You know the type of client I’m talking about.
The discount-demanding, “Could you just…”, never happy clients who sap the joy from your soul and make your business life miserable.
How you run your business may be attracting these clients to you like a vulture to roadkill.
Here’s 3 sure-fire ways to significantly reduce the number of difficult clients you work with.
1. Manage expectations
This is one of the most important things you can do to avoid having difficult clients.
People who have a clear idea of what to expect will generally not stray beyond those bounds. If you don’t tell them exactly what to expect, they will make assumptions about how they think the experience should be. If you then go against these assumptions, they are more likely to be unhappy with your service.
This means you need to explain in detail what to expect throughout the entire process. Make sure it is absolutely clear to them.
For example, if a client had photos taken by a photographer in the past who included the digital files with the session fee, they may expect this from you unless you have clearly explained your pricing structure going into this. Don’t let other photographers dictate what your clients expect from you. Tell them straight up, and watch them accept it. It’s amazing how well this works.
Clearly communicated expectations means fewer grumpy clients.
2. Raise your prices
By raising your prices, you will get rid of a lot of the clients who are only concerned with getting a deal. The clients that hired me once I raised my prices to a profitable level valued my work more and were less concerned with saving every penny that they could.
This was especially prominent with our wedding clients. Once we raised our prices, we got more couples that really valued photography for their wedding day and trusted our artistic vision and style. People who want quality expect to pay for quality, so having prices that are too low can hurt you.
3. Be confident
You will earn respect by showing confidence in your work, prices, and business policies. I’m not talking about arrogance or being completely unwilling to ever make an exception, but rather having confidence to say no when it is appropriate.
This is easiest to do when expectations have been clearly communicated and you are confident in your pricing and business policies.
I recognize that this may be the most difficult step for some of you. I know it can be hard to turn people away or not give in when they request something, but I give you full permission to do so! In fact, feel free to tell them that your business coach (me) won’t allow you to budge on it, so you can’t accommodate their request.
Seriously, that guy in high school who dated your best friend for a month that you haven’t seen in 10 years but who found you on Facebook does NOT deserve a “Friends & Family Discount”.
And no, you can’t “work with” the bride who wants 12 hours of wedding coverage, 2 photographers, a 40-page flushmount album, a canvas collection, and all the RAW files ever taken for $1500 either.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!
I promise you that putting these three steps into action will reduce the number of nightmare clients you work with and will make doing business much more pleasant for everyone.
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(See what I did there? I set expectations. It’s not so hard after all! Now sign up.)
