Are Vampire Clients Sucking the Life Out of Your Business?
Posted August 24, 2009 in Managing Clients 41 Comments »
I hear freelance horror stories on a fairly regular basis… Unanticipated hours spent trying to please a single client that won’t be pleased, countless revisions when the client doesn’t even know what he or she wants, doing all of this after the client argued for a huge discount in the first place.
If you’ve ever been stuck with a client who just won’t be satisfied no matter what you do, then you know exactly how this situation feels. It seems like nothing that you do is right and all of it needs to be redone.
Meanwhile, you can’t devote yourself to new clients because you’re spending all of your time on one or two extremely demanding clients. It’s as though a vampire has come and sucked all of the life out of your freelancing business.
What’s a freelancer to do when one or a few clients take up the majority of his or her energy without providing the majority of his or her income?
Dealing with Vampire Clients — Realistic Options
Realistically, what can you do about a so-called “vampire” client? Your job as a freelancer is to please your customers, right?
Well, it is true that good customer service is extremely vital to your success as a freelancer. Loyal customers can be an important key to your business success.
However, it’s also true that not everyone will like you, and not everyone is a good client. If you freelance for long enough, eventually you’re going to encounter someone who just doesn’t get along with you.
As a freelancer and a professional are you tied to your vampire clients forever?
I say no.
One of the beautiful things about freelancing is that you can pick and choose which projects you accept and who you will work with. Unlike a traditional job where you may be forced to work in an unpleasant environment for months, years, or even decades, freelancing offers you the opportunity to cut your losses and move on.
Questions to Ask Before Stepping Away from a Client
If you can help it, it’s important not to burn your bridges. If you can’t help it, however, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Is this client taking a disproportionate amount of my time?
- Have I done everything that I can possibly do?
- Have I exhausted all reasonable resources that I could turn to make this project better?
- Has the scope of this project changed significantly since it began without any changes in compensation or time allotted?
If you answered yes to most of those questions, then you may be dealing with a vampire client situation. It may be time to put an end to the project that is keeping you from being productive.
Actually ending the project or relationship can be tricky, though. Here are a few tips:
How to End Your Relationship With a Vampire Client
You may wonder how you can walk away from a nightmare client and still maintain a positive relationship with them.
Ideally, of course, you want all of your client relationships to be positive. You depend partly on referrals and testimonials from your clients to get future business, so making sure that all of your clients are happy is important.
But, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes it’s just not possible to keep everyone happy. A few people will never be satisfied.
Ending a client relationship is never something to be done lightly. It should only be used as a last resort
If you do have to end a relationship with a client whose project has been taking all of your time and energy, try to do so on a positive note. You might say something like this:
It seems like we’re just not on the same wavelength about XYZ. I thought
that I could do this project, but in retrospect I no longer believe that I’m the best person for the job. You might try contacting John Doe (if possible, name a freelancer who might be able to work with the client).
Will the client be mad at you? Maybe.
Will you get your money? Maybe not, but at least you’ll have your time back and be free to pursue projects that are a better match for your abilities.
Have You Faced a Vampire Client?
Have you ever dealt with a vampire client or project? How did you handle the situation? Without naming names or pointing fingers (we’re not that kind of blog), share your story with everyone in the comments.
Hopefully we can help some freelancers find their way out of a difficult situation.
Top image originally by gruntzooki and modified by FreelanceFolder
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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41 Comments
Keith Lauby
August 24th, 2009 at 1:11 pmI’ve fired customers before. I’m a consultant so just substitute that for freelancer and it’s pretty much the same. Managing customers is an important, if challenging, part of being self-employed. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that you want to define boundaries as clearly as possible, in writing via your proposal. I include in every proposal that any additional work will be addressed via addendum and will result in a new proposal. That’s your safety net. You determine what demands exceed the boundaries of the proposal and call it to the customer’s attention. Let them know it will cost extra if they still want it. It’s just business . . nothing personal. BTW, good quote – well said.
Steve Bellante
August 24th, 2009 at 1:55 pmWhile I have yet to face such a troublesome client as the ones described in this article, I think it’s definitely useful information to know how to handle the situation properly when it does come up. The key as Laura points out is to get out of the situation, but at the same time be careful not to burn any bridges. This can be easier said then done, but seems worth the confrontation in order to keep your sanity and happiness. Nice post!
Rich Bailey
August 24th, 2009 at 2:03 pmGreat article Laura :) I’d like to see you delve into the topic of clients who try to lowball the designer by either wanting free work or cheap work. This is especially significant seeing as the emergence of websites that promote contests and cheap labor which gives other professional artists a bad rep.I’m sure many artists will agree this notion makes freelancing tougher.
Laura Spencer
August 24th, 2009 at 2:23 pmThanks for the comments!
