A tale of two clients.

I love designing logos.

I can also tell if someone is serious about creating a new business when they talk with me about their logo.

Take Prospective Client 1:
Prospective Client 1 wants a logo design that he will be printing on a full line of cloths. He also tells me that I'm charging a little more for designing a logo than another "guy".

I said "You will be spending a lot MORE money plastering your logo on tons of merchandise. You NEED a great logo. It's like building a house. You need a good architects plan. Otherwise it doesn't matter how much you spend on building supplies, your house is going to fall down around you. You need a strong logo that shows people that you are serious, that you are professional, that they can count on you."

Prospective Client 1 said "Your right... you got the job". Prospective Client 1 is a smart guy. He was serious about giving his company his best shot so he invested wisely in a professionally designed logo. Today I delivered 7 logos. He liked so many, he requested to buy several.

Now, about Prospective Client 2:

I just got off the phone with him. He too needed a logo. "Something simple and classy." He directed me to the Oppenheimer site where they have an elegant logo with a capital letter O.

We talk budget and he says my price is not in his budget. "Well what would you like to bring your logo in at?" I asked. He replied "Well since I'm looking for a font and a capital letter, I think less than $50."

I doubt that this man is serious about creating an image and building a business. He loved the Oppenheimer logo and he could have had something of that quality, for a reasonable cost, to build his business around.

Bottom line, spend time talking with your prospective clients... give them the benefit of your experience.

And one more thing... when Prospective Client 1 (who turned into a client ) asked to buy several more of the logos from the batch I sent him, I told him "Save your money, from a marketing standpoint you are better off with just one logo". I saved him money and I lost money by giving him that advice. But I believe that by playing fair and square (and of course delivering top quality designs) I will have a lot more repeat business.

7 things to know before hiring a Freelance Graphic Designer.

1. Fee based or hourly:

You might think you are getting a great deal when someone quotes you a cheap hourly rate.... but if the designer doesn't know what they are doing , a project worth $200 can cost you a lot more. I always work on a project basis.. you will know EXACTLY how much your project will come in at.


2. Full time freelancer or a part time freelancer.

There's a big difference between someone tying to make an extra buck as a part time freelancer and a full time freelancer. A part time freelancer's most important project is HIS or HER regular job. They are not going to be available to help you out in a pinch nor will they be able to get your project done in a timely manner if they are working overtime at their "real" job. You don't have to worry about that with me... I'm a full time freelancer and your project is my most important job.


3. Student or professional.

Do you really want to trust someone with limited real world experience to help you? Sorry, but the student's designs might look good.. but are they backed by marketing experience to help you sell your product or service? No. As a professional designer, your projects are designed to SELL. You can't get that with a student.


4. Outsourced or are you dealing with the "real" designer.

Some people outsource their projects to to other people and then tack on a percentage to cover their "consultation" time. But who's really doing the work... someone in India who doesn't know the US market? Don't worry... I will be the designer to helps you generate more sales. Look at my portfolio... print, web, Flash, logos... if you like what you see... then I'm the guy to help you. http://www.digitalartist.com


5. Temperamental artist ahead... beware!

Some artists let their ego get in the way of making your project go through smoothly. Not me... I'll give you the benefit of my experience.. then you make the final decision. You know your business better than anyone else and I know I can help you increase your sales through solid marketing strategy and world class design... no ego to get in the way over here!

6. Are they order takers or are they giving you MORE?

You don't want an order taker. Order takers don't go that extra mile to give you MORE than what you asked for. Order takers take the fastest route to finishing a project.
Sure, I'll listen to what you want. I will listen to your suggestions. But I've found that the best way to make you very happy is to ADD to what you are telling me... make suggestions that can improve on your project and make it SELL.


7. Experienced or are they trying to be experienced?

Check out your freelancer's web site.... if you see high profile projects (like you will see on my web site: http://www.digitalartist.com) then you know that the "big guys" have trust in your freelancer and that you can too. If you see lots of "low end" assignments that's a clear indication that either the freelancer is just very good or they are just starting out. If they are just starting out... be careful. The files they send you could have problems that could end up being very expensive for you in the long run. You don't have to worry about that when we work together.


