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Having risen to glory with their entrepreneurship skills in very less time, these women have proven their mettle and talent to the world. From being featured on Forbes Top List, to receiving global honor for their enterprise and their work, these women entrepreneurs are going places. Here’s a closer look at the five leading women entrepreneurs of Africa.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
When she started in 2004 with the name soleRebels, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu exactly knew where her enterprise of making hand-crafted shoes would take not only her but also her local community in Addis Ababa. According to her, the fine and skilled artisans employed from her local community (in Ethiopia) form the backbone of the company and the essentials of the company’s ethics. With the joy of spreading a bit of their cultural heritage with every shoe crafted, Alemu has emerged as a commendable entrepreneur consolidating her business in less than a decade with her gumption. Owing to Alemu’s grits and dedication towards soleRebels today, the company is the only achiever of WFTO fair Trade Certified Footwear Company title worldwide. Following the success of her business, Alemu was invited by Bill Clinton for addressing as a speaker by The Clinton Global Initiative's panel. Subsequently in the year 2011, Alemu was again given the distinct honor by the World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, she was the first African woman entrepreneur to get the invitation ever. In the same year, she received global recognition for entrepreneurship by different institutions. soleRebels was among the top 5 finalists of the 2011 Legatum Africa Awards For Entrepreneurship. Alemu gives workshops & mentorship to young rural girls for their economic empowerment and to equip them with self-reliance. Alemu envisages coming 3 years as the period of expansion of her business beyond Ethiopia in more than 10 locations with annual revenues topping $10 mill.Carmen Tal
A sheer entrepreneur, Carmen Tal is popularly hailed as ‘The Leading Lady of Moroccan Oil’. From being a salon owner to being the mother of a huge beauty enterprise, Tal’s journey has been quite interesting. After being disappointed by an awful hair color service when Tal underwent an argan oil treatment, she was spellbound by its unmatched benefits and decided to bring these benefits to the women across the globe. Thus, in partnership with her now ex-husband, she bought the firm importing argan oil to the US and started her business with a single brand. This was the turning point of her life as well as her career. Having grown immensely in span of 6 years i.e. from a core team of merely ten in 2006 to more than three hundred employees today, Tal will be launching 12 luxury body care products in 2012 to bring innovation and quality to the salon-experience worldwide. Her enterprise is a multi-million business that has made her the queen of argan oil trade. While her business is currently on its high, Tal plans to develop newer products in the subsequent years to enhance the mesmerizing feel of salons for all her customers/clients.Divine Ndhlukuka
Founder and Managing Director of Zimbabwe’s first ISO certified Security Company SECURICO; Divine Ndhlukula has risen above all odds of life to make her company a success.The company is presently a leader in provision of bespoke guarding services and cutting-edge electronic security solutions. While setting up her business in the male-dominated industry was no cakewalk for Divine, she has taken her company within 15 years to the highs she dreamt of. The $13 million (revenues) company presently has more than 3,400 employees – 900 out of which are women. Having won several accolades for the entrepreneurship, her company was awarded the prestigious Legatum Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship last year. With numerous educational degrees and profound work experience from her past jobs, Divine has established an empire of security services that now gives a tough competition to Security giants like Midsec and Fawcett. “Our vision as SECURICO is that we become a leading security organization in the Southern African Development Community region and continue to grow at the targeted rates and make our company a truly international business” says Divine.Adenike Ogunles
She started her business in 1996 by selling merely pajamas in the boot of her car and in bazaars and today, Adenike Ogunlesi is the proud owner and CEO of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, an apparel range for children that is based in Nigeria. Her story dates back to the time when she dropped out of college with uncertainty of future and began working with her mother in the tailor shop. This helped her gain immense work experience. Owing to her work experience and excellent entrepreneurship skills, she has secured her place among the best manufacturers of children's clothing in Nigeria. In today’s time, Ruff 'N' Tumble stands tall with 50 employees. As the demand for her clothing range augmented, Adenike expanded over the years. She recently opened two new outlets in Port Harcourt and Surulere, Lagos. Adenike Was quoted saying,” We don't export now. Export to the West African coast, yes, all along the West African coast, yes, but to say, America or to England, I'm not interested in it at all. If 40 percent of the 120 million people in Nigeria are children, I have the potential of a huge market here." Despite of facing numerous challenges, Adenike has established her enterprise as a towering business line and she was recognized as the FATE Foundation Model Entrepreneur in 2005. Now, Ruff ‘n’ Tumble is a brand opted over the others in the range of children’s clothing in Nigeria.Khanyi Dhlomo
