Client Tactics: How to Spot a Deadbeat Client
Jeff Boshers
Imagine if freelancers have x-ray vision or suppose Apple approves a gadget that makes x-ray vision possible, (iVision). If this is possible then freelancers will not have any problem in discerning a potentially great client from a deadbeat one. Sadly freelancers don’t have x-ray vision but, learning how to identify a deadbeat client the old-fashioned way is an invaluable tool. So first things, first.
What is a deadbeat client?
A deadbeat client is any client who gives the freelancer extra problems during the span of the project, outside the normal specifications of the project.
In this article we will see different types of deadbeat clients and how to spot them.
1. The Walking Billboard or Profit Share
On the Surface:
Calm, cool, and collected. The Walking Billboard sometimes known as “The Profit Share”, will seem very charismatic. Opportunity is this client’s middle name. After meeting with this client for the first time, one feels refreshed. One may even feel vaguely inspired. Everyone knows this client and the Walking Billboard knows this. This client may even have the reputation of a mover-and-shaker or hustler.
Common Phrases:
- “By letting you help with our site, you should see some big money.”
- “I really think this site is a million dollar idea.”
- “I know and /or partied with (insert random celebrity)”
What’s the Pay?
Name dropping, and a byline. The Walking Billboard will assure you that the referrals will happen. The Profit Share will guarantee you a part of the business. Which of course is a million-dollar-can’t-lose idea, remember?
The Ugly Truth:
This client doesn’t value your time. They believe that their brains hold the keys to the next Facebook, Myspace, or Youtube. They think that by “letting you” design their site they are doing you a favor. Why do you need to get paid? They are going to tell all of their friends about you and allow you to put your link at the bottom of their footer. With all of their networking connections and web traffic, that’s better than money in the bank!
The Strategy.
With this client, try not to get caught up in any double talk or lip service they throw your way. By sticking to your pricing guide, and knowing when to say no; will sort out the deadbeats from the premium clients. Stay professional and don’t make exceptions.
2. The Too Busy to Breathe
On the Surface:
Frantic and high paced, The Too Busy to Breathe is a go-getter. This client is over worked and looking for someone to complete a project for them within a fairly quick time frame. This client may even be another designer looking to outsource a project that they don’t want to pass up the paycheck on.
Common Phrases:
- “I’d finish this but my other client has a rush and it’s a higher priority.”
- “Do you think this project can be completed next week?”
What’s the Pay?
They will pay you but, only after dragging you through design hell and back.
The Ugly Truth:
This client doesn’t value your time. They are up to their eyeballs in work and haven’t had a day off since before Apple released the iPhone. Most of the time with this client, they are disorganized. This means that emails may get overlooked and work may have to be reworked. This client may even be another designer, which will only add to the headache. Not only will you have to work twice as hard to complete this within their time frame, you may have to give up your personal work flow and design style.
The Strategy:
Avoid this client if at all possible. If you are already in this situation; power through it, remain positive, and focused. Until this project is completed try to devote as much time as possible to finishing this project.
3. The Picky Pickerson.
On the Surface:
Attention to detail is at the top of The Picky Pickerson’s GTD list. This client may not have a specific time frame in mind with the project you are doing for them but they sure have a vision. The Picky Pickerson will come off as being creative, inspiring, and very attentive to the project. Like the deadbeat client before, this client may be a designer too.
Common Phrases:
- “Could you do this again but in green?”
- “Did you get my email?”
- “I really would like for this project to turn out like I have it envisioned.”
What’s the Pay?
Like the client before, they will pay you.They may haggle about the price and count the money several times before paying you.
The Ugly Truth:
Two words with this client: daily emails. This client believes that their project is of the utmost priority. They believe that their two page website for their champion pedigree chihuahua “Turbo”, should take precedent over that new e-commerce site that’s paying you twice what they are.
They will want you to work extra hours without any extra compensation.This client’s best friend is scope creep. Do not give this client your home phone number!
