-breaker for me. If they refuse a contract, you know you’ll have nothing but trouble ahead, particularly with regards to getting paid. Walking away, then, costs nothing and empowers you. Taking something from the client’s office as you exit makes you feel even better!: a pen, a desk clock, the coat hanging on the door (as though you brought it). Call it “Travel and compensation for expenses.”Let’s say you now have a draft contract. After many conversations, calls, emails, meetings and such, you send the contract to the client to sign, but they refuse to sign. You’ll hear so many reasons, and they are all entertaining. Here is a classic exchange of mine:Me: Here’s my contract. Sign it and we’ll begin.Them: We don’t need a contract. You can trust me.Me: Oh, I do trust you. But if you get hit by a bus tomorrow, then I’ll need legal documentation to collect from the company.Them: I won’t get hit by a bus.Me: It could be a slip in the shower. That’s the number one kille…Them: I don’t sign contracts!Me: How did you get phone service or office space or equipment?Them: I could hire an art student to do this with no contract and for less money!Me: Then why did you contact me?At this point, I’m usually told to get out.One client agreed to a contract but wanted to tack on the phrase “… and anything else needed” to the end of a laundry list of services included in the quoted fee. I pictured myself sitting in a retirement home with the client still demanding design work and being unable to bill them until they had “anything else needed.” That, of course, went nowhere. All in all, a substantial waste of time.What to include in a contractDesigners ask me about my contract. It’s a hybrid of the AIGA, GAG and common sense changes for the sake of digital-signature contracts. Tad Crawford, the well-known attorney for artists’ rights, has a book with form and contract templates, which I highly recommend.When a client and I have agreed to a creative brief, I tell the client that I’ll send confirmation. Semantics seem to alleviate the fear of the word “contract.” Quite simply, the contract, as stated, is deemed to have been accepted once the job commences (I email to confirm that they have received the “confirmation,” and I keep all emails pertaining to the contract and to the client confirming their acceptance), and it is legally considered a digital signature when the client responds in the affirmative to begin the project.Client: ________________Primary Contact: ________________Project: _______________Date of Project: _________Project Deadline: ________Purchase Order #: _______Your Name: _____________Invoice #: _____Creative brief: [Include the approved creative brief that you wrote. This is an important part of the contract!]Fee: [This is where you lay out all terms of the sale, even if it is repeated in the contract terms below: how much, how many hours, what rights are sold or transferred, how many revisions, the hourly rate for those revisions, etc. It doesn’t have to be in legalese, just as complete as possible so that you don't have to sue to get paid for something you didn’t have in writing.]1. Payment All invoices are payable within 21 business days of receipt. A $50 service charge is payable on all overdue balances for reissuing each invoice at 45, 60, 75 and 90 days from the date of original invoice. The grant of any license or right of copyright is conditioned on receipt of full payment.2. Default in payment The Client shall assume responsibility for cost outlays by designer in all collections of unpaid fees and of legal fees necessitated by default in payment. Invoices in default will include but are not limited to fees for collection and legal costs.3. Estimates The fees and expenses shown are minimum estimates only unless an hourly fee has been agreed upon. That fee will be ________ per hour and the designer shall keep the client apprised of a tally of hours within a reasonable period of time. Final fees and expenses shall be shown when invoice is rendered. The fees and expenses shown are minimum estimates only unless the quote and/or invoice is clearly marked Firm Quote, otherwise the below stated hourly fee will be payable on all time over that which was quoted with a minimum in 30 minute increments.4. Changes The Client must assume that all additions, alterations, changes in content, layout or process changes requested by the customer will alter the time and cost. The Client shall offer the Designer the first opportunity to make any changes.5. Expenses The Client shall reimburse the Designer for all expenses arising from this assignment, including the payment of any sales taxes due on this assignment, and shall advance the Designer for payment of said expenses, including but not limited to Stock Photography, Artwork and/or material needed for the project.6. Cancellation In the event of cancellation of this assignment, ownership of all copyrights and the original artwork shall be retained by the Designer, and a cancellation fee for work completed, and expenses already incurred, shall be paid by the Client. Cancellation fee is based on the hours submitted, if the project is on an hourly basis or a percentage based on the time estimate for the entire job. A 100% cancellation fee is due once the project has been finished, whether delivered to the client or not. If the project is on an hourly basis and the project is canceled by the client, the client agrees to pay no less than 100% of the hours already billed for the project at the time of cancellation plus a flat fee of $250 or 50% of the remaining hours that were expected to be completed on the project, whichever is greater.7. Ownership and return of artwork The Designer retains ownership of all original artwork, whether preliminary or final, and the Client shall return such artwork within 30 days of use unless indicated otherwise below. If transfer of ownership of