Keith, you are right. Sadly, sometimes firing a client is a necessary step to take.
Steve – count yourself fortunate if you’ve not ever had a troublesome client. Hopefully, you’ll know how to handle it if it does happen.
Hi Rich! Great idea for a topic. I did do a post on setting rates last spring. You can find it here: http://freelancefolder.com/freelance-rates-overview/. The short answer is clients can only lowball you if you agree to work for lowball rates. Sometimes you might have to walk away from a project if the rates are too low.
Matt Keegan
August 24th, 2009 at 2:46 pmI can’t elaborate specifically, but I’ve had my share of vampire clients. In each case, I was able to extract myself from his or her fangs and move on.
I hadn’t thought about referring them to another freelancer. Maybe to a competitor, someone I wouldn’t mind seeing boxed in by them! *snicker*
Natalia Maldonado
August 24th, 2009 at 3:19 pmI’ve never “fired” a client before but I did choose to distance myself from certain clients who were either too difficult to work with or who needed me to do work that I didn’t find rewarding. Mostly I did this by explaining that I had a lot of projects lined up at the moment and that I wasn’t taking on new work for the time being.
That’s the beauty of freelancing. When someone contacts you to work on a project it’s your choice to take on that project or not. Over time I’ve learned there are certain warning signs for when a client is going to be troublesome. Being very vague about the type of work required and being a start-up that wants a discount because they promise a lot of work in the future are just a couple of my red flags.
Dave
August 24th, 2009 at 4:06 pmFor me the problem is not the vampires, it’s the ‘near vampires’. Usually ‘near vampires’ simply don’t realize that that they’ve become an imposition, particularly after you’ve made a couple of goodwill concessions. You know how it goes: you agree to do that one extra thing. Then that one extra thing changes and evolves into something BIG. Then when you try to reign things in, the response s “B you said you would…”
Dan
August 24th, 2009 at 4:24 pmThanks for the helpful article, though I demur from the advice to pass along the name of another freelancer who might be able to help the vampire client. Unless that other freelancer has the type of personality that is more in line with (and won’t be taken advantage of by) the vampire, you might doom your relationship with your fellow freelancer, who will be rightly miffed that you “dumped” this problem client on his/her plate.
Laura Spencer
August 24th, 2009 at 4:31 pmDave – you bring up some excellent points. As far as the problem of “near vampires,” I think that every freelancer has to decide where to draw the line. I’d also consider past history — if the client has just recently started to have problems but you have a long history of success with them I’d approach it differently than a client who you had trouble with from day 1.
As far as referring the client to another freelancer, I totally understand what you’re saying. However, if it’s mostly a matter of personality conflict or a difference in working styles a referral might still be in order. Alternatively, you might contact the freelancer you have in mind and say “I’ve been having problems with XYZ, do you think you could handle it any better?” If they say “yes,” I’d give them a chance. Sometimes a fresh face is helpful.
Sara
August 24th, 2009 at 5:55 pmMy first official freelance client was a vampire client. I almost walked away from freelancing all together…I’m still employed full time and freelancing is still a side business that I hope to turn into a full time business. Luckily I’m surrounded by good mentors who talked me through it and after I finished the project I walked away. Hearing the name of the product still makes my blood boil. Like Dave said, I made a few goodwill concessions that turned more freebies and so on. In the end I had invested thousands of dollars of my time and was paid less than $1,000. It was my mistake as a new freelancer but believe me when I say it won’t happen again.
Sara
August 24th, 2009 at 5:57 pmI forgot to say Thanks for the excellent article Laura.
Tom Holland
August 24th, 2009 at 10:50 pmI’ve come across this situation before, and have had to find two different solutions…
One was to coldly say that the project had moved beyond the agreed price and from then on I would need to be paid by the hour. Surprisingly that worked well – the client was a professional and understood the argument. They continued to flop around for another two months, but I worked less of the time (we waited until they’d organize each time), and got paid well when doing it.
The other one, and this isn’t going to work for everyone – was to hold my tongue and continue on. I know it seems crazy. This client went weeks past schedule, but I lumbered on. At the end of the gig, the project manager took me out for a beer and that’s when I told him how I felt about that project. They’ve asked me back several times, and now they always ask me if things are going well, and they are an excellent client.
As I said, doesn’t work everytime, but sometimes it works out.
Emily
August 24th, 2009 at 10:59 pmThis is an excellent post, and one I certainly can relate to! I worked as a freelance designer for years and had to “fire” a few clients. I did find that very careful proposal/contract language prevented most problems, but there were gray areas I never could have anticipated as some relationships evolved. Most of the time a reworking of the contract solved the issues, but in every vampire situation I found it was necessary to “fall on the sword” to terminate the relationship. Just like in your example, my reasoning with the client was that it was an error in my own judgment or some problem within myself that prevented my completion of our work. This only happened a few times, but was accepted without incident.
