This is a guest post from Phillip over at The Lazy Pixel. Phillip is not only a creative 20-something blogger, he is also an entrepreneur who runs his own his own IT business Invisibility.net.

The customer is always right… sometimes.

When you are providing a service, be it freelance writing, public relations or IT technical, you will usually be providing a service that your client does not fully understand. The rule that a client is always right becomes somewhat fuzzy. They want what is best for their business, they want it done at as low a cost as possible, and they usually want it done yesterday. Crucially, when you’ve done your job they have to feel that they made the right decision in using your services.

Here are my ten tips for dealing with clients:

1) Your client knows his or her business better than you do

You may have a good level of understanding about what your client does, but your client lives what they do. Instead of trying to tell your client what they should be doing, get enthusiastic about what they are already doing. If you have advice ask the question “have you thought about…” it usually gets a more positive response than “what you need to be doing is…”

2) Do not overwhelm your client with what you know.

We are specialists in our fields. If we weren’t we wouldn’t be needed. Whether you are a freelance writer or working in a technical subject, the client does not need to hear your jargon. Don’t leave your client walking out wondering what SEO, XHTML, PHP, AJAX, Social media really mean. Likewise, your client probably needn’t worry about whether he or she is writing in the passive voice, or the prepositions they end sentences with. If they want to know more information on those subjects, they will ask.

3) Don’t oversell.

There are places I hate going. Computer stores are one of them. I know what I need. They might be able to offer something interesting but I know they probably won’t. Without fail they will recommend some piece of hardware (with a bigger price tag) that is not suitable to my purpose, they will try to sell me an extended warranty or some special offer on blank media. I am already fully aware of those products and services when I walk into the store, they’re already promoting them all over the place. I’ve never had a store person say “You’re always buying hardware from here, have you seen this nifty little device for undoing those difficult to reach screws?” or “We’re doing a special on compressed air and WD40?”; those are things that interest me.

Know your clients. Know their needs. Sell them things that fit in with what they need and that can help further their business. Don’t irritate them by trying to oversell them what they don’t need. Surprise them with things that might help their business occasionally and they will actually thank you for helping them spend an extra several hundred pounds.

4) Regardless of whether your client has a strong opinion of what they want, do a mock up of what you think is right.

I once had a client that had a very, very solid idea of what they wanted. They were very clear with their instructions. I hated it. I did it, and they seemed pleased with the resulting website. Twelve months later they had a website designed by someone else. It looked similar to how I would have designed it if I had been given free reign in the first place.

You can’t just tell a client that their way is stupid. You can mock something up quickly to show them how it would look if they did it your way. Once they can see the difference they can make an educated decision on what they actually want, not what they thought they wanted.

Don’t belittle their ideas. Give them feedback on the good and present an alternative. “That’s a great idea, I really like… but what you could do is this…”. Don’t tell your client that they are wrong, but show them how they could be doing something better.

5) Jobs that need “to be done yesterday” are only worth taking if the client is paying extra.

Rush jobs, love them or hate them, somebody needs to do them. If you have the time then this is where there is money and goodwill in generous portions. I fully believe you have to charge more for rush jobs, if only to prevent clients getting into the habit of always dropping something on you at the last minute and expecting you to say yes because you did last time.

If you have to shift something else about, or you’ve had to work into the wee hours of the morning then let your client know. An e-mail sent at 2am saying “I’m just about to finish working on your project for the night, it should be ready for you tomorrow afternoon” will generate a lot of good will. If you’ve really bailed your client out of a tight spot you might get a bottle of wine out of it – on a related note, if someone else does a rush job for you, let them know how much you appreciate it. If you take it for granted next time they might not be so accommodating.

6) Get it written down.

Get everything on paper. Get the job specification, the budget, everything on paper. Get your client to sign a purchase order where possible. If your client has signed off a piece of artwork with a spelling mistake… they were the ones who had the final check it was how they wanted it. If they didn’t sign anything off, well it’s your fault. Keeping a record of everything provides a measure of security for both you and your client.

7) Allow for cultural differences.

We live in a shrinking world. For those of us who can do a lot of our work without ever interacting in the real world it’s even smaller. I’ve worked with people from various backgrounds and cultures. None of them has seen themselves as rude, overly-demanding, argumentative, or just plain crazy. Some of them have come across that way.

You may get work from someone out in the countryside, or from someone sitting up in a tower block in the middle of the city. You might get work from East Asia or the US; you might get work from Europe or sub-Saharan Africa… that’s the beauty of the digital world. Anyone can come across, and benefit, from what you do.

You have to be willing and able to overcome differences between ways of communicating and ways of working.

8 ) Your client has a preferred method of communication.

Some clients like to talk on the phone; others prefer face-to-face meetings. Some people are quite happy to do everything by e-mail. You have to be flexible with how you communicate with your clients. Let them communicate in the way they feel most comfortable.

If their preferred method is by e-mail then try to use the same care in writing it as you would a letter.  “Hi, hws it going? I was thinking abt the work u need doing, really lyk the idea. itll b gr8.”  is not going to help you come across as professional. A quick proofread and spell check does not take long.

9) Keep your client updated

This one is so simple; just keep your client updated on their order. They don’t need updates every 10 minutes, but if you’re running behind schedule, or it’s a big job then keep them in the loop and reassure them that you’ve not forgotten about them.

10) Connect

This one really matters. You have to care about your client and what they do. If your client feels that you are genuinely interested in their business then they will forgive a lot when things go wrong – and sometimes things will go wrong. A client you have connected well with is more likely to recommend you to others.

Let your clients talk about themselves. Listen to what they say even if you don’t agree with it. You don’t even have to like them on a personal level to connect on a professional basis. If they believe in the product or service they are offering you have to be supportive. After all, by coming to you they are supporting the product or service that you believe in. Suggest ways they can build their business further, ways that you can help them improve and get excited about what they do.

Those are my thoughts on dealing with clients, and it is by no means a definitive list on how to deal with clients, just the results of my experience. If you have any other suggestions please leave a comment below.

Check back soon for Intro to Freelancing Part 4: Diversity and Hard Work as Pillars of Success.

Image via cole007

Amanda Abella

Amanda Abella is a freelance writer and language instructor based out of Miami, Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2009 and holds a degree in English Literature from Ave Maria University. Amanda Abella is available for freelance work, why not hire her?

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