all rights is desired, the rates may be increased. If the Client wishes the ownership of the rights to a specific design or concept, these may be purchased at any time for a recalculation of the hourly rate on the time billed or the entire project cost.8. Credit Lines The Designer and any other creators shall receive a credit line with any editorial usage. If similar credit lines are to be given with other types of usage, it must be so indicated here.9. Releases The Client shall indemnify the Designer against all claims and expenses, including attorney’s fees, due to the uses for which no release was requested in writing or for uses that exceed authority granted by a release.10. Modifications Modifications of the terms of this contract must be written and authorized by both parties, involving the implementation of a new version of the contract as a whole following standard procedures of documentation and approval.11. Uniform commercial code The above terms incorporate Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code.12. Code of fair practice The Client and the Designer agree to comply with the provisions of the Code of Fair Practice (which is in the Ethical Standards section of chapter 1, Professional Relationships).13. Code of fair practice The Designer warrants and represents that, to the best of his/her knowledge, the work assigned hereunder is original and has not been previously published, or that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that all work or portions thereof obtained through the undersigned form third parties is original or, if previously published, that consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis; that the Designer has full authority to make this agreement; and that the work prepared by the Designer does not contain any scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter. This warranty does not extend to any uses that the Client or others may make of the Designer’s product that may infringe on the rights of others. Client expressly agrees that it will hold the Designer harmless for all liability caused by the Client’s use of the Designer’s product to the extent such use infringes on the rights of others.14. Limitation of liability Client agrees that it shall not hold the Designer or his/her agents or employees liable for any incidental or consequential damages that arise from the Designer’s failure to perform any aspect of the project in a timely manner, regardless of whether such failure was caused by intentional or negligent acts or omissions of the Designer or Client, any client representatives or employees, or a third party.15. Dispute Resolution Any disputes in excess of the maximum limit for small-claims court arising out of this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration before a mutually agreed-upon arbitrator pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The Arbitrator’s award shall be final, and judgment may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The client shall pay all arbitration and court cost, reasonable attorney’s fees, and legal interest on any award of judgment in favor of the Designer. All actions, whether brought by client or by designer will be filed in the designer’s state/county of business/residence.16. Acceptance of terms The signature of both parties shall evidence acceptance of these terms.Designer: __________________Date: _____________________Client: _____________________Date: ______________________16a. Acceptance of terms The action of the sending and receipt of this agreement via electronic method will hold both parties in acceptance of these terms. The Designer as sender and the client as recipient will acknowledge acceptance of these terms either through an e-mail noting acceptance or acceptance is acknowledged at the beginning of any work on said project. Electronic signatures shall be considered legal and binding.This contract is held accountable to the legal system of [country] and any applicable statutes held therein.Disclaimer: the inclusion of this template does not imply any legalities or responsibility on the part of the writer or Smashing Magazine. It is included solely for information purposes as an example of one professional’s contract. The laws in your state/country/dictatorship may differ. Check the Web for more information on your local laws.Here is an OpenOffice document with the sample contract (.zip).What Does Your Time and Effort Cost?But why let it get to that point? Drafting a creative brief and adjusting a contract take a good amount of time and effort. What is most often ignored is the process long before the contract/argument/threats stage. There are red flags and tell-tale signs to look out for when discussing a job with the client. (Just as when you are being interviewed for a full-time position, you are also interviewing them.) How do they communicate? Do they constantly interrupt you and boast? That kind of personality will tend to micro-manage and belittle you, after which they will try to cut your bill in half because they “did all the creative work.”Red flags are those little bells that go off in your head, or the saliva you produce as you get ready to vomit. One red flag I like is pulling up to a prospective client’s business address and finding that the building doubles as a crack house. Not getting out of the car at all saves me a great deal of time and effort.If you make it to the reception area, look around. Any awards, plaques or licenses? The tell-tale sign of a summons from the courts pasted across the door? Are the people who walk in and out smiling or bleeding? Unhappy employees mean you will not enjoy working for the client either. If you see a pile of mail on the reception desk, are there envelopes marked “Final notice”? Is everyone well mannered and respectful? Were you kept waiting more than 15 minutes after your appointment time? Is the