Once called "the sweetheart of African Media", Khanyi Dhlomo started her career in Media works at the age of 20. Having begun with South African Broadcast media, SABC 1 she is presently the Managing Director of Ndalo Media which she founded in 2007 in collaboration with Media 24 and through this media house she publishes two magazines, Destiny magazine & Destiny Man. Also, the online media DestinyConnect.com is an integral part of Ndalo Media. In the past she had worked for True Love magazine, a women-magazine of repute and at South Africa’s Tourism Board in Paris, which laid the foundation of inception of her enterprise. While she was appointed as the editor of True Love magazine, Dhlomo succeeded in capturing maximum audience.This passionate way of working was an asset for Dhlomo. Her current area of work i.e. Destiny magazine is a monthly issue where texts on topics like business, lifestyle, fashion etc find a convenient place. Unique at its heart, every issue of Destiny is created with an outlook to inform and inspire the smart women who are keen on business activities or entrepreneurship. Its counterpart for men is ‘Destiny Man’ that focuses on business-activities, fashion, grooming etc and provides the scope for empowerment of men by connecting them locally. With a foresight in Media and a visionary sense, Dhlomo started destinyconnect.com that was the online media section of her enterprise. She is also the Independent Non-Executive Director at THE FOSCHINI GROUP LTD. Recipient of global honorary recognition and selected by World Economic Forum as a Young Global leader, Dhlomo is a diligent entrepreneur who has made her way from all the curves of life to the top of Media works.
All things physical manifest from what was once hidden. The Secret Works is a portal and a free repository for all things entrepreneurial, a tool and portal that will unlock valuable essential information, cutting edge insight and, critical resources you can use to to give you the edge in an increasingly competitive world and, improve your everyday life!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
The Secret to Landing Clients Nearly 100% of the Time
And How a Little Experiment Turned into a Multi-Million Dollar Enterprise
Sure, pushing papers for the Big Boss mortifies us. But every freelancer knows that calling our own shots isn’t pure bliss either. I don’t know about you, but on at least two occasions, I’ve nervously looked “bankruptcy” in the face and by pure luck or karma, bypassed it by mere centimeters.
In my more cautious years, I’ve learned to develop systems, test them, then expand them. Yes, this even applies to freelancing.
How? Because turning a prospect into a client is a process-based on a system. Identifying deliverables and executing campaigns for a client is a series of tasks based on a system.
Create the right system and you can almost flawlessly guarantee success and satisfaction every time.
It was in the spirit of such experimentation that I stumbled upon the singular system largely responsible for turning my struggling personal consultancy into a multi-million dollar venture that is scheduled to land and manage over 100 projects every month and has won clients like the NFL, BlogTalkRadio, and best selling authors like Christine Comaford-Lynch.
The Challenge, My Nearly Nervous Breakdown, and the Results
Then I’ll spill the beans about my experiment…
About a year and a half ago, I transitioned from being a freelancer to running a marketing firm that managed 25-50 freelance internet marketers and web professionals. In December 2007, I decided I was going to take this one leap further and build a program that would allow me and my team to coach hundreds of freelancers and pair them up with paying clients.
This presented an enormous challenge that, for three months I could not solve (and it almost cost me my business, my financial wellbeing and my sanity). How could I design a system that would:
1. Train and coach hundreds of people in the skills of marketing and web development?
2. Guarantee hundreds of new projects coming in each month?
I tested one system with a test group of 30 freelancers. It failed. I revamped the system based on results and feedback and we improved considerably. This second system was highly scalable and accounted for Challenge A. My business was now able to easily and successfully train hundreds of people — or even thousands, if the situation called for it.
But Challenge B remained a stopgap. I could not risk scaling to 100 freelancers or more for fear that I’d have no work for them.
Now this is where you’ll want to pay attention…
I had to create a system that would allow anyone, with or without knowledge of the marketing skills we were offering, with or without sales ability, to land as many clients as humanly possible.
The resultant system I’m about to share with you (and don’t worry, it’s dirt simple) worked so well, it has a 100% success rate so far (meaning every single person who has accepted the offer I’m going to share with you has turned into a client). I’m sure we’ll lose the occasional prospect, but this system will work for:
- Referrals
- Warm Leads
- Cold Leads (cold calling)
- Professionals you work with (your dentist, doctor, gardener, etc.)