I found the more difficult thing to deal with after such a situation is the second-guessing of my own actions, my thinking through the business relationship to figure out what went wrong. In an ideal world we would conclude every business transaction on a positive note, and pulling out of a project because of personality conflicts or relationship issues has always felt like a failure to me. But I have accepted that this is inevitable and that we don’t always “click” with others; giving ourselves permission to conclude those relationships that are stagnant or even harmful makes room for the fun collaborations!
Thanks for your thoughtful post!
Igor Kheifets
August 25th, 2009 at 2:32 amI have been a vampire client myself. When I first ordered my wordpress theme, I drove the designer crazy by constantly asking him to change colors,pictures, headers, etc.
Igor
Alex Lim
August 25th, 2009 at 7:24 amI can say that this is somehow part of the job, I mean almost all jobs. Clients are just making sure that every cent that they pay is of worth. We can’t blame them although it’s annoying and of course time consuming. Perhaps it’s within the prerogative of the subordinate to quit or rather take the chance to overcome the annoyance. However, I agree with the author, if reaching the client’s standard consumes too much of your time and also affects your activities as whole..better say goodbye. If both of you do not meet each others standards I think that’s a clear sign of incongruence, time is too precious to spend with misery.ss
Debbie Campbell
August 25th, 2009 at 9:48 amI have a vampire client right now. In fact, I’m talking with my attorney about her this morning.
I guess I’m fortunate that this is really the first time I’ve ever had a client this demanding and impossible to please. Frankly, I wouldn’t refer this particular client to any web designer that I liked. Perhaps a competitor, though…
Debbie Campbell
August 25th, 2009 at 9:50 amAnd this is a really good article, forgot to mention that. :)
Connie Mayse
August 25th, 2009 at 10:18 amEven as a consultant with a major global consultancy, I had my share of “problem” clients – they regularly expand the scope or change direction with no warning, require review by committee, delay responses and edits, then want to shave days off the deadline. I roped some of them in by, on the next project, building in extra time/budget for additional drafts (phantom – we knew they’d happen and budgeted for them, but didn’t detail them in the initial scope), and putting in writing that any work added to the project would be quoted separately and added to the scope. This actually worked to some degree. What worked best was developing a rapport with two or three of the client contacts and makig them “champions” to rein in the vampires. That said, you may have to fire a client, so script yourself to be as diplomatic and gentle as possible, being careful not to burn any bridges. Your former clients are as well-connected as your favorite clients. cj
Wayne Key
August 25th, 2009 at 10:31 amI have had a few vampire client here on-line… but I have had some really bad vampire client in my bricks and mortar business. Bottom line for me on this issue is simple. LIfe is too short to work with or for people who dont appreciate you. AND, long term you do better financially by working with those with whom you have a good mutual understanding.
That said, it is so very easy to get sucked in by a vampire when you are starting out in any field.
Melek
August 25th, 2009 at 10:55 ami’ve had a few of these types of clients. some i’ve been able to end the relationship cleanly and move on, some lingered forever and i never ended up getting paid. i just try to take from those bad experiences and learn for next time. and thru those experiences, i’ve also learned how to spot them up front, before we ever begin working together…which helps immensely!
Dr WRight
August 25th, 2009 at 11:12 amMost Vampire clients WILL be mad at you because that is part of their thing. Everything is someone else’s fault. You can try and end it in a civil way, however, many of them are invested in making you the bad guy.
Once you see it’s going down that road, get out!
Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1
Laura Spencer
August 25th, 2009 at 12:16 pmGreat comments!!!
Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and how they have dealt with troublesome clients in the past.
Keep them coming.
(Igor – I grinned at your admission that you have been a “vampire” client. It just shows that there are two sides to every story.)
Nikhil
August 25th, 2009 at 1:19 pmGreat post Laura….
Really great read…
I like the way to end deals with the clients….
David
August 25th, 2009 at 3:19 pmI think we all face vampire clients!
Thanks for the tip
Nicole Foster
August 25th, 2009 at 4:37 pmI am currently going through a vampire client, but I’m hopeful that it will pay off.
Nonetheless, I’m going through a communication issue with another client of mine, and I am thinking of burning the bridge. He’s wasting my time, and unresponsive to my emails. What is the best way to let loose that type of client?
Laura Spencer
August 25th, 2009 at 7:37 pmGreat comments!
Nicole – You could try sending your non-responsive client a nicely worded message to the effect of, “if I don’t hear from you by x date, I’m assuming the project is over.” That way, if he or she is interested they will respond.