office neat and clean? If it’s disorganized and filthy, that’s how they will treat you.The quiet shy client will ask 200 or more people (and animals) for their input on the design and then request all of those things from you. Charge hourly and you’ll be able to retire on the change this client rolls up… if you get paid, that is. The overexcited type wants to be your friend and hang out at a bar during meetings. Because they are also a raging alcoholic, they won’t remember what they approved or what they asked you or what you told them. If you have a contract, they won’t remember it and will argue that it doesn’t count.The person who flips through your portfolio like a Las Vegas card dealer is looking to hire a pair of hands to execute their ideas. Go hourly, and make sure to keep the client informed of the hours as you go along, so that they understand why they have a $20,000 letterhead after you’ve had seven sleepless weeks of work.The corporate art director will be easy-going and have a contract all ready for you. After you’ve signed away all rights and future children, and you’ve delivered the job, they will be as helpless as you to see through a timely payment, so why bother mentioning it? The invoice is passing through layers, and when it reaches the accounting department, you must bear the corporate-mandated pecking order of payment. Freelancer rates just below cockroach exterminator on the list of payees.I’ve gone through all of these episodes. We all have. So, what do you do? The saving grace is the comfort I get when a client smiles, tells me they love my work and want me to do “something different,” when they do everything on the level and pays me a fair rate in a reasonable time. It happens enough to keep me from quitting the business some days, but the other personality types sure do test my patience the other days.[By the way, did you know we have a brand new free Smashing Email Newsletter? Subscribe now and get fresh short tips and tricks on Tuesdays!]Further ReadingAIGA’s Standard Form of Agreement for Design ServicesAndy Clarke’s Contract TemplateGraphic design contracts – your adviceThe Vendor-Client relationship The relationship betwen client and vendor in real-world situations.Graphic Designer vs. Client Warning: some cursing involved. May not be suitable for work.(al)© Speider Schneider for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: clients, contracts
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
How To Spot A Sketchy Client (Plus A Contract Template)
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June 7 2010, 3:37pm | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
How To Successfully Educate Your Clients On Web Development
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If you are running a design agency, your job is very likely to combine business development, graphic design, technology and user experience design: a basketful of very different fields. When dealing with clients, one faces the challenge of clearly and effectively communicating the goals and results of the work done in these areas. In this post, we’ll provide you with some ideas on sharing information and knowledge with developers and clients — a couple of tips and tricks we’ve learned from our own experience.As designers, our core purpose is to solve business challenges for our clients. No, I haven’t forgotten you Mac-loving, single-mouse-button-fanatic designers. A business solution includes an application platform, solid data design and a page design that makes the UI and website approachable and easy to use (for converting, transacting, clicking on a monkey’s butt, etc.). Your daily challenge, then, is to deliver the project on time while satisfying the client’s visual, business and aesthetic requirements.[Offtopic: by the way, did you know that there is a Smashing eBook Series? Book #1 is Professional Web Design, 242 pages for just $9,90.]You’re Not As Smart As You Think… But Google IsI like to think that I’m always right (boy, would my wife have something to say about that), and that becomes tricky when communicating with clients. As a professional, I am able to detect patterns, usability issues, trends in the industry and other important issues that the client might not be aware of. On the other hand, I’m a complete idiot when it comes to semi-conductor temperature tolerances, furniture for pre-school institutions and the importance of steel spikes in lederhosen. My client, on the other hand, may be an Encyclopedia Britannica on every single one of those topics. What I’m trying to say is that you have to remember that you’re an expert only on your own field and that you should prick up your ears when the client tells you something.Negotiating For A Win-Win ResultSo, as you tread your pitiable pixel-pushing existence, you should be aware of things that might give your sorry designer self an advantage in negotiating those sticking points in projects. Have you ever had a client who wanted a larger logo on their website? Maybe a logo done in Flash, with a spinning earth and sparkles!? All valid requirements, I’m sure; and so during that meeting, as you slowly reached for the pencil to stab your quads under the table, you should have realized that business owners love their brands and are emotionally attached to them. You should have based your response, then, on a composite of research-based facts (best presented as a link to a reputable source on the Web) — an explanation that is specific to their business.Client: “I really want a bigger logo. I feel like it’s getting lost in the website.”You: “I understand why your brand is important to you. I have research here based on the top 500 retailers on the Internet and their logo sizes. The research indicates that the logo should take up less space than or be similar in size to the call-to-action element, or be one-fourth of the website’s width