Let's be clear: thanks to our clients we have work, because social media is a service we provide and we must do our best to obtain the desired results and satisfy whoever hired us.
The ideal situation is that we have a fluid and bilateral communication with our clients, that between all of us (service providers and the client) we understand each other perfectly, that we know how to shape what the contractor wants and that this in turn accepts our suggestions and recommendations to achieve the proposed objectives and achieve successful campaigns, which ultimately translates into a win / win relationship.
However, this is not always the case, all of us have ever dealt with clients of clients, that is, there are times when we come across certain specimens that are better to keep away from our jobs because we do not understand each other or steal our peace of mind., even at the cost of our daily sustenance (which translated into Spanish means I prefer to lose that money but be calm).
Without further ado, here is the list of "undesirable" clients from whom we have to flee without much thought.
The Abusive Client (or the rude one): He believes that he still lives in the time of slavery, which is worse, he does not see you as a service provider, but as a being inferior to the one who pays him and therefore treats you as he It seems, without the slightest courtesy. It is that client who insults you, both by phone and by mail, or who uses rude and profane language to address you, disrespecting you, just because he pays.
The Bad Pay Client: You work on their projects, and when the time comes to pass the bill, it tells you that they pay next week, next month… or never. However, she keeps giving you projects and in the end you end up doing a charity because she never has money to pay you. Certainly, we are in a difficult economic situation, and we can make certain concessions, but it cannot be abused either, since we all have bills to pay, and in the end, our work has a price. At bad pay, it's better to say bye, once and for all, if you don't want to try hard at all.
The "Know-it-all" Client: It is characterized by knowing more than you or knowing someone (friend, brother, colleague, etc., etc.) who does the same as you and always has a suggestion regarding your work. This client creates a lot of friction because by always making suggestions and recommendations from someone who supposedly knows more than you about your work, it implies that he doesn't respect yours, so why did he hire you? if his cousin, friend, etc, etc, has better ideas than yours.
The Client who does not have a time or date on the calendar ("The All-Night" Client): Is the one who calls you on a Friday at 2:00 am, if it is two in the morning, when you are either sleeping or in a disco enjoying a moment of relaxation, to give you ideas, or that he came up with "x" thing for the project you are taking him or to give you orders about something he wants to come out on Saturday at 10:00 am. This type of customer does not wear a watch and if he sees the time he does not seem to care.
The Client "Anti-contract": It is that client who when he hires you does not consider it necessary to sign a service contract or a proposal with the conditions of the service that you will provide and who prefers that everything be discussed without anything being in writing. With this client it is more difficult to establish a limit because as there is nothing signed and the words are carried by the wind, he reduces it all to: "we do not discuss this", if it is about paying or calling you after hours. It is always necessary to sign a document (contract, service proposal, etc.) establishing the conditions for the provision of the service and the obligations of both yours and his, since if there is nothing signed, any abuse is possible.
The Undecided Client: Today you want to develop the strategy in this way. You work, you present a first class job and the client tells you that he is no longer sure that he wants the job like that, that now he prefers something else, that he is not very sure. In these cases, the best thing is that there is a clear communication about what the client wants and what you can offer them so that there are no misunderstandings on both sides, and above all there must be security about what you want to achieve, since you are not a fortune teller or parapsychologist and cannot be subject to your client's changes of opinion.
The Client "Pichirre" (miser): He wants to do thousands of things but for the same price, (the lowest by the way), without taking into account that the modification of a project has additional costs that must be paid. And that any extra to the original project must be paid because it implies a modification not agreed or foreseen by the parties, which will require more man hours and additional time than already established.
The Insatiable Client: He is never satisfied with your work, he wants more and more, for him the limits do not exist, he is never happy with what you do and asks you for more. If you do not set time and money limits, in the end a project with this client will be more expensive.
From the enunciated list, something is clear to us: as service providers we must set our limits and expressly establish our obligations and the obligations of customers towards us, there must be schedules, rates and conditions that must be respected by both parties, on our side the delivery times, the client's payment and the working hours. We are there to satisfy a need, but we are also human and the limits are very important, so that through clear communication both parties can understand each other and reach satisfactory agreements for all.
It is true that not everything should be rigid or set in stone, we must leave room for concessions and nuances, but respect between clients and service providers must be the essential basis for starting any working relationship and above all, communication honest and clear between the two.
And in the event that we come across some of these clients, the best thing is to say goodbye for good, to continue supporting a situation that does not help us in our productivity and takes energy and good vibes to do what we like.