- Anyone else you can dream up
The worth of the clients this system lands is mind-boggling. My original prospecting method had a nearly 100% success rate as well, but that was because I was dealing with referrals. And that system couldn’t be duplicated. It was based on me, my exact experience and accomplishments, and my sales capabilities.
But this new system now easily guarantees my company over 100 new projects per month and, best of all, these projects are in the range of $10,000 – $50,000 monthly recurring income per project. And I don’t have to do the selling myself.
Bottom Line: This system will allow you to land the big boys, compete with the top vendors in your industry, and anyone can do it. It’s dirt simple.
How to Land Your Client, Every Time
Here’s the magical phrase: “Competitive Analysis”
I found that when calling on companies that didn’t ask for my advice or help, they didn’t care to receive a proposal, or hear about how I could revolutionize their website or make them tons of money…
The only thing even cold prospects responded to, nearly every time, was this single sentence:
“I have reverse engineered your top competitors’ sites, [COMPETITOR ONE] and [COMPETITOR TWO], and can tell you exactly how they’re able to beat you in the amount of traffic and sales they get online, PLUS where their weaknesses are and how you can exploit them to pull ahead.”
Then I offered to conduct a free Competitive Analysis on their website and their top competitor’s website.
That’s it. Dirt simple.
You won’t even have to ask for the sale when you’re done. They’ll be begging you to help them.
It just happens to be an infallible truth that people are more motivated by what they stand to lose (and who they stand to conquer) than by what they can gain. By leveraging the success of their competitor against their fear of losing business to someone else, you’ll easily persuade them to want to work with you and they’ll think it was their idea to ask you!
How to Create a Competitive Analysis
Because my industry is online marketing and web development, I’m going to explain how to create an analysis for a website’s presence and traffic.
You can modify this process to address anything though. If you build websites, create a Website Requirements Assessment for your prospects to fill out so you can discuss the results. If you’re a copywriter, create a document asking key questions that gets your prospect thinking about what they need and excited about what you can do.
So, for this analysis, you need only three free websites to gain dizzying amounts of information on your prospect and their competitor. When you share this information with them, you’ll hear time and again, “This is the most in-depth, informative consultation we’ve ever had!”
Add these websites to your Favorites List:
Between these three sites, you can discover just about anything, including:
- # of monthly unique visitors
- Budget spent on sponsored listings (Adwords)
- Clicks per day from sponsored listings
- Cost per click
- # of organic listings
- Demographics, including age, income and ethnicity range of visitors
- And tons more
Imagine telling your prospect that you know their top competitor spends $18,000 on sponsored listings per day and that they receive 5000 unique visitors per day…
But you know you can help your prospect beat them and eclipse a lot of their traffic, because you can also see that the competitor website’s incoming links are old and no new site optimization has been done. These stats justify you asking for $5000 to $10,000 per month to get them ahead of their competitor who is spending even more and has weaknesses you can clearly see and exploit.
Do you see how this completely alters the nature of the consultation and the sale? You never have to ask if they want to do business with you. Instead, you’re dangling a very attractive carrot in front of them backed by hard evidence, fact, and quantifiable numbers.
As long as you’re confident you can deliver the goods you promise, it’s a done deal. I’ve even landed clients with this method without them ever asking to see past results, client references, a portfolio, or anything else. They were so shocked and jazzed by the analysis that they said, “Name your price. We’ll take it. We want to beat the pants of such-and-such competitor!”
“What If The Client Wants Something I Can’t Do?”
Perhaps you want to use this exact analysis example and land clients for web development and traffic generation. What if you don’t know how to deliver these services?
OUTSOURCE.
You have a wonderful resource right here at Freelance Switch. Here’s what you do:
Once you deliver the competitive analysis and go over it with the prospect, the next step will be to develop a detailed proposal outlining what you’ll do and the price you’ll charge. Tell them that you’ll want to put your best expert on the project and you need to check availability. You’ll get back to them in a couple days.
Then post the project here on the FreelanceSwitch job boards and find an appropriate expert. Work with them to develop the proposal and agree on the fees they want to charge.
Increase those fees by an appropriate amount to pay yourself for landing the deal and perhaps project managing and then bid that to the prospect.
Client landed. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
12 Breeds of Clients and How to Work with Them
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There are loads of different types of clients out there and chances are at some point you’ll get to meet all of them. So let’s take a look through some typical clients and see if you recognize a few of your own in there!