at most. In our case, that ‘View products’ link should be the focal point of the website.Damage Control: Sometimes Bending Over Is Part Of The JobA successful negotiator (and you are a negotiator — perhaps not a gun-toting, hostage-holding Samuel L. Jackson, but a negotiator nonetheless) delivers a solution that makes both parties win. Your client is happy that their demands were met by their responsive and well-informed developer, and you’re happy because you didn’t have to waste time in meetings. Hopefully, after you’ve demonstrated the facts and your reasoning for keeping the logo at the same size, the client will change their mind and leave you basking in the glory of being right and not having to go back for a fix. In case they don’t, you still might not have to increase the size; perhaps you could reassess your use of white space or employ other visual trickery of that devilishly sexy design field.Position Of Authority: Your Voice Must Be HeardAs I mentioned, you do wield some authority in this line of work, but your client does also in their business. I recommend that for every project, you establish attainable and clearly defined goals, goals that will be measured by the website’s performance and enforced by strict deadlines. If you or your client doesn’t meet certain goals or deliverables by the deadlines, you could still launch the website if all critical items are completed, and then clear up the remaining items once the website is live. This strategy is used by major tech companies such as Google and accomplishes several important things:Forces you to deliver on time;Focuses you on date-based deliverables, which makes the client easier to educate on “sticky” issues;Forces the client to deliver content, stock photos and their ideas to you on time, because any missing features would have to be paid for on an hourly consulting basis.As you work towards these goals, know that at a certain point your opinion and decisions are critical to the project’s success. There’s no backing down or hiding your tail between your legs. Sometimes you cannot negotiate, and the client must understand that they are paying you for a reason: because you know your stuff!Keep in mind that your client also has authority and knowledge that might not be apparent to you during negotiations. For example:Client: We want IE6 support through the website. The website will have a lot of JavaScript, dynamic elements, PNG graphics, etc.You: [Jotting down a reminder to send hate mail to the IE6 team at Microsoft,] IE6 is actually an outdated browser that has security flaws, a very poor rendering engine and very few users out there. I recommend we don’t accommodate it (even Mailchimp doesn’t!), and we tell those suckers to go to hell.Client: Did I mention that we service a large restaurant industry, and a lot of the terminals in restaurants still run Windows XP with IE6?You: [Updates reminder to hunt down IE6's creators.]At the end of the day you are at the mercy of the client, and you need to meet all of their requirements. But you also have to recognize your value and be able to demonstrate it through examples, research and logical arguments. Be responsive: ask a lot of questions in order to understand the client’s motivation. I endorse client education, but not to the point of losing the client and project. Remember that your client is a resource to you, and good communication will enable both of you to complete the project in time to watch the men’s figure-skating competition.(al)© Aurimas Adomavicius for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: clients, communication, education
April 23 2010, 4:21am | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
Is John The Client Dense or Are You Failing Him?
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Meet John the client. John runs a reasonably large website. He is a marketer who considers himself smart, articulate and professional. That said, he doesn’t know much about Web design, and so he needs your help. John comes to you with a clear set of business objectives and asks for a quote. But what happens next leaves John confused, frustrated and extremely unhappy.[Offtopic: by the way, have you ever visited Smashing Magazine's List of tags? There might be something interesting for you.]Explain Why You Are Asking About MoneyBefore giving John his quote, you ask a little more about the project. After chatting for a few minutes, you ask him about his budget. A fair question, you think. After all, you could approach the project in so many ways. Without knowing the budget, knowing where to begin is impossible. In your mind, building a website is like building a house. Without knowing the budget, you can’t possibly know how many rooms the client can afford or what materials you should use to build.John, on the other hand, is instantly suspicious. Why would you want to know about his budget? The only reason he can think of is that you want to make sure you don’t charge him less than what he is willing to give. Besides, he doesn’t really know his budget. How the heck is he supposed to know how much a website costs? Don’t come across as money-grubbing. (Image credit)John leaves, determined to find a Web designer who doesn’t want to take advantage of him. Fortunately for you, all of the other designers he speaks with also neglect to explain why they need to know about his budget, and so you manage to win the project after all.Justify Your Recommendations In Language John Can UnderstandOnce you have won the job, you arrange a kick-off meeting to nail down the specifications. However, John instantly regrets his decision to hire you because his worse fears have been confirmed. In his eyes, you are all of a sudden trying to squeeze more money out of him as you waffle about the importance of usability and accessibility. John doesn’t care about disabled users. He doesn’t expect disabled