Dealing with Clients PDF

05/07/2019 Knowing your customers is the key to good customer service interactions....

05/07/2019 Knowing your customers is the key to good customer service interactions. Dealing with Clients Lecture 05, COMPUTER PROGRAMMING Allyn Joy D. Calcaben Passive – Aggressive Passive – Aggressive very passive when you ask for initial input, but Characteristics: when you submit the finished product – they aggressively attacked it, demanding a lot of Communication is mostly one-sided and unhelpful detailed changes both in major and minor. during project development. Passive – Aggressive Passive – Aggressive Characteristics: How to deal: “I’m not really sure what we’re looking for.” PATIENCE IS THE KEY. “Just do something that would appeal to us generally.” “You totally missed the point of what we wanted.” 1  05/07/2019 The Family Friend The Family Friend whom you have known for years either through Believes they deserves a “special” price. personal or family interaction, and this connection has landed you the job. They will sometimes unwittingly belittle your work or not take it seriously because of their Your relationship to them will be tested. personal connection to you. The Family Friend The Family Friend Characteristics: Characteristics: These clients are easy to identify because ….. “Could you just throw something together for me?” YOU KNOW THEM “I don’t want you to think that just because I know you I want you to cut me a deal.” “You’re going to charge me what?! But we go way back!” The Family Friend The Under – Valuer How to deal: Devalue your creative contributions. Depends on how well you know them and how You do not actually know this persons. There is no much you value your relationship with them. rationale for their behavior. An honest approach could end up saving the relationship. 2  05/07/2019 The Under – Valuer The Under – Valuer They feel they should get a “friend’s” pricing rate Characteristics: not because they want to be friends with you, but because they do not see your work as being Does not respond to questions in a timely fashion. worth that much… even if they couldn’t do it themselves. The Under – Valuer The Under – Valuer Characteristics: How to deal: “It’s not like it takes much effort on your part.” CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY. “Couldn’t you just throw something together for me?” “How hard can this really be?” The Under – Valuer The Nit – Picker How to deal: never fully satisfied with the work you do and will constantly pick on minor details here and there Do not back down or concede a point to the client that they dislike and want changed. when discussing your role in the project. They may have been burned in some other If the client does not respond in kind, cut your project and are now unsatisfied with everything in their path, including your work. loses and decline their project. 3  05/07/2019 The Nit – Picker The Nit – Picker Characteristics: Characteristics: Complains almost consistently about unrelated “How hard is it to [rant.. rant.. rant..]?” things. “I’m really not sure about this element here. It just doesn’t pop!” Personal outlook comes with a scathing bite. “I don’t think you are really getting it.” The Nit – Picker The Nit – Picker How to deal: How to deal: PATIENCE IS THE KEY. Detach yourself to your work so that the constant nit-pickery does not affect you personally. Protect yourself in the contract. The Scornful Saver The Scornful Saver Similar with Nit-picker and under-value, but Characteristics: actually impressed with your work and skill set. Compliments always come with a less-than- They criticize you merely to undermine your flattering qualifier. confidence in an attempt to lower your pricing rate. Takes time to respond to questions, sometimes making you ask more than once. 4  05/07/2019 The Scornful Saver The Scornful Saver Characteristics: How to deal: “I really like what you’ve done overall, but I’m CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY. unsure about one or two things.” “You may not have gotten exactly what we’re looking for, but you’re close.” The “I-could-do-this-Myself”-Er The “I-could-do-this-Myself”-Er They make clear to you that they know how to do Characteristics: what they’re hiring you to do but that just don’t have time to actually do it. Will generally be (or look) hectic and rushed. Communication from them often takes the form of short bursts of information. The “I-could-do-this-Myself”-Er The “I-could-do-this-Myself”-Er Characteristics: Characteristics: “I could easily handle this if my schedule weren’t “Remember, you are filling my shoes, and they’re so full.” pretty big.” “Really? Not sure that’s the direction I would’ve gone in, but whatever.” 5  05/07/2019 The “I-could-do-this-Myself”-Er The Control Freak How to deal: Desperately needs to micro-manage every little detail of the project, no matter their They merely want you to know that this project is qualifications. not above their ability. No decision may be made without their explicit input and approval. PATIENCE IS THE KEY. The Control Freak The Control Freak Characteristics: Characteristics: Initial contact is long, detailed and one-sided, “This way we can keep in contact in case you with little input sought from you. have any questions, or I do.” Your input remains unsought as the project pushes forward. The Control Freak The Control Freak Characteristics: Characteristics: “I really know best what is right for the project “What do you mean, I’m distracting you? I am the and what is not.” only thing keeping this project on track!” 6  05/07/2019 The Control Freak The Dream Client How to deal: Widely dismissed as a myth, does in fact exist and understands the full scope and artistry of your You will have to detach yourself from the work work. because you will have no control at all. They value your role and creative contributions Just let go and let it happen since you will merely and want you in the driver’s seat as soon as the project gets underway. constructing – not designing. The Dream Client The Dream Client Timely responses and payments – payments that Characteristics: they did not “negotiate” but rather accepted for what they are. Is enthusiastic about the project and your involvement in it. They reflect on your suggestions and have confidence in your capabilities. Communication shows awareness of and respect for your role. The Dream Client The Dream Client Characteristics: How to deal: “Here’s the brief we prepared. The rest is pretty DON’T BRAG! much up to you.” “We like what we’ve seen and trust you’ll do great things for us.” 7