Hey, it's Rob here. And here I've got a lecture on what to say to a client, things to say and things not to say. And they're all in a PDF. So you can copy and paste them and put them in an email. So there's a right way and a wrong way to communicate with a client. Get it right, and there'll be a long and mutually beneficial relationship, get it wrong, and the client goes elsewhere.

Now, a lot of what I'm going to be talking about, is to stop you baffling the client with technology. Ask yourself, Is it necessary that the client knows this at this moment? And if the answer is no, then don't bother with clients. Definitely less is more. If they don't need to know something, then it's best you don't tell them So the top here is something I don't want you to say. But it's something I probably have made the mistake of saying in the past.

So I'd go into terrible detail and say WordPress works better on Linux servers, operating a patchy rather than Windows Operating double is, if you're using Windows HOST WE COULD muddle through, but it might be better to change the hosts, which will involve you changing the name servers at your domain name, registrar, blah, blah, blah. It's very important to know your clients knowledge. As I've said before, if they don't have any technical knowledge, it's best not to try to explain the how, and just tell them what they'll need to know. So you could just say, I'll set up your website for you. And if you need to change the host, you need to change the host. clients don't like things to be complicated.

They are paying you to keep their life simple. So the last thing we need is questions uncertainty and complexities. So here Another example, about email. Now you could get very involved talking about doing RSS feeds or setting up with AWeber, or office autopilot and telling the clients, the pros and cons of different ways of doing things. Much better is just to say to the client, I will give you the ability to create and send beautifully designed email newsletters to your customers within a matter of minutes. You decide on the how, whether you want to use Aweber or whatever you're being paid to make the decision for the client.

So you make the correct decision and implement it, and the client will be happy. So don't explain the options unless it's absolutely necessary. Now the relationship is everything. Don't involve your colleagues in the conversation with the client. The client wants a relationship with you. They don't care how you get the job.

Done. They just want the job done well. And if there's a problem, they want you to fix it. So don't talk about outsourcing, saying that you employ the services of a developer to do the PHP, etc, etc. There's no reason for the client know this. Just say that you will design develop and maintain the website to function exactly as agreed.

And if you can't do that, then it's your fault and your inability with outsources and if that's the case, then you need to try again, and get another outsourcer and pay for it yourself if necessary, but the relationship is everything with the client. Don't ask too many questions. Sometimes during the execution of a design or a task, a question becomes apparent that wasn't covered in the brief. In this case, I usually try to make the decision for the client. A lot of the time the client isn't available for further consultation As far as they're concerned, the job has been briefed. And they don't want to hear back from you until the job is finished.

So when this is the case, don't mention any of the problems you've had in completing the design, just make the decisions for the client. So don't say, oh, I've had a trouble with this. You didn't know if you wanted X, Y, or Z. But I thought you might want x and I put in z anyway or whatever. Just give them the finished job, or the final visual or whatever. And say, Please find attached a visual option for the job.

As we discussed, I look forward to your value feedback. So you'll hear pretty soon from the client once you've finished it, whether they like it or not. Okay, if you think there really has been something missed by the client, then you have to ask if you think you're going to waste your time doing one option that they're not going to lie. But if that's the case, then you should have asked the pertinent question in the first place. So nine times out of 10 you don't ask too many questions. You just do the job, I find time and again, that clients will go with your decision.

That's what they're paying you for. They're paying you to make decisions for them, and to save them time. This is from the earlier lecture when a potential red flag from a client is someone who thinks they're a potential client. But really, they've just thought of a website that morning. And they'll just waste your time and you just don't want to waste the time of going to see them. But what happens if they're a good client, you don't want to turn down a good client.

So always go and meet them if they're a part of a larger organization. But if you're sure that wasting time is something you can say to them, and this is quite good, respectful couple of paragraphs you can post in a email is it necessary to have a face to face meeting, it's my company policy to never go to meet potential clients as I have learned from my experience that meetings and the travel associated can often take quite a few hours out of the day, and if the potential client subsequently decides against the project, then all that time is wasted. This is not a reflection on yourself, of course, mainly the result of years of experience. I do, of course, meet my regular clients, but only meet new clients after there is a solid commitment to a working relationship. And I think that puts that quite well.

As I said before, it's all about communication. The most successful graphic designers, the most successful people who deal with clients online are the ones that communicate best. If you understand what the client requires, and then over deliver that on time and on budget, then you'll do very well in this business. Okay, thank you.