Client Breed #1: The Low-Tech Client
How to Spot One:
Looks confused and disoriented when discussing anything high-tech, calls rather than emails, wants everything to be faxed. The Low-tech client needs to go through everything twice to get it, but will then happily take your advice.
The Highs:
The Low-tech client will rely solely on your sage wisdom for all things technology related. They will look to you as your technology saviour and will stroke your ego with their reverence of your knowledge and advice.
The Lows:
The low-tech client will need to be handheld through everything from setting up their email to opening up PDFs. Charge accordingly. They can also be particularly frustrating if they decide to ‘work it out themselves’. A Low-tech client’s idea of how a website should work for example is often not pretty.
How to Work With One:
The low-tech client needs to be handheld. Make sure everything technical about a job is in writing for them to reread at their leisure. This will save you a lot of time explaining things repeatedly. It’s also best to just accept that you will not be using a lot of the technology that makes our lives easier these days (email, online project management etc) and should instead budget in time for phone calls, faxes and face to face meetings.
It is very easy to start to patronize your low-tech client unintentionally. As you can imagine, this can damage your relationship and even worse hurt their feelings. Make sure you balance the playing field by asking for their input in the areas they know about – their business. This will keep them happy stop them feeling the need to weigh in on your area of expertise – which can waste everybody’s time.
Finally if you work in technology, make sure that your Low-tech client knows how to use whatever product you give them!
Client Breed #2: The Disinterested Client
How To Spot One:
The uninterested client is a strange beast – where most clients can’t wait to get involved in your work, the uninterested client just wants things done with as little effort from them as possible. You’ll spot an uninterested client on first meeting when you ask them questions about their business and are met with the minimal response. The uninterested client will rarely provide requested information or materials and will often ask you to complete tasks outside your area of expertise because they “don’t have time”.
The Highs:
An uninterested client will give you a lot of creative freedom, mostly because they have no interest in being involved. Their insistence that you “take care of it” may broaden your skill set and your ability to delegate to outside contractors. You may also gain experience making it work when you don’t have the information or materials you need.
The Lows:
The uninterested client will ask you to take care of everything from copywriting (when you’re a web designer) to flyer design (when you’re a copywriter). Sadly they will often not realize that this should incur extra cost. The uninterested client sometimes marries their lack of interest with wanting things done a certain way producing a very hard to deal with client.
How to Work With One:
It is best to get into good habits early with your uninterested client. A freelancer must be pushy with an uninterested client, so get used to calling and emailing repeatedly. A friendly and humorous tone is a great help when trying to push them along. An uninterested client generally isn’t trying to be rude and unpleasant, most of the time they’re very stressed and crying out for a little help. If you can be straight with them that extra work costs extra money, either take on that extra work if you can or use it as an opportunity to outsource.
A uninterested client is a tricky client, but if you manage to take care of them they often become very loyal, happy to have someone that ‘takes care of business’. Just make sure you are straight about costs, and be clear with yourself that nagging is unavoidable.
Client Breed #3: The Hands-On Client
How To Spot One:
The hands-On client is a frustrated artist, as soon as they walk in the door they will be telling you about their skill as an artist, illustrator, photographer or writer. The hands-on client already has a very specific idea about what they want and usually has very little interest in your thoughts on the matter.
The hands-On client is a frustrated artist, as soon as they walk in the door they will be telling you about their skill as an artist, illustrator, photographer or writer. The hands-on client already has a very specific idea about what they want and usually has very little interest in your thoughts on the matter.
The Highs:
If you’re happy to just do exactly as they ask no matter what you might think of it, a hands-on client can be a good little earner. Almost always there is little confusion as to what the client wants to see and this can make these jobs easy.
If you’re happy to just do exactly as they ask no matter what you might think of it, a hands-on client can be a good little earner. Almost always there is little confusion as to what the client wants to see and this can make these jobs easy.
The Lows:
If you feel you have an ethical responsibility to point out the flaws in your hands-on client’s directions, you are headed for conflict. Hands-on client’s secretly believe that they could do their job much better than you and that there is little or no specialist knowledge you could possibly impart.
If you feel you have an ethical responsibility to point out the flaws in your hands-on client’s directions, you are headed for conflict. Hands-on client’s secretly believe that they could do their job much better than you and that there is little or no specialist knowledge you could possibly impart.
One oddity about working with a hands-on client sometimes occurs when you give in your creative ambitions and agree to do it their way. All of a sudden your hands-on client may accuse you of making them do all the work or not doing your job. This can go as far as baulking on payment. Naturally this is highly infuriating.