The Strategy:
Contract. Contract. Contract. Make sure this client signs and understands your contract. Clearly detail out your working hours, turnaround time for emails, and any other details of your standard process. Since this client will pick apart every part of the design you complete for them, advise the client on how many revisions they get to make.
Make sure they feel important because besides an awesome website, your attention is all they are really after.
4. The Thrift or Late Payer
On the Surface:
The perfect client. This client is everything that the other are not. This client gives you feedback, you educate them about different aspects of design. Only one part of the process they question, money. This client just wants to make sure that you are not taking them for their money. It’s better to be weary right?
Common Phrases:
- “Why does a content management system cost so much?”
- “I am on a really tight budget.”
- “The check is in the mail.”
What’s the Pay?
You’ll get paid. Expect to haggle through the entire project about price, better yet expect payment about three to four months after you send a final notice.
The Ugly Truth:
This client hears prices but doesn’t see the value in those prices. The designer they were working with before only charged 1/3 of your going rate; never mind the fact they were related to the client’s girlfriend.
This client will fight tooth and nail over the price the entire length of the project. Expect to spend twice the time chasing this client for payment than what you spent actually working on the project.
The Strategy:
Make sure this client signs and understands your contract. Clearly define your payment schedule, and require a deposit. The client needs to understand the value of your services. Take the time to educate them on the time and intricacies of what design takes. Take care to not go into too much detail because that will only confuse the client. They value their barber, and their mechanic, they should value you too.
Final Thoughts
This article is by no means exhaustive, any of these clients can be combined for extra headache. Each one of these situations, can be detected and avoided or turned into a more favorable experience. Each client is different, what looks like a deadbeat client may just be a confused client who needs some guidance.
Our role as a designer is more like that of a problem-solver. By keeping cool and sticking to your contracts and principles; you’ll be able to educate the confused clients and weed out the deadbeats like a pro. So maybe one day x-ray vision will be available but until then, trust your gut and listen to the experiences of others regarding deadbeat clients.
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Vernessa
Posted 692 days ago 41What an entertaining read, and as @ashley Parsons said “dismal” reality. Recognizing a deadbeat before he kills your finances is a real problem. I recently came across the “Too Busy To Breathe” fellow. He was so busy, he didn’t have time to ask his own questions or hear the answers! (He’d call me then be too busy to hold a meaningful conversation when I called him back.) I finally realized he was a deadbeat *before* I accepted him as a client when he was too busy to make his deposit via PayPal. A week of that and I sent him a nice long message, the gist of which was “Find someone else. Thanks!”
.-= Vernessa´s last blog ..Display RSS Feeds on Your WordPress Pages, Posts, or Sidebar =-.
Buddy B
Posted 694 days ago 36This was a good read, however, In my experience you will always find clients with some if not all of these traits. It is on you the designer to set boundaries.
Define the scope, set the price, get it in writing. Beyond that, it’s important to have the project stake holders involved as much as possible with the design process. By showing them frequent prototypes in iterations and taking feedback the entire time, you run a much better chance at delivering what the client wants. If the scope of the project is well defined in writing, it’s easy to say “Sure I can make this white with black dots, here are the requirements we agreed upon when defining the scope, which requirement will take a back seat to this new task? No problem, the contract states that this will cost XXX.”
Great post, I just think it’s a little whiney :)
Jeff Boshers
Posted 693 days ago 37I agree with you 100% (except for the whiny part, we creatives are a touchy lot. lol.) As long as the scope is defined and we have enough of a backbone to stand behind what we say and do then a project should run smoothly. However, some client’s proclivity toward these stereotypes are unavoidable.
David Love
Posted 694 days ago 34Great stuff. Didn’t see my favorite there where the client wants a mock up before agreeing to it. In the beginning I got stuck with that trying to build a portfolio.
Also start-up companies offering stock options. Yikes!
Some of us will copy the text the client emails right into the document so I’ve had them come back and say it’s not what they wanted it to say a month after launch. So I send them there previous email and the next question is how much to fix it.
