We all complain about our clients. Why don’t they get it? Why did they do this stupid thing? I have a harsh answer for you. It’s your fault.

Let’s change the view point

Business kindergarten is over. Let’s take responsibility.

There is a saying in the world of graphic design that says something like that. “There are no shitty projects, there are just shitty clients”. I find this kind of attitude particularly funny. It’s a simple way to get out of the troubles. Because, if something goes wrong, it’s always the client’s fault. But if a client doesn’t get the value of what you are saying, often it’s just that you weren’t clear. That’s why they didn’t go with your awesome idea. It’s not only them. The problem is first on your side. This means that every time that one of your clients or customers doesn’t go where you see more value for him, it’s that you made an error. Okay this is a bit depressing if you start to look back and see the dozens of errors you just did this year. But you know, I’m an optimist. And all these errors are valuable once you start to analyze them. They are valuable once you start to imagine how you could have fixed the thing in another way. You will then get ready for next time.

Every tiny mistake counts

Do you have to repeat and explain again and again some aspects of your business or work method? Maybe you need to stop assuming that what you do is clear. Maybe you should just create a little course. You could create a handbook, a glossary that explains the complex words you use. If one of your clients didn’t understand the budget and is now pissed off by some extra costs, it’s time to redesign your budgets. Or maybe it’s time to setup for every budget a one-to-one session. There you could go through each point and explain what’s not included. You could do that instead of just sending the offers. That would help you get out of that kind of troubles next time.

It’s a relationship

It’s when you see the problem on your side that you get the power to solve it.

Of course working with partners or clients is a relationship. We all learned that in a couple it’s not just the fault of one part of the couple if things go wrong. I agree. But if you want to avoid troubles, maybe it’s good to see the part where you suck first. It’s simpler to act on things you didn’t do right, than acting on things the others did wrong. And as in every relationship, if you want to solve the issue, you’ll end most of the time with a happy ending.

So what was the last project that went wrong because of the client? And know start to think about what you did wrong there. Now you have already something to innovate in your business.