How To Work With One:
When you find a hands-on client, the best thing to do is go with the flow. If you try to fight it you usually lose and the job winds up a lot harder than it needed to be. If your hands-on client knows exactly what they want, then power to them, recognise that and give it to them.
When you find a hands-on client, the best thing to do is go with the flow. If you try to fight it you usually lose and the job winds up a lot harder than it needed to be. If your hands-on client knows exactly what they want, then power to them, recognise that and give it to them.
Often its a good idea to explicitly tell them that they seem to have a very specific idea of what they want and that you will be following their direction, however make it clear that if they would prefer; you are more than capable of doing it without their input.
Client Breed #4: The Paranoid Client
How To Spot One:
The legal papers come out almost immediately and are elaborate to say the least. A paranoid client will often not want to even discuss their project without getting you to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and be prepared for drafted agreement to be heavily pitched in their favour.
The legal papers come out almost immediately and are elaborate to say the least. A paranoid client will often not want to even discuss their project without getting you to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and be prepared for drafted agreement to be heavily pitched in their favour.
The Highs:
If you work with a paranoid client, any legal agreement you sign should also be protecting you. So as long as you don’t breach any part the agreements you sign you should get paid.
If you work with a paranoid client, any legal agreement you sign should also be protecting you. So as long as you don’t breach any part the agreements you sign you should get paid.
The Lows:
You MUST get any major legal agreements looked at by a lawyer (and not the lawyer that works for them). As you would imagine, this can cost a lot of money that your client may not be willing to pay. Often within these documents are a whole list of grounds for the client dismissing you without payment. Grounds might be that you miss a deadline for whatever reason (even if the paranoid client is at fault).
You MUST get any major legal agreements looked at by a lawyer (and not the lawyer that works for them). As you would imagine, this can cost a lot of money that your client may not be willing to pay. Often within these documents are a whole list of grounds for the client dismissing you without payment. Grounds might be that you miss a deadline for whatever reason (even if the paranoid client is at fault).
From personal experience, I have always found the most paranoid clients are the ones who seem to have the most problems as well. This happens because they are always on the lookout for evidence that they are being ripped off or taken advantage of. Needless to say this means that you can easily wind up trying to straighten our points of legality with them rather than doing your job.
How To Work With One:
It is not worth working with a paranoid client for a small or low paying job. The risks far outweigh any possible gains. Besides, a personalized legal agreement is very expensive, so if they’re willing to spend a large sum on protecting their interests they should be paying you equally well.
It is not worth working with a paranoid client for a small or low paying job. The risks far outweigh any possible gains. Besides, a personalized legal agreement is very expensive, so if they’re willing to spend a large sum on protecting their interests they should be paying you equally well.
For a large job with a big client you may wish to consider going for it, but even then factor lawyer’s fees into your quote. Most companies have legal agreements because they want to protect themselves or sensitive projects, but some paranoid clients use them in a predatory way. Remember that the paranoid client paid more to be protected, so you should quote more to make sure you get a fair deal.
Client Breed #5: The Appreciative Client
How To Spot One:
The appreciative client will shower you with praise and make you feel special – gosh I love an appreciative client!
The appreciative client will shower you with praise and make you feel special – gosh I love an appreciative client!
The Highs:
The appreciative client will make your life very easy as they’ll often pick the first version of the first draft and declare it perfect. They’re very enthusiastic and generally a delight to work with.
The appreciative client will make your life very easy as they’ll often pick the first version of the first draft and declare it perfect. They’re very enthusiastic and generally a delight to work with.
Even when the appreciative client does not like something they often word things in ways that make you happy to continue work on the project to get it pitch perfect.
The Lows:
They’ll make the rest of your clients look bad.
They’ll make the rest of your clients look bad.
How To Work With One:
Sit back and enjoy the glory. Make sure you get them a very nice Christmas gift and throw in a freebie every now and then. An appreciative client is like gold to a freelancer, so do your best work and make them feel like a VIP.
Sit back and enjoy the glory. Make sure you get them a very nice Christmas gift and throw in a freebie every now and then. An appreciative client is like gold to a freelancer, so do your best work and make them feel like a VIP.
Client Breed #6: The Get-a- Good-Deal Client
How To Spot One:
The get-a-good-deal client is a wheeler-dealer and believes that the price you first give is just a starting point for negotiations. You’ll know you have a get-a-good-deal client on your hands because agreeing on a price and job description always involves a bit of to and fro. Often times get-a-good-deal clients are successful entrepreneurial types who have haggled their way to wealth.