Asrar
Posted 694 days ago 32I have a client who is a mix of all 4 of those type you mentioned. He has like 8 sites going, all in different fields. He talks big about his projects, but none of them are complete because he is too busy asking me to move the logo one pixel to the left and make the background one shade of green darker. Then he doesn’t want to pay because the sites are not making money.
Now I instantly become pissed off when I see him, in fact when he walks into my office I don’t even look at him anymore. I am busy working on something and trying to concentrate, and he just sits there and keeps talking to me about a new update to his site, while I am ignoring him. But he just keeps on talking and talking until I can’t take it anymore. I give in and do the stupid update on his site because it is the only thing that will shut him up.
I’ve told him flat out that I do not want to do business with him anymore. But he keeps coming back to me because he knows there’s no one else crazy enough to do work for him.
Tim Griffin
Posted 694 days ago 31Wow, I can tell you that you hit the nail on the head. Interesting when you have a client that meets nearly all the criteria for all the above. Though one can feel like a sucker at times it does come down to a personal decision each time a receive an email from a certain someone.
Thanks for posting some insightful pointers and tactics for the designer who indeed sets out to solve problems by sticking to agreements. Quick question – do you write up “agreements” or “contracts”? Have a perspective on the terminology when it comes to this?
Thanks for the great writeup ;-)
.-= Tim Griffin´s last blog ..WOO4U! – Free WooThemes Install on Your New WordPress Website =-.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 693 days ago 38Agreements for clients with a softer sensibility like hair dressers, pet shops, and the like. The more sheepish the client the less aggressive my language. For law firms, movers-and-shakers, reputable businesses that have been around for awhile I use more aggressive language and the word “contract”.
If you use the term “contract”, the “mom and pops” instantly think you are trying to take them for everything they have. They then become reluctant to start a project with you.
This of course is only my experience. Others may have had more luck throwing about the word “Contract”.
Thanks for reading the article!
CyberTramp
Posted 284 days ago 53I have been calling it an “agreement” for exactly that reason, but struggling to set a non-threatening enough tone when writing it out. It’s not a question of not knowing what should be in it, etc, it’s a question of the people who it is for not being able to understand the language and being afraid of what it might all mean.
I think I am finding that mom & pops get scared off very easily when there is no need to be worried at all, and I’d be happy to alter things for them or explain. There are a million articles about contracts but none about how to put things for your average joe.
WallMountedHDD
Posted 694 days ago 30Great read. Will retweet. Only one downside: “Or suppose Apple approves a gadget that makes x-ray vision possible.” Even in jest all this widespread Apple love is starting to border on cultism. You have to bear in mind that Apple makes old things seem fresh/new, mostly by making them flashy and claiming they’ll make you hip and original. They don’t truly innovate. They act like they do and then brainwash all their pseudo-techie followers to agree.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 693 days ago 39Just a joke. I hate Apple. Mostly because Steve Jobs calls me in the middle of the night to breathe heavy into the phone and then hangs up. That Steve’s a character. lol.
.-= Jeff Boshers´s last blog ..Weekly Design #7: Los Gemelos =-.
Kevin Johnson
Posted 694 days ago 29I don’t think the “I know and /or partied with (insert random celebrity)” should be up there.
For example as an individual trying to secure jobs. It can be very valuable leverage if you have references from professionals within the industry o.O;
Jeff Boshers
Posted 693 days ago 40By random celebrity, I mean tabloid celebrity. The clients I have seen that fit this bill say “I know Miley Cyrus.” or “I know Lady Antebellum.” as a way to make themselves seem bigger than they are. Maybe that’s just a line for being in the location I’m in. (Nashville, Tn.)
.-= Jeff Boshers´s last blog ..Weekly Design #7: Los Gemelos =-.
Melody
Posted 694 days ago 28And all of these clients together = client lucifer lol..
.-= Melody´s last blog ..TGISF!:Link Love for March 8-12 =-.
