How to deal with clients that are less than “easy”

Clients are the heartbeat of your business. While some of them are easy to deal with and fun to work with, there are some that make you want to rip out your hair. Nagging clients are best avoided, but if you want to take them on, make sure you know how to deal with them.

1. The hesitant client

These clients can also be tagged as the reluctant ones who are meeting with you only because they are forced to do so. They will have no input what so ever in your project that you are developing for them. They will agree to whatever you say as they are completely uninterested. These clients are tough to deal with as you will be in completely in the dark about whether they are happy with the project that you have worked so hard on. It is really hard to decide whether you want to take on such a client or not as you will have no guidelines while you are working. Working with such hesitant clients is completely drag and not at all challenging.

2. The extra friendly client

These clients are the trickiest of the lot. They get up close and personal with you and pretend to be your dearest friends. While there are certain benefits of having such clients, like after work parties, tickets to various events, lifts and even coffee invitations, you also may have to pay a price. Through their friendly gestures they will try to extract work out of you which is not included in the payment package. You have to be extremely careful while dealing with such clients. On one hand they are extremely good to deal with due to their friendly nature, on the other hand you have to be able to keep business and pleasure separate.

3. The broke client

What is the most difficult part of dealing with a client? Making them to pay for the work you are doing for them. While it may be awkward to ask for money from time to time, you must not forget that it is exactly why you have the business open. The broke clients are the ones who are incapable of paying what your work is worth. Once you detect such clients it is best to abort the mission and get rid of them. The best way to spot such clients is to ask for payment beforehand. Never make the mistake of delivering the project before you have been paid in full. If you deliver the whole project before getting paid, you may end up losing the money.

4. The masked client

Masked clients usually do not turn up for the meetings; you may not even know that you are working for them. You will deal with a middle man whom they have set up to do all the business with you. They convey all their wants through these puppets that they handle. These clients are tough to deal with as you will always have to convey things via someone else and it is time consuming. They may also appear after a certain amount of work has been done and demand to change the whole thing. The best way to deal with such clients is to make sure that you deal with them upfront and discard the middle man.

5. The excruciating client

These are the clients that are responsible for converting you into a nervous wreck. The best way to deal with an excruciating client is to simply get rid of them. If you take up the project for a client like this, chances are that they will cause you to alter the project frequently or they may ask you to start all over again. They will ask you to complete the work within a time frame which is impossible to attain. They will not respond to you when you try to communicate, making you lose time and the worst part is that they are experts in withholding payments.