The get-a-good-deal client is a wheeler-dealer and believes that the price you first give is just a starting point for negotiations. You’ll know you have a get-a-good-deal client on your hands because agreeing on a price and job description always involves a bit of to and fro. Often times get-a-good-deal clients are successful entrepreneurial types who have haggled their way to wealth.
The Highs:
Get-a-good-deal clients are often great for getting repeat and referral work having their fingers in lots of pies and you can sometimes make deals that payoff well for you as well as them.
Get-a-good-deal clients are often great for getting repeat and referral work having their fingers in lots of pies and you can sometimes make deals that payoff well for you as well as them.
The Lows:
If you aren’t a good negotiator or you don’t recognise a get-a-good-deal client soon enough you can wind up feeling taken advantage of as they take whatever there is to be had. Unethical get-a-good-deal client’s are usually up for ‘no harm trying’ mentality that can see them trying to get out of paying for certain things or at their worst bullying you for more work or discounts.
If you aren’t a good negotiator or you don’t recognise a get-a-good-deal client soon enough you can wind up feeling taken advantage of as they take whatever there is to be had. Unethical get-a-good-deal client’s are usually up for ‘no harm trying’ mentality that can see them trying to get out of paying for certain things or at their worst bullying you for more work or discounts.
How To Work With One:
The best way to deal with a get-a-good-deal client is to fight fire with fire so to speak. Taking a get-a-good-deal approach back on them usually negates their strengths and ensures that you cut a fair deal. This means coming in high and then lowering your prices and being very assertive on points of payment and workload.
The best way to deal with a get-a-good-deal client is to fight fire with fire so to speak. Taking a get-a-good-deal approach back on them usually negates their strengths and ensures that you cut a fair deal. This means coming in high and then lowering your prices and being very assertive on points of payment and workload.
Client Breed #7: The I’ll-Know-It -When-I-See-It Client
How To Spot One:
The I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client shares much in common with the uninterested client except in a more frustrating way. Their indecisiveness and inability to articulate what they are after makes them one of the few clients that it is generally best to steer clear of.
The I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client shares much in common with the uninterested client except in a more frustrating way. Their indecisiveness and inability to articulate what they are after makes them one of the few clients that it is generally best to steer clear of.
The Highs:
If you can produce the “It” for this type of client you can possibly win them over and turn the I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client into a very appreciative and trusting client who rejoices in having found someone who has their same ‘vision’.
If you can produce the “It” for this type of client you can possibly win them over and turn the I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client into a very appreciative and trusting client who rejoices in having found someone who has their same ‘vision’.
The Lows:
If you don’t produce the “It” this type of client can quickly become highly frustrating as you stab franticly in the dark while worrying about blowing your budget and timeframe.
If you don’t produce the “It” this type of client can quickly become highly frustrating as you stab franticly in the dark while worrying about blowing your budget and timeframe.
To make matters worse the I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client often becomes agitated or unhappy with you if you don’t magically produce “It” leading to strained relations and a project that rapidly goes south.
How To Work With One:
In order to work with a I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It Client you need to remember two things:
In order to work with a I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It Client you need to remember two things:
- First be VERY clear with how much revisions cost. If you don’t do this you WILL blow your budget
- Second unless you can produce “It” you could be in for a rough project, accept this fact.
- Second unless you can produce “It” you could be in for a rough project, accept this fact.
Client Breed #8: The Always-Urgent Client
How To Spot One:
All their emails are ‘highest priority’ and their couriers are always red-hot. They work on weekends and late into the night and think that everyone else does too. Additionally the always-urgent client often seems to think they are your only client and that their job should therefore be your highest priority as well as theirs.
All their emails are ‘highest priority’ and their couriers are always red-hot. They work on weekends and late into the night and think that everyone else does too. Additionally the always-urgent client often seems to think they are your only client and that their job should therefore be your highest priority as well as theirs.
The Highs:
Since there is never any room for prolonging a job the always-urgent client will usually okay jobs relatively quickly. They often won’t have time to okay a quote so you end up charging by the hour.
Since there is never any room for prolonging a job the always-urgent client will usually okay jobs relatively quickly. They often won’t have time to okay a quote so you end up charging by the hour.
The always-urgent client generally knows when they are being unreasonable and will do their best to pay you quickly, which is handy for cash flow.
