Friend,

There's no way around it.

At one point or another you'll have to deal with a difficult client.

A Karen of the business world.

They can be a real pain, causing unnecessary stress, frustration and sleepless nights.

But if you're proactive you can deal with them without too many headaches.

Here are the 3 most common difficult clients and how you can deal with them.

The Cheap Client

When you're first starting out you'll need to accept most jobs to build your portfolio.

This means you'll experience a lot of cheap clients.

Clients that expect the world but want to pay you $5 for the work.

They'll constantly try to negotiate your price down and save a penny wherever they can.

Unfortunately, you're going to have to work with a few of these before you take your business to the next level.

But there are a few things you can do to improve your time working with these clients.

A) Manage Expectations

From the very start make sure you manage their expectations.

Let them know exactly what they're going to get based on their budget.

You can write this out in the form of a brief to make sure you're both on the same page.

This will prevent any disputes over the final draft.

B) Limit The Number of Revisions (Or ask for payment after 1)

Cheap clients will often take advantage of revisions.

They'll expect 10 revisions without increasing their budget.

Make sure they understand how many free revisions they're allowed.

I'd limit this to 1 so you're not taken advantage of.

And lastly...

C) Raise Your Prices

As your experience and knowledge grows you can begin increasing your prices.

I was recently contacted by a client I worked with years ago.

He was a pain in the ass. Always wanted work for discounts.

I told him a fixed price, date I could do the work and set clear expectations.

He never responded.

Know your worth and you'll naturally begin to weed out the cheap clients.

The Know It All

Another difficult client is the guy that seems to think he knows better than you.

They'll ask for 100 edits in a revision, turning your masterpiece into absolute garbage.

Something you couldn't pay people to read.

They'll come up with some ridiculous statement like:

"I could write copy that converts I just don't have the time"

Eugh.

These clients are honestly a nightmare to work with.

So how can you deal with them?

A) Present Yourself as the Expert

You wouldn't tell a dentist how to fix your teeth, why would you let someone tell you how to write?

From the very first conversation you want to present yourself as the expert.

Let them know the results you've achieved, why your writing style works and how it gets results.

B) Suggest Different Edits

If you've already shown you're the expert, you can begin pushing back on some edits.

Make suggestions as to why they may not be the best and explain why your version will convert better.

Offer to run some A/B tests to prove your point.

Clients are usually happy to accept your suggestions if they believe in your ability and you can show results.

C) Make The Edits & Bounce

Every now and then you'll get a client who won't budge. They think they're right no matter how much they've destroyed your copy.

In these circumstances save yourself the headache.

Make the edits, make sure you're paid, and move on.

If they ask for more work kindly decline.

Honestly, it's not worth it.

The Client Who Always Pays Late

There's nothing more frustrating than having to chase clients up for payments. Especially when you've already completed the work.

They'll tell you they'll pay tomorrow and won't pay till the week after.

Here are a few things you can put into place to prevent this.

A) Ask For 2 Payments

Unless you've worked with them before, not all clients will be happy to make an upfront payment in full.

If this is the case, ask for 50% of the payment before and 50% after.

Be strict with your own deadlines and deliver early if possible.

Once a client is happy with their experience, they'll usually pay straight away for your work.

B) Charge Fees For Late Payments

If you're late paying back a loan, what happens?

You're charged a fee.

You can apply this to your own business.

In your contract make it clear that if payment is not made on time your client will have to pay a fee for each day it's late.

You'd be surprised how quickly clients pay up once you implement this.

C) Send Payment Reminders

Some clients just forget to pay on time.

They're busy people so a reminder will go a long way.

Most payment platforms let you send payment reminders for clients the day before an invoice is due.

You can automate this process so they're reminded that the payment is due.

From my experience around 95% of clients will pay once they've seen the reminder.

Combine this with a late fee and you can be confident that your clients will pay on time.

As you gain experience you'll naturally start to determine the type of client someone is before you work with them.

Use this gut feeling to choose your clients wisely.

Be proactive and use these tips to create a better experience for everyone involved.

And remember, some clients just aren't worth the headache.

Don't be afraid to fire them if they're causing more hassle than their worth.

Let them know it's not a good fit and go on your way.

You haven't lost anything. You've just opened up space to work with someone you like working with.

Have a great week and remember, being happy with who you work with is more important than how much you're being paid.

- Copy Mav