Justin Carroll
Posted 694 days ago 27Love this. Try and have enough on your plate to say, “No.” But also tell the client why, that’s the most important part. If you say no and walk away with no reason you set the next person up for failure too. Care, be bold and be willing to work with them again if they come back.
.-= Justin Carroll´s last blog ..Fearnet =-.
Alice Dagley
Posted 694 days ago 26I fully agree with Orange Country Web Design. We also add the clause about hourly rate for extra work to our agreements. What is more I always state the number of revisions before starting the project. However some clients are against limited number of revisions and prefer you work until they’re satisfied.
Dawn Casserly
Posted 694 days ago 25One or two of those client profiles brings back memories (or nightmares)! I find that if you are weary about certain client types, ask for a 50% deposit. But sometimes money is just not enough to cover the stress and long hours and agitation..
Gamma5
Posted 695 days ago 24The ultimate revision clients are what kill me. It’s great when a client has an idea of what they would like, but this can turn into a nightmare when it is an endless stream of minute changes that are often detrimental to the design.
I do have a contract stating terms with all clients, but find myself dragged into accommodating their requests in the interests of a happy client, but this drags a project out and adds extra unpaid hours to the job. Some of the comments above about incorporating x revisions in the quote are exactly what I was planning to put into future contracts.
Tasha
Posted 695 days ago 23Excellent, entertaining read! I would love to post this on my Facebook page, but I’m sure I will cause at least 5 faces to flush. I know that I’ve personally encountered a client or potential that filled each category, and could allow me to write-in a few more if I could… my favorite being the “Designer Wannabe”. I have a local colleague that fits that category rather well, and I do my fair share of just dodging him in any way that I can.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 22Yep spot ‘em a mile away and his little brother “The Greaseball”, too. He nor “The Tire Kicker” made the article. lol.
.-= Jeff Boshers´s last blog ..Weekly Design #7: Los Gemelos =-.
Simon Gregory
Posted 695 days ago 19hi i love this article i have to say this scarily accurate! i keep hearing contract a lot, any tips for writing up a decent contract would be much appreciated, currently dont use them and i just got screwed by a client needless to say i need to start writing one up!
Mathew Ballard
Posted 695 days ago 20Just Google Freelance Graphic Design contracts, or something along those lines. You’ll find what you need there. That is where I started and I have just changed my contracts over time as I found necessary.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 21Simon, I have an article in the works on contracts. Should be available in a few weeks. Like Mathew said, You can definitely find some by googling… I would suggest getting one and editing as need be, to fit your workflow and style
.-= Jeff Boshers´s last blog ..Weekly Design #7: Los Gemelos =-.
Jeff Severson
Posted 694 days ago 33Great article. I think I’ve run into each type during my career. I just recently had someone call out of the blue, quickly describe a confusing marketing/e-commerce project while stating they have estimates from all over the world and they need the project as soon as possible. Needless to say, I avoided this prospect. Aside from the time or two that I didn’t get paid, I’d say the worst experience I had was while I was subcontracting and had to deal with a “Picky Pickerson” type. I ended up doing something like 30 revisions only to have that contact leave the company and to learn that her boss never saw a thing. I was being paid hourly so I didn’t lose anything but my time and my patience.
RJ
Posted 695 days ago 18This is SPOT ON !
Do not forget about the clients that will be good, but want to make wording changes in the contract, which you as the designer will interpret it one way, but they are interpreting it in a way that makes the project almost impossible.
In 16 years I have had it happen 8 times, so this is not often, but you will get client like this who play with words at one point.
But that is why everyone should find out everything about the client, lookup what others are saying etc..
Great post! I will be linking it to deadbeats that come across me in the future !
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 16I’ve had client where I had to explain where to find the address bar. His response was “oh. I never knew that was there.” I want to know how he used the internet before that point. lol.
