Today, I’m here today to talk about five ways you may be frustrating your clients. And before we jump in, I want to say that if you realise that you are doing any of the 5 things that I'm about to talk about, please do not be too hard on yourself. This episode isn't here to shame you, guilt you or make you feel like a bad business owner. No one benefits from you feeling bad, especially not you.
This episode is here to help you become self-aware about some things that may be tarnishing your clients experience with you, and ultimately may be stopping them from telling all their friends about you and working with you again!
So listen to this podcast episode, not with self-criticism in mind, but listen with a view to improving your service and making your clients happier.
Happier clients will work with you again and shout your name from the rooftops!
Now, let’s dive in to five ways you may be frustrating your clients. Click play on the podcast player below or keep reading!
The sad truth is, not all clients are that happy when working with you - even if they don’t say it.
This is a powerful truth to be aware of.
It isn’t just the clients who actually verbally complain that aren’t satisfied.
More often than not, particularly if you work with a lot of introverted clients or clients who hate conflict/confrontation, they won’t speak up about their frustrations unless the frustration is SO huge that they have to.
You know the people in restaurants who don’t complain when their food is bad?
Well, if someone isn’t going to complain in a restaurant to a waiter they are probably never going to see again unless they regularly eat there, why would they voice their frustrations to an actual person they’re working with on an intimate project like a website design, or coaching?
That kind of person won’t.
Now, I’m definitely not saying: assume all your clients aren’t happy with you unless they’re saying so. That’s not what I’m saying.
Here’s what I am saying: if your clients haven’t been very verbal about being happy with your work, or if you intuitively feel like something is off with some of your clients, find the courage within yourself to explore why this might be.
There are usually five common ways creatives frustrate their clients, and I’m going to tell you what they are right now and give you a way to rectify them so this episode doesn’t leave you feeling low or with no clue how to fix any of the points you resonate with! (That would suck, big time.)
Ready?
1. Lack of initiative
Taking initiative means seeing something that needs to be done or seeing a problem, and doing or fixing it of your own free will without anyone telling you what to do or how to do it.
It’s one of my top values when taking on a new team member!
This value is particularly important if you’re something like a virtual assistant, social media manager, handle custom service, or you have any service that involves using tech for your clients.
Your client has probably hired you to save themselves time. So if you’re continually asking them how to do something that could have been easily googled if you had taken the initiative to do so, it’s going to be a bit frustrating them.
Remember: Google and Youtube are your best friend.
If you can’t find the answer there and it’s taking far too long, of course it’s perfectly understandable to then go to your client about it. But I think it shows real initiative and care for your clients if you don’t immediately go to them with every small question or issue you come across.
When you use your initiative, it impresses your clients!
And it shows them you think as a team member, not just a one woman business who is only in this for the money you get out of it. This is really important if you work with clients on retainer and not just once.
Here’s a couple examples of how you can use your initiative:
Software questions you have. Let’s say you’re a virtual assistant and you manage your client’s payment processor, and have a question about that processor. Why not Google it, look for the answer in the software company’s FAQ page, or contact their tech support before asking your client. If you suspect the client also will not know the answer, they’re just going to do those things anyway! When you take initiative to do it, it shows you respect their time.
Speak up and share your ideas and feedback. Let’s say you’re a brand designer and your client has a very specific idea for their logo - but the colours are really ugly. If you don’t speak up, you can proceed, create their design and collect your money. They’ll be happy for a time - until partners, friends, or followers point out that they don’t love the logo. And they’ll wonder why you, as the expert, didn’t say anything. Of course, sometimes you’ll say something and the client won’t want to listen. That’s on them. But take the initiative to say something and sometimes the client will listen! And they’ll be so thankful you saved them from a poor decision.
2. You don’t set expectations upfront
Many of your clients may have flawed expectations of what you can and cannot do, what you will or will not provide them with, and so on.
Like, if you’re a web designer, your client may expect:
Raw files
Font files
Unlimited webpage designs
Or may expect that you’re such a pro, you’ll know exactly what they want with little input from them.
Or if you’re a photographer for instance, clients may expect:
More photos than you actually provide
Hair and make-up included in the price
Or they may not expect to have to cover your travel expenses, or whether they’re meant to provide you with a meal or not at the wedding, if you’re a wedding photographer.
When a client expects something and that isn’t the case, it leads to disappointment. And the more and more this happens in their project, the lower your clients opinion of you becomes.
I actually experienced this myself when I used to sell web & graphic design services.
I was designing a Wordpress website but I was quite new to Wordpress.
I didn’t tell my client what to expect of my skill level, I didn’t tell her about the limitations of the template she had chosen, or about my limitations on what I could and could not code…
So, she was always asking me to do this and do that, and I had to keep saying I couldn’t. I had to keep letting her down. And it resulted in a very angry email from her.
>> Hear the full story in this video: “I disappointed my client, then I did this.”
You can avoid disappointing your clients by telling them what to expect (and not expect) upfront.
I like to set expectations on my welcome page.
A welcome page is a webpage that outlines everything your client needs to know to work with you effectively. It guides your client through your policies, boundaries and processes, setting your projects up for success - not the confusion, disrespectfulness and lateness you’re used to.
Setting expectations on a welcome page:
Stops clients from feeling disappointed
Prevents awkward conversations
Stops you from feeling like the bad guy, having to awkwardly ask in Facebook groups how to respectfully let a client down.
Stops you from having to cave in and try to meet expectations that you can’t or would rather not meet.
I have a free masterclass that teaches you how to create a welcome page in 1 hour!
In this free training, you’ll learn:
10 vital things your welcome page must include.
When to send your welcome page to your clients and why you should send a welcome page, not a welcome packet.
One welcome page tweak that will get clients to hand in files, feedback and payment on time - always!
3 examples of welcome pages made by creative entrepreneurs just like you!
Sign up below!
Want to learn three more ways you may be frustrating your clients? Click play on the podcast player below!
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
More From Nesha
Hey there! I’m Nesha, the host of The Simple Business Show. I teach solopreneurs how to organize and simplify their business so they can do less and earn more. When I’m not podcasting or helping my course students, you’ll find me sipping caramel lattes in Starbucks, binge-watching This Is Us or traveling the world with my backpack and my laptop!
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Organize & Automate - Use my premium course to organize your entire service-based business in just two weeks (on the side of your regular routine!) so you can stop stressing and fall back in love with your business.
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