Behold, the eight types of clients...

Nolari Kimani, 28, has been a web developer for six years. Unlike many of her classmates, she opted to take the route of entrepreneurship after graduation.

She steadily grew from creating simple websites to more elaborate e-learning and e-commerce websites, and her clients grew in number. As her skills grew, she encouraged her clients to diversify their digital footprint with more unique content and more interactive websites.

This meant more work and eventually her costs went up. Her initial clients told her she was too expensive, others would agree to the new rates, but once the work was completed, they would try to negotiate the rates even when the contract stipulated otherwise.

As an entrepreneur, whether yours is a side hustle or an established business, you will come across different types of clients, with different temperaments, work ethics and ideologies, which will affect how you do business with them. It is essential to be aware of these temperaments to best gauge how to work with them or when to walk away. After all, it’s not just about money; it’s about building lasting business relationships and expanding your business networks.

Here are types of clients you may encounter in business, and a few ways to handle the different temperaments.

INDECISIVE CLIENT

During the first meeting you have with this client, he may seem to be clear on what he wants. By the time you get back to your office after the meeting and check your email, he may have sent you something completely different.

The best way to manage such a situation is to be clear from the first meeting, and prepare clear pointers on the scope of work and the timelines. Then ensure that the client signs off on it, in a contract, to avoid frustration.

THE “SKY IS FALLING” CLIENT

This client seems to have a problem prioritising work, by the time they get in touch with you; they need it “yesterday”. Everything is always an emergency and disaster is constantly imminent for this client.

This client also needs a clear timetable and constant update of their work progress. You also need to diplomatically remind them that you have other clients whose work you need to attend to.

POCKET PINCHER

This is the client who has done their research; they understand the market rates but want to milk you dry. They want you to do all the work for a quarter of the rightful pay. These are normally the first clients that give you a chance, and so you may bow down to pressure out of desperation to get repeat business.

Even though you feel that they gave you a chance, you need to draw the line at some point. Create a scope of work for what the client is willing to pay for, and represent this clearly in a written document that the client needs to sign against.

If the client wants more work done and doesn’t want to pay for it, bid him farewell because it is not worth it.

THE DISMISSIVE CLIENT

This client has a sense of self-importance. He knows he needs your services, but will not show it. He also may not really understand how you work and the demands of the scope of work he needs done.

He may even be condescending toward your work and make dismissive comments like, “This shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, a child can work faster than that.”

You get the picture.

This kind of a client needs an education on the kind of work you do. You need to diplomatically inform him why his work will need more than 30 minutes to complete.

THE COMMITTEE

This client is seen more in larger organisations where several individuals in a department are required to approve your work. This might mean waiting three months for a department or committee member to return from a business trip to review the work and approve. This also means numerous people with a multiplicity of ideas.

The best way of working with this kind of a client is to diplomatically compel the committee or department, to recommend a contact person to communicate the collective agreement. That way you have a clear and singular direction.

THE SLAVE DRIVER

This client expects you to be at their beck and call. They will call you on a Saturday and Sunday asking if you have seen the email they sent at 2am. As long as he is paying you, you are always working for him.

This client needs clear boundaries; he needs to be aware of your working hours and therefore respect your non-working hours.

THE CLUELESS CLIENT

This client is more common in the market than you would think. They are not quite clear why they are in business, what they have to offer that distinguishes them from competition, are unaware of consumer trends, but for some reason have still managed to stay in business.

This client needs professional insight and direction. You need to educate the client on market trends and show them what competition is doing and finally offer them the right solution, which you can then execute.

A client will appreciate you more and be willing to build a longer term relationship with you from this kind of engagement.

Whatever category your client falls under, you need to first clearly agree on the scope of work, deadlines, work plans, costing, and ensure you have a signed agreement with all these particulars. Also keep the communication flowing.