How to maintain boundaries with design clients
We all know about the importance of maintaining boundaries when you're working with our design clients. But it’s not always easy!
When I first started working with design clients I felt like I needed to always respond and be 'on call' to my clients 24/7. If they emailed me late in the evening I would try and get back to them quickly. If they texted me from a furniture shop on a Sunday morning because they wanted my advice between cushion A and cushion B then I would text back (insert eye roll emoji!). I felt like because they were paying me that I needed to always be available to them.
But I was completely wrong about that - so learn from me!
All that ended up happening with this way of working was that I became burnt out, resentful and also had no free time...
So I quickly learned that I needed to have clearly boundaries and expectations on the way that I worked with a client right from the start.
It's so easy to become too friendly with design clients - after all you're working with them on their most important asset and the place that they call home with their family. It's very personal business.
But there can be issues if you let the relationship between professional and friend become too blurred. So let's talk about how to set boundaries with clients so you can deliver a great service but still maintain your sanity as well.
Idea 1: Set clear expectations in your Client Welcome Pack
The best place to document and set clear expectations is within your Client Welcome Pack. In this document you will not only lay out the way you work, scope of work, project phases and lots of other details, but it's also a great document for outlining when you will respond to emails/calls, how often they can expect to wait to hear back from you, how many revisions your design packages involve - and lots of other details that can cause a client/designer relationship to deteriorate.
(remember to also include all this detail in your design agreement/contract as well!)
If you do find that a client is overstepping boundaries in terms of texting you after hours or on weekends you can politely refer them to the welcome pack and let them know you'll come back to them during office hours. Most clients will get the hint when they are told this!
Get my Client Welcome Pack Template Here
Idea 2: Over communicate
One of the main reasons for relationship breakdowns between designers and clients is due to miscommunication around work flow, time frames, budget or other errors. Generally speaking the more transparent and open you can be about how a project is going and where it sits on a timeline, the happier your clients will be and the less they will feel the need to contact you.
If you find you have a client that contacts you regularly it could be related to them feeling stressed or overwhelmed by their project. Your job as a designer is to communicate how things are going, where things are up to and also be transparent about any issues that are arising (as every design project will have things that go wrong). This will give clients confidence that you're on top of things and will make them feel they don't have to stress and worry unnecessarily about the project.
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Idea 3: Don't set precedents you don't want to keep
There is no point outlining the way you work and your expectations for clients in a design agreement if the first time they email, call or text you after hours you respond to them. The first time that you respond to a client out of hours will signal to them that you're always available to take their call.
In my experience design clients will often have 'emergency' problems they will call you about that just aren't emergencies at all (no, changing your mind on a paint colour is not an emergency, this can wait until Monday!).
So don't set precedents you don't want to keep with your clients and make sure you set clear boundaries right from the start. If you do start to respond to emails, calls or texts after hours as a 'one off' then the next time they have one of their 'design emergencies' they will call you again after hours and be annoyed that you aren't taking their call. So be careful to maintain the boundaries you clearly lay out in your design agreement.
One final point - no matter how hard you try to put boundaries in place there will still be some clients who don't understand professional boundaries and who will just keep calling and texting whenever they feel like. The best thing for these clients is to reiterate your hours and point them to your agreement. If they still don't get the message then remember that some clients just aren't worth the money, time or stress and that it is OK to sack some clients! :)
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