Laura
August 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pmThis happened to me with a client this year who clearly did not understand the time demands of what she was asking for… even though we discussed it ahead of time. Given that she had shorted my payment on the previous job, I wasn’t willing to continue.
I tried writing a polite, detailed explanatory email with several options, making clear that we needed to come to an agreement before I would proceed. She canceled the job and didn’t pay the rest of the time she owed, so I didn’t forward the work I had completed so far.
I’m just glad I stopped work when I did. Yes, it was uncomfortable and the result wasn’t what I had hoped for, but it’s important to set boundaries. After all, we’re professionals; we should expect to be treated as such.
Rachel Fachner
August 25th, 2009 at 11:17 pmLaura, I love your thoughts on this. I think it’s an important issue that effects your quality of work and work environment. I’ve had vampire clients and, for me, the issue is pretty complex. I found at the beginning of my career I needed to hang on to those vampire clients more so than I do now. I think it also depends at what point during the work your client shows his fangs? Are you, ostensibly ‘pot committed’ on the project, or are you just beginning?.
Before throwing away work… I would ask questions of myself like:
1. can I afford (financially, and socially) to lose this client?
2. how can I respectfully make an exit without throwing out the baby with the bath water?
3. can I begin putting strict parameters on where this project is going so that it ends quickly rather than just walking away?
Also, afterward, I would take some serious reflection time. How did I get into that situation? How can I avoid it in the future? It’s a small world and keeping relationships positive is pretty key out there.
thanks, again… lots of food for thought.
Rebecca
August 26th, 2009 at 3:12 pmI recently had a client just like this. They would not approve the work until they had a quote. I spent 6 hours of my time meeting with them to get to the point of what they needed. I quoted them, they accepted … and then I got started. I finished the job in two days, submitted a proof to the company for approval. In my quotes I always state they can be one chance for minor changes … but for 6 months this guy kept coming back. Sometimes he would say … “do you remember how you had it a while back? My client would like to see it that way again”. When I finally had a completely approved proof by the printer, I contacted the client. I gave him a bill with the original quote and any time that was spent afterwards I billed hourly. He questioned it, but I stuck to my guns and refused to release the final file to the printer until I received compensation. Took awhile, but finally got paid and he got his file. We have a mutual understanding now that any and all work completed will be hourly at my current rate with a retainer fee up front. Kind of good that he would have to leave the area to get the work done …. and would have to pay quite a bit more. So he has agreed, and so far no changes have been needed.
Andrea_R
August 27th, 2009 at 9:08 amI did have a vampire client that was taking up an increasing amount of time for the same rate of pay. It wasn’t until I realized I was turning down new projects at significantly more pay, that I realized it was time to let them go. And the project just wasn’t fun any more.
To ease the way, I hooked them up with someone else and assured them “It’s not you, it’s me”.
Luke Jones
August 28th, 2009 at 6:52 amI’ve got a vampire client at the moment and it’s just irritating, they don’t seem happy ever and I know it’s not something I’ve done because they’re getting a LOT of positive feedback and business from the website that I’ve done for them.
They’re just naturally miserable people.
Bernad
September 8th, 2009 at 4:52 amIn business it seems there are quiet a few of these “vampires”..I read a similar post where it mentioned not being friendly to clients..
I believe I have just had a very intelligent and friendly vampire..Only my 3 CMS previously and I put together ecomemrce based subscription for online learing (with 2 separeate gateways) for only 6k..It took about 250 hrs for ecommerce alone (should have been 10-12k for ecommerce alone)..
And she asked a for some updates a few days ago..I offered her 2-3 hours work for a regitsartion form and extra products and she didnt wantr to spend the money ($150).
She has already made more slaes thatn the site is worth in the last 4 weeks (7k). The only benefit I get out of it is my link at btm of page..So from this I have learned not to be too friendly..Big Rule there..and not do ecommerce..Another developer who is much better than me said he doesnt take on any of these kind of projects
nancy
October 7th, 2009 at 10:21 amfire them……burn briges and make sure your work is copyrighted. Get ready for a long starvation diet.
Ross
February 21st, 2010 at 1:33 pmHi everyone. Im just catching on posts on this site and man this site is awesome!!
Vampire clients:Its unfortunate that such an element exists when dealing with clients.
As for me, Ive had the fortunate (or maybe unfortunate) training for such a situation early in my freelancing career. (You know how it goes when starting as a web designer, you try to get your name out there to as many people as you can). Well I didnt know it back then, but one of my best friend, whom I did a website for, was a vampire as clearly defined in this post. He kept asking for more and more, fix that and this… Dont get me started on the lady in the bakery…
Whether or not the client is intentional being a vampire doesn’t matter, Its ultimately the freelancers’ fault that the big white fangs were drawn in the first place.
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