The Lows:
The always-urgent client adds stress to your life, and if you want to keep them you may need to work late nights or over the weekend. You may also endure repeat late night phone calls and nonchalant requests that you build websites, organise photoshoots and produce detailed illustrations in oh… say a few hours!
The always-urgent client adds stress to your life, and if you want to keep them you may need to work late nights or over the weekend. You may also endure repeat late night phone calls and nonchalant requests that you build websites, organise photoshoots and produce detailed illustrations in oh… say a few hours!
How To Work With One:
The always-urgent client must be taken with a grain of salt. Everything will be desperate so you must decide when it is worth the inconvenience to yourself and your other clients. You must make it clear to the always-urgent client when their requests are unreasonable, right from the beginning. As always, keeping this light-hearted and jokey is the way to go, thereby defusing situations where you might otherwise come off as aggressive.
The always-urgent client must be taken with a grain of salt. Everything will be desperate so you must decide when it is worth the inconvenience to yourself and your other clients. You must make it clear to the always-urgent client when their requests are unreasonable, right from the beginning. As always, keeping this light-hearted and jokey is the way to go, thereby defusing situations where you might otherwise come off as aggressive.
The always-urgent client is similar to the disinterested client in that they both require extra care. You may need to chase up the always-urgent client if you know a job is coming up in order to give yourself more time and as with the disinterested client, if you take care of them when it counts they will be loyal to you.
A word of warning though, having multiple always-urgent clients can lead to severely stressful situations as everything is needed now, now, now! So unless you thrive on pressure, you are advised to limit the number of this type of client you engage.
Client Breed #9: The Decision-By- Committee Client
How To Spot One:
Usually inhabiting the world of large corporate clients, the decision-by-committee client can still be found in smaller operations where they share their decision making with a spouse, neighbour or dog. The decision-by-committee client is one who lacks a single point of authority and for which every decision must be approved by many people.
Usually inhabiting the world of large corporate clients, the decision-by-committee client can still be found in smaller operations where they share their decision making with a spouse, neighbour or dog. The decision-by-committee client is one who lacks a single point of authority and for which every decision must be approved by many people.
The Highs:
Since decision-by-committee clients don’t have anyone making firm decisions it is sometimes possible to just do whatever you think and sneak it through under the radar. This can easily backfire though, so be careful.
Since decision-by-committee clients don’t have anyone making firm decisions it is sometimes possible to just do whatever you think and sneak it through under the radar. This can easily backfire though, so be careful.
The Lows:
The decision-by-committee client at its worst is achingly slow to work with and when many people have thier pet peeves you can wind up with a highly inferior product to show for the work. Decision-by-committee client almost always reduce to the lowest common denominator and if there is one person who dominates they are usually the one person you wish *didn’t* dominate.
The decision-by-committee client at its worst is achingly slow to work with and when many people have thier pet peeves you can wind up with a highly inferior product to show for the work. Decision-by-committee client almost always reduce to the lowest common denominator and if there is one person who dominates they are usually the one person you wish *didn’t* dominate.
How To Work With One:
Unfortunately decision-by-committee clients are a fact of life when it comes to working with large corporate clients and this is one reason why it is important to charge high when dealing with the big guys.
Unfortunately decision-by-committee clients are a fact of life when it comes to working with large corporate clients and this is one reason why it is important to charge high when dealing with the big guys.
It helps to be firm and quickly identify the stronger members of the committee and target them for responses while trying to win them over by conceding lesser points and sticking to your main guns.
Client Breed #10: The Doormat Client
How To Spot One:
The doormat client is the client who puts up with anything and just keeps coming back. They are usually very unassertive and seem to be content waiting for ages for you to get back to them or accepting less than perfect work.
The doormat client is the client who puts up with anything and just keeps coming back. They are usually very unassertive and seem to be content waiting for ages for you to get back to them or accepting less than perfect work.
The Highs:
The doormat client is often also very appreciative which is always nice. Its also relaxing to have a client who doesn’t mind waiting around.
The doormat client is often also very appreciative which is always nice. Its also relaxing to have a client who doesn’t mind waiting around.
The Lows:
Unfortunately doormat clients often bring out the worst in freelancers. Without the pressure of a potentially angry client a freelancer can easily become laissez-faire about their work and wind up taking advantage of the client’s passive nature.
Unfortunately doormat clients often bring out the worst in freelancers. Without the pressure of a potentially angry client a freelancer can easily become laissez-faire about their work and wind up taking advantage of the client’s passive nature.