Saad Bassi
Posted 695 days ago 15Awesome article Jeff. Thumbs up.:)
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 17Thanks Saad! I’m already working on the next one. :) Hope your having a good day!
Christopher Ross
Posted 695 days ago 14A great list Jeff, there are a lot of difficult clients out there and even after being in the industry as long as I have, it’s nice to read a refresher now and then :)
.-= Christopher Ross´s last blog ..Great Chefs Virtual Products =-.
JC
Posted 695 days ago 11Great post….I have run in to all of these and more….finding good high quality clients seems like searching for a needle in a haystack at times.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 13Too True… So we need to treat the good ones like Kings and Queens because more than likely they will refer you to other like minded people.
ashley Parsons
Posted 695 days ago 10This is funny, but also kinda dismal in its reality. I feel like few clients really understand the worth of a good designer’s efforts and time – they think websites get built in two days, that you should work for minimum wage and that they can pay you whenever it is convenient. I had one client who I now refuse to work for, let’s call him “The Curt Jerk”, who would give me one sentence e-mails to explain his ideas and purpose, and then get annoyed and snappy when I repeatedly had to ask for clarification. Oh yeah, and thought $50 was a fair price for creating a template that he would later sell to customers for probably 10x as much. *sigh*… Anyway, thanks for the entertaining article. :)
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 12Thanks for reading it! I do think that for every good client out there, there are ten deadbeat ones. Yet an equally interesting question arises… How many of the deadbeats can be converted with a little nurturing? Example, what if in response to the “Curt Jerk”‘s one line email you responded with “I’m sorry but could explain in more detail what you are wanting done. I order for me to give you the best design possible I need more than a six word sentence description.”
Not saying that you did anything wrong but sometimes these situations can be avoided by being stern as well, but sometimes a deadbeat is just a deadbeat. lol.
Beth McLain | Web Designer
Posted 695 days ago 9100% Agree. your article will help me further down the road to freelancing,
Thanks for the tip..
Mike Johnson
Posted 696 days ago 6I particularly like the “Picky McPickerson” (extreme sarcasm). I seem to attract a fair number of these. What do you recommend for “# of revisions”, and how do you quantify that if the client genuinely doesn’t like your design?
Mathew Ballard
Posted 696 days ago 7Personally I give them two revisions under the quote and then each additional one after that goes by my hourly rate.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 695 days ago 8I totally agree with Mathew on this… I am from the “holistic project” camp so I say two revisions are included in the cost of the project and each round of revisions cost $xx.xx. At that point they start singing a different tune and become more constructive.
If the client doesn’t like the design it’s OUR job to ask questions to get the client talking about what they don’t like about it, what they do like about it, etc.
Mike Johnson
Posted 694 days ago 35Thanks for the feedback guys. I like that, and it sounds very fair. I also agree that it should make them a little more attentive in their description as well. In the future, if I do any more “pro-bono” sites, I’ll make sure that is specifically declared in the prize letter.
Thanks for the tips!
Mike
Mathew Ballard
Posted 696 days ago 3I ran into my first client like this a couple weeks ago and fell for his tactics. In the end I got screwed over and didn’t get paid. Luckily though he didn’t use my logo design (which I smartly watermarked when I sent him proofs in a PDF) instead using a logo that he created on his own.
Jeff Boshers
Posted 696 days ago 4So which category or mix of categories of deadbeat client did they fall into?
Mathew Ballard
Posted 696 days ago 5A combination of one, two and three. He was nice and calm and told me how much work I would be getting from him in the future and how he would refer me to all these people he knew. He was also busy busy busy and needed this logo done ASAP. He was very picky on how he wanted the logo to look and it seemed that no matter what I did he found something that he really didn’t like.
It was a horrible experience that I should have seen coming honestly.
Ismail Patel
Posted 696 days ago 1You sir, are so right with this, going to print this off and hang it on a wall
Jeff Boshers
Posted 696 days ago 2Thanks! I know there are many more categories of deadbeat clients, these are just the ones who instantly sprang to mind.