Whether you’re a freelancer or own a business, problem clients are everywhere. We all have to learn how to deal with them while protecting ourselves and our assets from complications. Today, Nathan Ingram shows you how to build fences around those friendly monsters.
How to Deal with Problem Clients
Not everyone has the best experience when it comes to dealing with problematic clients. In reality, many people are close to quitting as freelancers because they’re fed up with having to deal with clients who are impossible to please.
In this webinar, Nathan helps by giving you some insight into how to protect yourself from such issues. Instead of quitting, you can adjust your tactics to cope with a wide variety of client types.
What is a Friendly Monster?
Nathan breaks down how clients can shift quite quickly from friendly to not-so-friendly monsters. A client who is pleasant in the beginning can change because of a lack of understanding or having higher expectations than what is contracted.
Not all clients will behave the same. However, utilizing certain systems and processes can help decrease the chances of misunderstandings and other problems that can arise.
Protecting Yourself with “Fences”
The “fences” Nathan breaks down are actually processes and systems you can put into place to help adjust to client behaviors. And the strategies you put into place can make dealing with individuals a much better experience.
You’ll more than likely have to adjust your approach over time as you deal with more clients. By keeping track of interactions, you can start to see patterns of things you’ll need to cover.
Four Systems to Fence in the Monsters
In this webinar, Nathan goes over four important systems to put into place when dealing with any client. And with these methods, you can avoid issues caused down the road.
The four systems to put into place include:
- Clarity – By clarifying everyone’s role in the project, it can greatly reduce confusion. Remember, agreement does not equal clarity. It’s all about understanding and being on the same page.
- Commitments – Like any relationship, commitments can strengthen the bond between yourself and the client. These commitments are more of a give-and-take from all parties involved.
- Communication – The best way to avoid confusion is by having strong and clear communication. It can save an incredible amount of time and frustration if both parties involved are communicating well.
- Documentation – Document everything. Keeping track of responsibilities, questions, changes, and other bits of information gives you and the client a foundation from which to work from.
With these four practices in place, it can keep a lot of issues from problematic clients in check.
It’s All About Professionalism
A lot of problems can easily be avoided by taking as much into consideration about a job as possible. This is where contracts come in exceptionally useful. When both parties have a clear breakdown of what is needed, a lot of good can come from the experience.
Take your freelancing further and always remain professional. But, don’t forget to protect yourself in the process.