users to visit his website anyway.And as for usability, surely the job of the Web designer is to make the website usable. Why do we need expensive usability testing? He is pretty certain that usability testing involves expensive things like cameras, labs and two-way mirrors. You thought you had explained these issues clearly. You spoke of WCAG 2, and you mentioned Jakob Neilsen. You are beginning to wonder if John is a bit thick.Avoid techno-babble if you expect clients to understand what you’re talking about. (Image credit)Perhaps if you had talked about accessibility in terms of assessing search engine rankings and testing usability as a way to increase conversion, then John might have listened. As it is, John puts his foot down and refuses to pay for any of these “unnecessary extras.”Include John In The ProcessYou walk away from the kick-off meeting pleased to have a signed contract. But that feeling in the pit of your stomach tells you that this might be another one of those projects. Regardless, you try to be optimistic, and you dive into the design process. Almost immediately, you get a phone call from John asking if there is anything for him to see. You explain that it is still early in the process and that you are not ready to present anything. John sounds disappointed but resigned.A short while later, you are ready to present the design to John. You are pleased with the result. It took you a lot more time than you had budgeted for, but it was worth it. The final design is extremely easy to use and will make for a great portfolio piece. Stop hiding from your clients. Show them your work early on, and include them in the process. (Image credit)When John sees the design, he is horrified. From his perspective, you have entirely missed the point. The design clashes with his offline marketing materials and doesn’t hit the right selling points. Also, he is convinced that his suppliers will hate it and, although they are not his end users, their opinion matters.After a tense conference call, you feel demoralized but have struck a compromise that hopefully will make John happy. You wonder in hindsight whether showing John some of your initial ideas and sketches would have been better. Perhaps you should have presented a wireframe first.Educate John About DesignAfter much agonizing and compromise, you are once again ready to present to John. John is much happier with the new design and feels it is heading in the right direction. However, he does have some concerns. For starters, he has to scroll to see most of the content, and yet white space takes up either side of the design. He tells you to move key content into this wasted space. Also, as he thinks about his young male target audience, he realizes that the color scheme is too effeminate, so he tells you to change it to blue.While John feels somewhat happier, you feel crushed. You feel as though he is trying to do the job for you. The instructions to move this there and change this color to that makes you feel like you have been reduced to pushing pixels. Educate your clients so they make more informed decisions. (Image credit)By this point, you are sure the client is dim, and now you just want him to sign off on a design. At no stage do you think to ask John why he is requesting these changes. Perhaps if you had appreciated his thinking, you could have explained concepts such as screen resolution and suggested an alternative to corporate blue, which is so over-used on the Web.Instead, you wash your hands of the design and just give John what he wants.Communicate With John RegularlyNow that the design is complete, you turn your attention to building it. John certainly won’t care about your code. Now you can finally do things right.It’s a big job and takes a lot of time. Even though you put too much time into the design and washed your hands of it, you still have your pride. You are not about to cut corners with the code. After all, other designers might look at it and judge you! You work really hard, putting in more work than you probably should have. John even manages to slip in some extra functionality at the scoping phase, which turns out to be a pain in the butt.For his part, John is wondering what’s going on. He hasn’t heard from you in weeks. Surely the website must be ready now? He decides to email you to ask how things are progressing. You reply with a short email telling him that everything is progressing smoothly. You never did like project management, and you are sure John would prefer that you spend time building his website instead of writing him detailed reports.John receives your email and is becoming increasingly frustrated. What does “progressing smoothly” mean? He writes back asking for an expected date of completion, and you reply with a rough estimate.The date comes and goes without a word from you. After all, it was merely an estimate, and several complications have delayed completion by a few days. John finally loses his temper and calls you. He tells you that he has arranged a marketing campaign to coincide with the launch date, and because he hadn’t heard from you, he presumed everything was on schedule. Communicate with your client regularly. (Image credit)You defend yourself, citing “scope creep” and unanticipated delays. But responding is difficult when John says, “All I needed was a weekly email keeping me up to date on progress.”Explain John’s Ongoing RoleBy this stage, the relationship has broken down entirely. You finish your work, and the website finally launches. Begrudgingly, John pays the invoice after delaying it for as long as possible. What amazes you most is John’s pronouncement that he is bitterly disappointed with the result. How can that be when you gave him exactly what he asked for? This guy isn’t just thick: he’s a jerk!Of course, John sees things differently. He came to you with a list of his business objectives, and