[BF #044] 🙆♂️ Minimum Viable Customer?
Nov 23, 2020 4:08 pm
"tHe cUsToMeR iS aLwAyS riGhT" - Right? Wrong!
If I ask you "who is your ideal customer?" do you have an answer? "Whoever pays the bill" is not an acceptable response.
There's a difference between an Ideal customer, and the one I like to call the minimum viable customer. There are a couple of main points every potential customer needs to cover in order for me to work with them. Since I am a such a delight to work with 😊 - I look for the same attitude in the client.
Don't be this guy.
There are several things you might hold essential to work with someone, here are (some of) my key points someone should have for me to consider them an ideal client.
- Value my opinion and expertise
- Easy to communicate and work with
- Pay my rate
- Pay on time
- Respect my schedule
- Recommend me to other companies
- Offer interesting challenges and projects
There are a few points where I draw a "red line" and will rather not work than onboard a client that will bring problems in the future. You have to decide what is that for you. For me, clients that barter are a no-go. I hate bartering as a concept, and people who want to haggle on price, I have learned, will end up scope-creeping and usually are the ones that don't respect my time and expertise.
It comes down to a character type, and this is one of the reason I will never quote a client before I do an initial interview with them. This will give me the opportunity to asses how the relationship will look like.
Clients that "are always right" and "know what you have to do" will have a different attitude than the ones looking for a professional to help them with their business. At the end of our initial conversation, I might decide not to work with them at all.
I know freelancers that will send over an NDA & Terms of Work contracts before they even interview a client, and if they think it could be a "difficult client", they will up the quote because "price changes everything". This is not how I work or how I negotiate, money comes second to my daily stress-free work and happiness with my clients.
Reflecting on this - some of your highest paying customers might not be your best or far from ideal customers. This doesn't mean that you have to get rid of them, but you can transition them to where you want them to be. Starting with an adult conversation about what you think could improve.
Do you struggle with some clients at the moment?
What's your biggest problem? Let me know.
Happy Monday! 🎉
T.
Tom Kozacinski, sir Freelance-a-lot 🙃
