We have started working on a new project with a new client and one of the reasons we beat out our competition is because we had an in-person consultation before sending in our quote. The client was amazed that we actually did that with no promise of work coming in.

Why is this such a shock to clients in this age? I have some theories behind this….

1) Most designers are really just freelancers. Whether they are unemployed or working full time, they don’t really see themselves as making this into a full time business. It just isnt worth their time to drive to a client only to possibly get shot down later.
2) Laziness – I will be upfront and say that artsy people are kinda flaky naturally. We get sidetracked on other things easily and we tend to be lazy about things we don’t want to do. This is really the case in younger designers that are fresh from college. They tend to be the ones that think they are special from other designers and will get work without putting in work
3) Just bad customer service – Unfortunately, most designers don’t have to go through a customer service course in school. They don’t understand that taking a little time out of their day to meet with a new client can help ease the client’s fears as well as help make the sale. The same thing is done with the phone as well, and most contact is done strictly through email.

Now, we offer it for most of our clients for a few main reasons…

1) We understand that you don’t know us. At the same time, we don’t really know you either. This gives us a chance to really sit down and determine if you are the type of client we want to work with or not.
2) We also get a chance to ask more questions and get a better feel for what you want out of your final project.
3) Its just good customer service. Forget the fact that it helps us all out and allows us to do our job faster and better. Its just something that should be done, especially when dealing with a new client or when dealing with a larger project (anything over $500 is a large project to a client…. thats a lot of bread to come up with).

This is one of those basic things that as a client or a designer, you can really see how professional your other half is. If they don’t want to meet up and communicate, then they won’t want to when you are in the middle of the project either. Its the quickest way to botch a project and a relationship and its a good indicator on who you should work with.