the website has failed to meet any of them. He had hoped to launch the website, watch it achieve his objectives and then move on to the next project. Instead, after an initial spike in interest, the number of users and inquiries dropped over time, and the website stagnated. Ensure that your client understands what kind of ongoing care their website will need. (Image credit)What John does not realize is that websites need continued love and support. You cannot build a website and then abandon it. John has to nurture it by adding new content, engaging with visitors and planning for ongoing development.If only someone had told him.The Moral Of The StoryIt’s amazing how quick we are to judge our clients.As Web designers, we communicate and empathize for a living. Our job is to communicate messages to our clients’ users. We create usable websites by putting ourselves in the position of our users, which allows us to design around their needs.Why, then, do we so often seem to be incapable of empathizing or communicating with our clients? Perhaps it is time for us to apply the skills we have cultivated as Web designers to our own customers.(al)© Paul Boag for Smashing Magazine, 2010. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble on StumbleUpon! | Tweet it! | Submit to Reddit | Forum Smashing Magazine Post tags: clients
February 19 2010, 5:34am | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
Group Interview: Expert Advice For Students and Young Web Designers
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- clients
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February 17 2010, 2:51am | Comments »
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I posted to smashingmagazine.com
8 Strategies For Successful Relations With Clients
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/09/strategies-for-successful-client-relations/
By Jeff Gardner Let’s face it. Some days, you want to just fire your clients. You go through one too many comps, iterations or edits and you’ve had enough. It has happened to everyone at least once and I’d be lying if I said it won’t happen again; you get to the end of a project and realize that you would have made more per hour flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Thankfully, as with most common problems, there are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to help make sure that you’re never working for below minimum wage. Due Diligence “Experts often possess more data than judgment.” -Colin Powell Know your role Remember that the client will always know more about their product or service than you do. They are the expert at what they do; their problem is usually that they don’t know how to explain it well. That is where you, as the designer, step in to help. You are a graphical communications ninja, but to effectively make your, and ultimately your client’s, point you must fully understand what needs to be said.
From the outset, make it a priority to get as much information as possible about the company, their product or service, the intended audience of your work and the reason that your work needs to exist. The better prepared you are and the more information you get out of the client before you start working, the quicker your design will be accepted, and the quicker you will get paid. Use that overflow of data from the client to form a coherent picture of what you’re trying to accomplish and then use your good judgment to make something beautiful from the madness. By spending ample time collecting information, you have allowed the client to share their knowledge and participate in the project. This is a good thing. When clients feel they are part of the process they are less likely to question the design decisions you make. Hire the right customers “If you try and please everyone, you won’t please anyone.” -37signals Remember that part of your due diligence is making sure that the project is a good fit for you as a designer. You cannot be everything to everyone, and if you try to be, you will not only look bad, you’ll lose money. Remember the principle that carries the Vilfredo Pareto name: 80% of the output will come from 20% of the input. In other words, you will make 80% of your income from 20% of your clients, so focus on the good ones and fire the bad ones. Stay true to your strengths and don’t be afraid to pass on a project. In the end, everyone, including your client, will be better off. I repeat… Don’t try to take on every project that comes across your desk, even when you’re starting out. This will preclude a large percentage of your client problems. By picking your two or three biggest strengths and building a solid reputation, you will attract clients who are looking for a genius in your fields of choice and who, consequently, will be willing to pay well for the service. The Harvard Business professor Michael Porter states you can hold a competitive advantage in one, and only one, of two areas: price or quality. Focus your efforts on your strengths, build a solid reputation and you’ll never be forced to compete on price again. Communication “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” -Peter F. Drucker Approach all communication with a Zen mind
