Set your limits with clients: Lessons from a nightmare job
Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers
I’m always amazed at how a dream graphic design job can quickly turn into a nightmare.
One lesson I learned to prevent this is to make sure that everything is spelled out before you even start the job.
The worst thing happened to me recently: I thought a job was for only a few webpages and it turned into a few times more. The client kept adding and adding pages to a particular section of the website (I hadn’t specified number of pages, just sections of the website.)
Considerations for setting limits with your client:
- What will be the end product? Always specify the format that the final product will be in. I had a client once start with a brochure and then thought an ad better suited his needs and considered this a revision!
- How many pages? Be specific. You don’t want any confusion, if it’s an 8-page booklet, confirm that. Never leave it open-ended (he may decide he actually needs a 16-page booklet).
- How many samples can they expect to see: Will you be providing design options for your client to choose from? If so, how many?
- Number of revisions: What do you consider revisions? Would they include complete redesigns, or just cosmetic and spelling changes? Would they include complete rewrites of the copy?
- Telephone conversations and contact: How often can they contact you via phone or email? When and how long would contact be?
- Who handles acquiring images: And more importantly, who will pay? Is he going to provide you with the visuals? Are these included in your quote?
- Specify that anything extra will entail an additional fee: If they want color correction work or changes to images, there will be a charge. Or, if they rewrite the copy, there will be a nominal fee.
- What files will you be providing once you get written approval: Will you be providing PDFs? JPGs for his website? Only page layout and related files?
C O N C L U S I O N :
Don’t deal with generalities, but particulars! It’s cynical to say, but a client really wants to make the most of his money and as such he will try to get as much as he can.
For instance, you have a job that is supposed to be a 5-page website. Rather than writing you will be doing: the homepage, about us, case studies, services, and contact pages, specify that it is a 5-page website that includes the homepage, about us page, etc… The client can add pages within case studies and services sections and suddenly a simple 5-page website becomes an albatross.
WARNING: I often get “Oh, but it will take you only a few minutes, can you change this???” My fantasy is to say: “OH REALLY? Then take a few minutes and change it yourself.”
Be warned and have an answer ready for that.
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