How To Work With One:
The doormat client requires great discipline to make sure that you stick to your timeframes and deliver the goods. If your client doesn’t protect themselves then it is up to you to do so for them.
The doormat client requires great discipline to make sure that you stick to your timeframes and deliver the goods. If your client doesn’t protect themselves then it is up to you to do so for them.
While you may wish to take advantage of their generous nature on occasions when you are stressed, you should try your best to treat them the same as every other client.
Client Breed #11: The Budget Client
How To Spot One:
Every client is on a budget, but some clients just seem that much tighter than the others. The budget client can be the result of doing a friend or relative a favour, or equally just a regular client who never has any cash.
Every client is on a budget, but some clients just seem that much tighter than the others. The budget client can be the result of doing a friend or relative a favour, or equally just a regular client who never has any cash.
The Highs:
Budget clients are sometimes appreciative of the work they are getting done so cheaply – though unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
Budget clients are sometimes appreciative of the work they are getting done so cheaply – though unfortunately this isn’t always the case.
The Lows:
Budget clients are cheap and at their worst still expect the same service and workload as their higher paying brethren. This makes them both annoying and bad for business.
Budget clients are cheap and at their worst still expect the same service and workload as their higher paying brethren. This makes them both annoying and bad for business.
Budget clients are at their worst when they exhibit traits from other clients such as ‘Always-Urgent’ or ‘Paranoid’, in which case its just not worth it.
How To Work With One:
Make sure your budget client realises they are on a budget and that therefore their work may not always be first priority and that you probably can’t get those extra changes or revisions in because it simply doesn’t make good business sense. If your budget client gets aggressive or manifests other negative traits, accept that they aren’t worth it and let them go.
Make sure your budget client realises they are on a budget and that therefore their work may not always be first priority and that you probably can’t get those extra changes or revisions in because it simply doesn’t make good business sense. If your budget client gets aggressive or manifests other negative traits, accept that they aren’t worth it and let them go.
Client Breed #12: The You-Should- Be-So-Lucky Client
How To Spot One:
The you-should-be-so-lucky client is much cooler than you and they know it. They generally have a cool but low paying project for you and are in an industry everyone wants to work in…think music, film and fashion industries in particular.
The you-should-be-so-lucky client is much cooler than you and they know it. They generally have a cool but low paying project for you and are in an industry everyone wants to work in…think music, film and fashion industries in particular.
The Highs:
The right you-should-be-so-lucky client looks great in your portfolio, and your friends will think you’re cool. You’ll make some handy contacts and your professional credibility will probably benefit. You’ll also be hanging out with the cool kids – TAKE THAT HIGH SCHOOL!
The right you-should-be-so-lucky client looks great in your portfolio, and your friends will think you’re cool. You’ll make some handy contacts and your professional credibility will probably benefit. You’ll also be hanging out with the cool kids – TAKE THAT HIGH SCHOOL!
The Lows:
You won’t be paid much and the you-should-be-so-lucky client will act like they’re doingyou the favour, not the other way around. If you do enough jobs for a you-should-be-so-lucky client you will start getting jaded about the industry and feel mistreated for your efforts.
You won’t be paid much and the you-should-be-so-lucky client will act like they’re doingyou the favour, not the other way around. If you do enough jobs for a you-should-be-so-lucky client you will start getting jaded about the industry and feel mistreated for your efforts.
How To Work With One:
The you-should-be-so-lucky client can be a great asset to your portfolio, but that will be the main reason to do the job. Because everybody wants this type of job (until they’ve actually got some) there are many talented but green freelancers more than happy to work for almost nothing. If you are a student this can be a great thing to do, but for a seasoned freelancer it can impact your cash flow. So pick your you-should-be-so-lucky clients carefully and use them sparingly to impact your portfolio or break up the monotony of corporate jobs. And of course, make sure you enjoy being that damn cool!
The you-should-be-so-lucky client can be a great asset to your portfolio, but that will be the main reason to do the job. Because everybody wants this type of job (until they’ve actually got some) there are many talented but green freelancers more than happy to work for almost nothing. If you are a student this can be a great thing to do, but for a seasoned freelancer it can impact your cash flow. So pick your you-should-be-so-lucky clients carefully and use them sparingly to impact your portfolio or break up the monotony of corporate jobs. And of course, make sure you enjoy being that damn cool!
So That’s Our List
Have we missed any clients? And which are you favorites …
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