Tales of a Designer

Turning Down Projects

Working with clients on cool projects can be an amazing experience. But to get to that point, you need to know how to choose your clients wisely. Just like educating your clients, because they aren’t always right, it takes time and practice knowing how to weed out, and say no to, potential problematic clients. In other words, learning to turn down projects.

It’s not exactly a science, but learning how to read people and how they plan to go about a project are key areas that should be paid close attention to. It can be hard to pick those things up through communicating only through email. This is why discovery meetings are extremely important, and one of the most important meetings to have on any given project. Whether over the phone or in person, they are necessary.

So what’s the point of discovery meetings? It’s not always to talk about how you’re going to design/build a website. That can be discussed when a contract is signed. It’s a time to feel each other out. Ask questions about their business, how it operates, what their role in the business is, etc. The overall idea for discovery meetings is to make sure that both parties are a good fit for the project. It’s a time to make sure that business personalities mesh in order to have a successful project.

Any detection of red flags from a [potential] client, then turn it down. I’m sure many have learned, that no price tag is worth dealing with an extremely problematic client. It’s unnecessary stress to have. So, to be safe (unless desperate), don’t second guess any red flags that you notice in discovery meetings. If you have negative thoughts, it’s probably for a reason. Go with your gut and turn it down.

What are some of the red flags you look out for when choosing clients?

Mobile 2.0 Presentation

I am very interested in mobile design/development, and Brian Fling has put together an excellent presentation on mobile 2.0. If you are at all interested in information regarding mobile design or development, definitely take some time to check out this presentation.

Selling Your Design Services

For designers, it’s pretty normal to do some freelance work, and in my early stages of freelance work, it mostly came form friends and family members. Working with those people, I never had to put much of an effort into selling my services because they were already comfortable working with me. As time goes on, and your skills progress, you start to expand your network new [potential] clients are referred your way. This is when you need to know how to sell yourself.

This doesn’t mean that you need to turn into some expert salesman, however, your potential clients need to know that they’re investing in the right person for the job. In all of the projects I’ve won with both freelance, and Tridea is confidence. You’d be amazed at how many people admire those who are very confident about the services that they would provide. Don’t just think you can design them something great, know that you can design them something great. If you communicate that effectively, it goes a long way. Confidence always wins.

Another tip that helps a ton is actually being interested in your clients’ business. A client will know whether or not you’re really interested in them and their business, and I’d be willing to bet that they’d rather choose the designer that’s interested in them, over the designer that’s just looking to make some money. So be interested, do some research on their industry, and ask tons of questions.

Keep it simple, keep it clear, and keep it calm, so everyone understands what is happening and feels safe. via

Knowing how to communicate without the use of industry jargon is huge. More likely than not, your potential client will not be a designer or web developer. So when talking to potentials, leave the technical jargon at home. They will not understand it, nor will they care. If they have no clue what you’re trying to say (because of tech jargon), then why should they feel comfortable spending money on your services?

In my opinion, a big part of selling is the talking that you don’t do. It’s easy, and effortless, but listen to your potential clients. Hear what they have to say about what business problems they’re facing and/or what they’re looking for. This possible project will be about their business and consumers, so let them tell you as much as possible about it, then respond.

And the last tip I have should be a no-brainer, but have a portfolio. Remember that confidence thing I talked about earlier? Well, showing off your work helps establish that you’re the right person for the job. I wish I didn’t have to mention this item, but it’s shocking how many designers don’t have portfolios to show off their work. Can’t build one? Then use a hosted service. Don’t like the hosted option? Then take pictures of your work and put them on Flickr. Whatever you do, always be ready to show potential clients the amazing work that you’ve done in the past.

Those are a few tips that I think are very useful, and have helped me out quite a bit in the past and present. What other tips would you say are essential when selling your services?