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Managing Lazy Clients – Killersites Web Design Magazine

Killersites Web Design Magazine

Managing Lazy Clients

In this session I introduce you to the ‘lazy client’ and then I get into how to manage them.

… Just in case your wondering why you should care, lazy clients can turn into a big pain in the butt and can cost you time and money. Not cool.

Managing Lazy Clients:

Thanks for listening.

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com

Stefan Mischook

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13 responses to “Managing Lazy Clients”

  1. Hi Stefan,

    Thanks for the excellent tutorial.It has given me some great ideas for for treating my current venture more as a proper business and less as a hobby. It helps me to realise that if I work hard enough, I can be a professional too (even if I have the wrong degree!).

    I particularly enjoyed the “lazy client” section as I currently have 2 of them! I’m almost relieved to know that it is not just me that has this problem.

    I eagerly await the next tut!

    regards,

    mary

  3. I’m a client looking for a web designer and ran across your site. It truly is killer!

    Sounds to me like many clients are lazy and really waste a lot of designer’s time.

    I’m glad I read this blog because, now, I’m going to get all my text, photos, and graphics together before the engagement starts. By doing this (and, making myself available to answer any and all questions, 24/7), I should be viewed quite favorably by any web designer I work with.

    Enough to get a price break, you think? Any other tips to get my site up with the least expense incurred?

  4. You have to open up lines of communication with your web designer right away so you both know what to expect.

    When I hire assistants for my own projects, I look to find trustworthy people and after a few small projects, where I see he/she can work at a speed that is acceptable for me … I let them work on a per dium/by the hour method.

    You may want to agree on a fixed cost since you will probably not be able to judge how long something will take to do.

    Stefan

  6. Better to print article, not record by voice:
    1. Reading is faster than listening.
    2. You can go back and forward easy.
    3. Voice is not as pleasant as text unless you are a famous actor.
    I am not going to listen until end – boring, slow, and pointless.

  7. Thanks for the seasoned advice on handling these types of clients, Stefan.

    I learned quickly(and of course, the hard way) that we really DO train our clients as to how they can treat us. When I began my journey as a freelancer, I was quite mistaken in thinking that the further I bent over backwards to meet unreasonable client demands, the more I was building a solid client relationship. In fact, it was just the opposite. Almost without fail, the very same unreasonable clients I jumped through hoops to satisfy would be the ones who were unhappy with Something at the end.

    I began to earn more respect and land better clients when I established firm rules of operation from the beginning–and stuck to them throughout the course of the contract. I believe I was seen as being more professional when did that–and that I commanded more respect for doing this early on.

    There is much to be said for having your rules of operation in place from the start–it will save a lot of agony in the long run…

  8. This is the biggest Bull **** that I have heard. I have dealt with many developers and have heard this exact line of BS and I lost all respect for them and discontinue using them, get the work done. I have been screwed time and time again by developers. They are crooks equal to used car sells men. I refuse to ever give another developer money up front, I now just turn them into the FTC to expose them for what they are. Please take some courses on business, not how to screw your customer and play games, just do the work and you will have all the customers you want without a contract, if you need a contract to protect your fees, then something is wrong.

    Marvin

  9. P.S. You address the issue of not getting paid until the project is finished then you delay the work to get respect. I thought the goal was to give the customer what he or she wanted and you get the money, but now you tell the coustomer you are busy when you are not, to gain respect. You are delaying getting paid, which is what you wanted to begin with. WOW

  10. @Marvin,

    That is the typical response from a ‘lazy client’. I have never ‘screwed’ a client because:

    1. It is not right.
    2. It’s also not good for business. The best web contracts, are the long term contracts – if you screw people over, you will miss out on the long term returns.

    Thanks but no thanks, for the advice on taking courses on business … I’m doing quite well and have been for the last 20 years in my entrepreneurial career.

    🙂

    Stefan

  11. “I have dealt with many developers and have heard this exact line of BS and I lost all respect for them and discontinue using them, get the work done.”

    Hmmm …. seems to me if you have to work with many developers that you have a problem.

    One bad one, sure. Then two developers, hmmm, then you say many! Wow, that tells me you are one of the most unlucky guys out there, or you are difficult to deal with.

    Stefan

  12. Just wanted to say I appricate the post. You have really put a lot of time into your posts and it is just great!