This list of rules will be especially relevant for those designers who are just beginning to take the first orders and have never talked to clients before. For more experienced designers, it will not be possible to get something useful from the article.
1. Answer letters and calls in time
I propose to introduce a rule: if we do not call a lid (potential client) within 5 hours after he left a request for a call, this lid becomes poor and is closed.
In such a situation, it is better to refer to the technical сбой\огромное number of requests than to admit that you just forgot or didn’t find the time or, worse, didn’t consider it urgent.
Customers (like all of us) like to represent themselves as your only employers (not to be confused with bosses). A quick response to their request will only make you “more caring” in their eyes.
2. Know the price of your work and do not be afraid to voice it
The question of price is, perhaps, at the top of the list of the most sensitive. Each of the contractors began with the feelings that the client, hearing the price, simply “break” or say that the work of the performer is not worth that much money.
First, set the minimum. Say, the starting price for your work is $299. Many Western studios and digital agencies in their briefs to clients, in the price section, only indicate 3 points of budget choice. For example:
- $10 000 – $30 000
- $30 000 – $50 000
- $100,000 or more
Thus, there is a certain “sifting out” of customers who are not ready to pay such money. This saves both them and your precious time. Consider this fact when creating your portfolio.
Remember that design is a job. Like all “work” that has to be paid for.
3. Don’t be afraid of the client
What are you most afraid of? You are afraid of losing it. Accordingly, you are afraid to interact with it, because you do not want to lose it. This is from inexperience and uncertainty.
There is such a phenomenon as “fear of the call”, which advises to refuse the first 5 clients on purpose. Thus, by reproducing on your own what you are most afraid of – losing a client, you cease to be afraid.
4. Do not do for everyone at once
First, the question of price. There are different types of enterprises and different levels of development. That is why you should not make a $10k+ order bar, offering it to everyone. Too small a business may not pull this amount, but too big will consider it not serious, because your price is the self-esteem of your own work.
Secondly, specializing in the design of landing pages, you should not get into the brand identity. It is better to find a partner or use mockups, like this envelope mockup. And work together in both directions than to sit on two chairs at once.
5. Be responsible for what you are saying
This is especially true for timing. When you schedule a client to view new layouts on Thursday night at 18:00, this should happen. As a rule, your client is a businessman who respects and respects his time. First of all, you will add your reputation to your good name without delay, and secondly, you will finish the project faster and get the reward.
