We all face choices every day, the determine the outcome of our daily lives. As a creative professional sometimes my biggest choice of the day is about a particular coffee; other days my choices can be the difference in keeping or losing a client.
Everyone knows the old adage “the client is always right,” this isn’t always true in my line of work, but it’s up to me to determine this. Let’s be honest there are times when a client thinks they have an amazing idea for the creative direction of the work they’ve hired you to do. At times their ideas can great and really send the project over the top. But, more times than not it’s the opposite. Now the big question is, how do you handle this? While there is no set answer for this you can be sure that your response is either going to make your client relations go one of two directions. It’s my job to determine what is best for my clients and then get them to catch the same vision.
Creative direction on a project is not the only way that choices can affect your business. As much as I hate to say it your personal life can play a big role in this one as well. Most people like to think they can keep their professional and personal life separate, but it’s just not that easy. Especially in the technology driven society we live in today. It is possible to find out just about anything you wish to know about someone online. This is why it’s very important to make sure you’re painting a professional picture of yourself online. For instance, you could be out with friends and for whatever reason do sometime that could be incriminating to you or wouldn’t portray you in a professional way. You think this only effects you, but if this is posted on facebook, twitter, youtube, etc and a potential client saw it they may choose not to work with you. As much as you may not like it this is the world we live in today.
So, what is the solution? I’m glad you asked. First and foremost, keep yourself professional at all times, you never know who is watching. Secondly, after you land the client put your people skills to work and learn to read your clients. Make sure you do what is best for them, and if that is not something in the same direction as they requested you have to know how to communicate it to them in a professional way. Staying professional will ensure that you can build a successful business and have client relations that are second to none.
jamesonharding
