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Easiest type of clients to work with?

by theinfomaven
5 replies
Hey

I know we've all talked about what some of the most lucrative clients to work with are.

However I've found that even some of the successful ones can be a pain to work with.

Anxious, impulsive, difficult to either get going or continue on with.

So in your experience which types of clients are easiest to work with?

Overall?

I'm sure there's more than one category.

How do you pick your clients based on emotional characteristics, in addition to the money?

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#clients #easiest #type #work
  • Profile picture of the author JVMarketer
    In general, one of the characteristics you should look for are people who could do what you are doing for them, but won't (lack of time being a major reason.) If they are NOT experienced, they may tend to doubt and question your ideas and strategies. I am speaking from experience. It can be a real pain to constantly sell someone on doing something that you know will pay off... while they insist on doing the same things that don't work.

    Perhaps you could get to know them a bit before becoming their consultant. I like to meet up for dinner or lunch and have them drink. I'm serious. When they've had a few drinks, they tend to open up and show their true nature. Also, look at how they treat the waiter or waitress and their empoloyees. And if you are in their place of business and their employees look miserable, beware. If things are untidy, beware.

    Ask them about other consultants they may have had in the past, and ask them how things went. For instance, I once read about a web developer who found himself stuck with a bully of a client (and this client mentioned that all the other website makers he had hired prior were idiots.) That was a red flag, and it was ignored. So he paid the price.

    Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by JVMarketer View Post

      In general, one of the characteristics you should look for are people who could do what you are doing for them, but won't
      Took the words right out of my mouth.

      Most client become whatever we make them. It's our job to manage expectations. If you deliver what you promise, on time, and don't promise the moon..I find most clients are pretty easy to get along with.

      Ones I don't want to work with are ones on the verge of going out of business. Then they fantasize that you are going to save them...and they get very angry...when you don't.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I find the best clients are the ones that are good at communicating what they want and actually reply to questions promptly. Vague clients irritate me because how can I write if I am not given at least basic info on what they want?

    I like regular clients, of course, because then I get to understand them better.
    I like laying out what I need form them for the articles and they have no issues with giving it to me.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      I like people who have real businesses already established and need someone to fix something that is broken or update their marketing. For me, my best clients are those who sell physical things, either wholesale or retail. I do have one guy who is an actor and I ma doing his fan site, both for memorabilia and for fan communications.

      So I guess its not a hard and fast rule for me. In general, I have found that how people treat their customers is how they treat me. if I like how they treat the people they do business with, I usually get along pretty well with them. But some folks treat their customers like dirt, and I won't work with them at all if I find that out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mady1234
    Have a look at their reviews online, some of them can be very specific and you can find out a lot about how they do business. As mentioned previously, when they treat their clients right, most of them are also going to treat you right.
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