As business owners, we want to get as many clients as we want. We know that our business can't thrive if we don't have as many clients as possible. This is true for every business after all as clients are the life source of any kind of business. Without clients, businesses simply perish.
However, this doesn't also mean that we have to take in every single kind of client that we get. There are clients we need to avoid if we want to keep our business running smoothly and if we don't want to miss out on more important opportunities.
Luckily for you, here are the kinds of clients that you need to avoid no matter what:
The vague clients #vagueclients
These are the kind of clients that never know what they need. They can't describe the problem clearly and when you do the task, it always ends up wrong for them or not exactly what they needed.
Then when you ask them what's wrong and how you can make it right, they still can only give vague descriptions. This ends up being a tedious cycle that can waste a lot of your time.
The irresponsible #irresponsibleclients
In the same line as the one above, there are also clients who are unwilling to put in the minimal effort required for you to help them. Then they expect you to only give them the results that they want. If they can't help you in assisting them, then that is definitely a red flag for a client.
The puppet masters #puppetmasters
These kinds of clients only see you as a tool that they can manipulate to their liking. If you don't obey, then you are also most likely to be reprimanded.
Remember that you are not just a tool or stepping stone. You are a partner that can help them achieve all their goals a lot easier.
You deserve enough respect to at least be able to work on your own.
The rush clients #rushclients
Now it's not uncommon to get clients who are in a rush, but what you must remember is that there's a reason why these clients are in a rush. It's either they genuinely were given only a small time frame, or they have messed up along the way.
It's not your responsibility to save a sinking ship so you might want to take a bit of time to consider when it comes to these clients whether it's worth it to help them.
The undecided #undecidedclients
A lot of times, we ask our clients what their goals are for a project and what exactly they need us to do for them. These goals are clear, and concise and should even be written on paper. The same thing applies to the scope of the project.
However, there are also clients who have ever-changing demands and needs that it's hard to keep up with. This is also a red flag as these kinds of clients can never be satisfied similar to vague clients.
You'll achieve one goal, and the next thing you know they have a new demand you'll have to meet with another set of problems. Having new goals to achieve by itself isn't much of a problem, but it should come with additional compensation as well.
Low priority project #lowprorityproject
Often in projects, it has to have the approval of many stakeholders in the company. However, if you know that only one person or two are pushing for the project you are working on, then you better be prepared for long and tedious work ahead of you.
If it isn’t approved by the stakeholders of the company you are working with, then you might have to go through a lot of paperwork and other processes you normally wouldn’t need to encounter.
This is why you also need to know who the stakeholders are so you can better prepare for the project you will do with them. This is so you can avoid submitting a task or project, then being told they will “Run it” by a higher office, and then being told that it was rejected.
The Hoppers #Hoppersclients
You can also encounter clients who say that they have been with other people that offer the same service as you. Then when you take a look at their history, you soon realize that the problem wasn’t the previous contractors at all.
When this is the case and you were not the priority at all, then you know there is a problem either it’s from within or there are other factors why your client is hopping from one contractor to another.
The nonpayer #nonpayerclients
More often than not, we get proposals or offers for our services that want to pay us in alternative forms. Some of these may sound tempting but make no mistake, they don’t work out most of the time!
These alternative forms of payment you may have encountered can include but are not limited to, paying you based on the profit from the project, paying you with a share in the equity or when they finally get investors, and worst of all, some even offer to pay via “Exposure” in social media insisting that you service will be worth it when they give you a quick shout out in their social media pages.
The underestimator #underestimatorclients
These are the kind of clients that hit you with words like, “Easy”, “Quick” or “Basic” to describe the job they are about to have you do. This is a warning sign for you because this means that either they don’t understand the difficulty of your work, or they are taking it too lightly to even care.
These clients can also often underpay and even complain about your rates. So if you spot one, proceed with caution.
The testers #testersclients
These clients are only interested in “testing out” working with you and are not genuinely committed to building a lasting relationship with you. They may also be first-timers to whom you will have to adjust and explain a lot for your work.
While they are not 100% bad to work with, you should see to it that they are at least committed to the project you are working on with them. The last thing you want is to have them cancel halfway through and waste all your efforts.
Conclusion
We understand that getting to choose clients isn’t always an option for all of us, but when you do have an option, then feel free to avoid or take caution against these kinds of clients. You see, taking precautions about the kind of clients you take in can drastically improve your workflow and make your work even more enjoyable while getting paid properly for all of your efforts.
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