original image by isa_adsr Zen philosophy teaches you to approach every task with a beginner’s mind. This is simple when you’re trying to teach yourself hyper-astro-meta-particle physics, but not as easy as you think when it comes to something you do all day, every day. Try hard to put yourself in the shoes of a beginner; you will be more apt to understand and sympathize with your client’s point of view. You will also find that by using less jargon (by assuming the language of a beginner) your client will understand and internalize your point much more quickly, which in turn helps to create an evangelist for your work in your client’s organization, which always makes your life easier. But adopting a beginner’s mind isn’t as simple as dropping your haughty design-speak in favor of a fifth grade vocabulary. You need to approach each conversation or communication as a beginner does, with no expectations and no preconceived notions. Without the benefit of assumptions or preconceived notions, you will be forced to ask more questions and in turn draw more information out of the client; and just like that, your job will have gotten easier. Disclaimer: If all this Zen stuff is too new age for you, just remember the old adage: When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me. Listen for what isn’t there What the client says: Can you make that text just a little bigger? What the client means: This font might be a little hard to read. What do you think? Everyone fears the dreaded “Make this text bigger” line, and everyone (well, almost everyone) has probably cringed and then painfully capitulated. When faced with clients asking for design changes, especially from those clients who don’t have any design training (let alone a good eye for design), it’s important to check your design ego at the door and ask a few pointed questions. What you really need to find out is what the client actually means. Before doing anything to the design, pause for a moment and ask the client to explain what it is about the design that doesn’t accomplish the specific goals you outlined in the pre-work discovery meetings. (You did set specific goals, didn’t you!?) Here are a few tips to help you get to the point:
Ask blunt questions (but tactfully). Don’t start or get hauled into arguments. Use feature/benefit terminology and plain language, not design-speak. Use yes/no questions that push the client to reveal what they really think (e.g. “Do you think this font is hard to read?”). Take criticism well. (No one likes an overly sensitive artist.)
By your focusing on the goals rather than the implementation, clients will understand that you are trying to use your craft for their benefit, not just to take their money. Oh, and a note about that ego you left at the door: now is not the time to go into a diatribe about your profession or your skill as a designer. No one cares; your client just wants a functional design that they can be proud of when they show it to their boss. Do what you said you were going to do
But don’t die by the contract. I’ve heard of many situations where clients and designers get into arguments about what was and wasn’t in the original contract. If the client comes to you with something that is obviously beyond the scope of the contract, you have a few choices:
You can do what the client wants and ask for nothing more in return. You can refuse to do it and stick to what the original contract said. You can try to renegotiate the contract to a new middle ground before continuing work on the project.
There isn’t any one right answer here; different situations call for different actions. If you’re not going to get badly burned by going the extra mile, it will probably be worth it (so long as the client knows you’re hooking them up). That said, sometimes the new request is outrageous and would take many, many hours to implement. In those situations, it is a good idea to be open, talk it through with the client, make it known that you’d love to help but it would be too much of a time commitment (you do have other clients, after all) for the current numbers to work out. If you approach things with an open mind, with a positive attitude (instead of a demanding one) and on an even playing field, the client will generally help you out with a bit more cash. And if they are livid at the thought of paying you more money for more work, well, they may have just singled themselves out as a client who needs to be fired. Admit it when you screw up Then do everything possible to make it right. Mistakes are okay; everyone makes them from time to time. Hopefully you’re not a habitual offender. But the general rule is: the sooner you recognize the mistake and take the heat for it, the better off you’ll be in the long run. By letting more time pass, the mistake only grows and becomes more difficult to cover up, and the heat that was originally a small and controlled campfire is now the roaring flames of hell licking at the bottoms of your feet. Get it out of the way, clear the air and get on with it. Your client will appreciate your candor and honesty, even if he or she isn’t that happy about the problem itself. Parting Shot Hopefully you’ve started to catch on here. Most of the things that can be counted as “common problems” are fairly easy to circumvent, especially if you put in your time doing your due diligence on the front end and adopt a firm but cooperative attitude in your client communications. Remember, clients aren’t supposed to be a burden. They are a blessing (they are buying the bread on your table after all). But the relationship should always be mutually beneficial. You are getting paid to do what you, presumably, love to do, and the client is getting something beautiful and functional. Hopefully, you’re both learning a little something along the way. Further Resources
Design Process, Clients, and Web Standards The Importance of Design in Business Designing for Clients Made Easy What you’re missing if you don’t challenge your clients
About the author Jeff Gardner is a business nerd. He loves Excel, making graphs and helping companies figure out how to perform better. He also enjoys writing, photography and being outside. You can check him out at his blog or look at some of his photos on his photography site. Stay tuned for his e-book on the business side of freelancing and small business ownership, to be released soon here on Smashing Magazine. (al)
- Tags:
- How-To
- clients
- communication
- workflow
October 9 2008, 3:31pm | Comments »
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