When you are in the freelance business, you either meet with a lot of people or you converse on the phone or even exchange emails. By any of the methods mentioned, I’ve found out that intuition counts half the time when trying to figure out your client.
But I won’t start a rant and start listing clients I hate or despise (though it’ll be a good stress reliever). Instead, I’d like to talk about the good things or attitudes I’ve found in some of my more worthy clients.
Out of all the clients I’ve approached, these are the traits of a perfect client to me.
- Friendly
- Forgiving
- Open to new ideas
- Explains in detail
- Patient
- Honest
- Responsible
These are traits that makes my perfect client so far. The list might grow as clients mature along with the designers or developers. A client with all these traits are a priceless addition to your existing list and you should be extra caring towards this group. Reason is because I believe the client who have these traits have more respect for you than the others on your current list.
The client who’s friendly opens up their life to your as a friend and not just a worker. The client that forgives you for minor errors understands your life as a friend. A client who’s open to new ideas make working together fun and more enjoyable. To them, they’re not just accomplishing a task but forming a bond.
The client who’s patient and takes the time to explain in detail are really professional in their line. They know what want and don’t mind sharing their knowledge with you. The honest client doesn’t mind telling you their actual budget or something close. These clients are the friends you are able to easily trust and seeing them in doubt would be the last thing on your mind.
Lastly, the responsible client is the friend you’ve made who’ll update you through the project. They aren’t the nagging assistant or secretary but the person who respects your time. The responsible client normally informs you and remembers you. The normal scenario here is when the client should get back to you on the status of a pitch for a project you had to make.
Do you have clients with these traits?
i’ve been freelancing for three years, i found out that all clients are the same, and i treat them as clients regardless wether they’re my friends or friends of friends. the important thing is that in every project that i do, i deliver, regardless of the odds cause my reputation as a freelancer counts. and for those clients that are tough, it is a matter of managing them.
Listen to me!
Ok seriously, i have to admit that clients sometimes bring the best out of me. When i design and develop site, the first few drafts are never really pushing the edges yet since i want to do thing the easy way. But then reviews after reviews and the client just f***** demanding more ‘impossible’ flicks, i would be like ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH.
But then at the end of the day when you look back, they actually make you a better web designer/developer. Improvement doesnt come easy I guess.
opps that doesnt sound right. what i meant to say was the only client trait i like is
“client that listens to me”. ^_^
LoL! Ain’t this a good place to rant about some client attitudes now. :P
I don’t know, I’d like to try and manage those hard-headed clients but they tend to breathe down your neck so much that it just gets irritating and disturbing. Especially when you’re trying to work.