I got a DM from a designer this week who is six months into a project and is completely over it.
Her client keeps texting her out of hours in random flurries of messages that all contradict each other, she's done heaps of revisions she hasn't been paid and she's stressed. She was asking me if I had any advice wanted to know whether I thought she should back out of the project.
I gave her some advice via DM but what I couldn't outline in a short message was what I am going to write about for you today, which is about how designers get into this mess in the first place.
Because the warning signs about this sort of client are normally there early. Here's what to watch for:
- They struggle to make decisions during the consultation
- They question your process or want to change how you work
- They want more meetings than you normally do or they want approval over things you'd normally just handle
- They want you to prioritise their project ("we need it done ASAP") because they've been disorganised and left everything too late
- They talk a lot about budget but in weird ways e.g. they say they have plenty of money but then question what things will cost or they tell you they have a big budget but they agonise over small decisions because of what they cost
- They tell you they have “tried” multiple designers or trades before you (normally a sign they can be difficult to work with or hard to please)
- They don’t have a clear decision making process e.g. they keep saying they need to check with someone else for a decision (normally a partner/husband who is busy at work and hard to reach)
I know what some of you are thinking...you don't always know this stuff upfront. Sometimes a client seems completely normal at the consult and only becomes a problem once the project is underway. That's true but I think it's rare. More often I think designers talk themselves into a project and ignore the warning signs because the budget is good and they want/need the work.
Here’s what to do if you’re already stuck with a client like this:
If you ignored the warning signs or they didn't show up until the project started and now you're stuck with a nightmare client, here’s what to do.
First, work out what the actual problem is. Is it scope creep? Indecision? Poor communication? No respect of your boundaries? You can't fix it if you don't know what it is.
Second, try to fix it. Set up an in person meeting (this is done much better face to face than over the phone) and have a conversation with the client about what's not working. "We've added a lot of scope since we started and I need to revise the fee to reflect that." or "The number of revisions on this is beyond what we include in our contract. I can continue but I'll need to charge for additional rounds." or "It's hard to keep up when you send lots of emails and texts with different ideas or questions. The best thing is if you save everything in a note on your phone and let's set up a weekly call each Friday to go through all your questions at once. That way I won't miss anything."
Some clients will respond well to this as they may not realise they were being difficult to work with, others will push back (which tells you everything you need to know).
Third, if they won't change and the project is genuinely not going to work, you should consider exiting. This will be hard as you’ve likely already invested time that you won't get paid for or you worry about getting a bad review, but staying in a project that's destroying your business and your wellbeing is worse.
To exit professionally give notice, hand over documentation, refund any unearned fees and make the transition as smooth as possible. I once did exactly this and the weight off my shoulders was immediate!
Your contract should also have a termination clause that allows either party to exit with reasonable notice. If it doesn't, that's something to fix for next time, so talk with your lawyer about updating it.
What to take away from this:
The reason designers stay in these situations too long is that we're taught to be grateful for work and that if a client is unhappy it's our fault and we need to try harder ("the client is always right" type mentality).
But some clients are genuinely unmanageable regardless of how good you are and sacrificing your boundaries isn’t worth the money.
Your best clients are the one who trust your expertise, make decisions quickly and create a project that's profitable and enjoyable to work on (have a look at my post here on the characteristics of green flag clients).
Learn to recognise the difference and walk away from projects with hard to please clients.