Bottom line.... I'm the guy you want to work with. My prices are fair and reasonable, I'm totally professional and with my marketing background, MY DESIGNS ARE DESIGNED TO SELL.

Call me now, let's talk about your assignment and I'll give you a quote on the spot!
914-682-0114

I'll get back to you....

We've heard it before...

"I'll get back to you on that project... your quote sounds reasonable"

"I'll send you the files, then you can give me a quote"

"We're looking at 2 other designers... I'll let you know either way"

Then nothing. Nada.

Do you call them back or do you just wait and wait and then decided... oh well, I don't have that assignment.

There are some artists that make it a point to get the person's name, company, e-mail and phone number BEFORE they listen to the project and then give a quote.

Personally, I feel that if I give the person who is calling for a quote all the info they need to know so that they can come to an informed decision about who to hire, they will call me back and give me the project.

I make it a point to instill confidence that when I take their project ( and I don't take a project unless I feel I can hit a home run for them) that it will be done at the highest level professionalism... that it will SELL.

I also feel that "tracking down" someone who isn't motivated to use my services to help them, isn't someone that I want to do business with. If they were price shopping for the cheapest designer, then they are not really serious about succeeding.

I want to work with people that understand that to make it in this tough economy they need someone like me who can really help them... that I offer more than just a "pretty picture"... that there's marketing thinking behind the designs. That spending a little more they get a lot more.

Bottom line: Don't spend time tracking down people who are poor prospects.

Bad News/Good News

Well folks it's been a busy, busy summer for me... between work and going to Burning Man (www.burningman.com) but now that the dust has settled, I'm back to discuss the subject of how bad news could really be good news.

I recently completed 75% of a major web site when I got a call to "stop work". It seems that there was a change of command and the new group of folks wanted a chance to review what was being done.

Now one way of looking at it is: BAD NEWS.

Are the new group of people looking to replace me with someone they know?
Are the new people happy with the work I did?
Are there any problems or issues that I don't know about?

Yes... all these questions popped into my head... but then I stopped and said to myself...

"Hold on! This could turn out to be good news.. in fact it could be great news! I remembered that the Chinese ideogram for "crisis" is made up of two characters signifying "danger" and "opportunity".

Since I know that everyone loved and approved my work to date, it could be that if the new people in charge wanted some major changes made to their site, I would be able to charge my AA (Author's alteration) fees that were spelled out in detail in my signed agreement with them... and that's good news.

Or if they want to take it from the top with an entirely new design, there would be additional opportunities to earn more money.... yes more good news!

Bottom line: A successful freelancer has to make sure that all parties are aware of any additional fees that might occur AFTER approvals are given. As long as everything is done correctly from the start and no one is surprised, you will continue to have a good working relationship with your clients... which will lead to more opportunities for you to make more money in the future.

You are your clients partner

All successful freelancers know that their clients are really their partners. There's no them and me, it's us.

What's good for your clients is good for you. Help them grow and you will grow with them. This means more projects, more profits.

I just finished a project for a brand new client... and guess what... more business will be following because I've helped my client in such a way that he feels that I'm already one of his trusted "inner circle". Of course it starts with doing a great job... if you don't deliver the "goods" then you will never get another project.

But what I did was save his butt (that's my job)... I created several pieces in record time and didn't charge rush. Some of you might be thinking... that's crazy... you stayed up until 12:30 in the morning and didn't charge extra?

Well folks, that's what being a freelancer is all about... working when other "salaried" people won't or can't work. My client was thrilled by how great his project came out and the fact that he didn't get raked over the coals when he was in a position where the assignment and timing were very critical.

Bottom line... don't go for a one project "killing"... go for the long haul. Become your clients partner and you too can be a successful freelancer.

Being more profitable

You've heard the expression "time is money" well as a freelancer that is the absolute truth. Working with your client efficiently will free you up for more projects or more leisure time... (win-win).

So how do you work more efficiently? By thinking ahead.

For example, I'm working on a major web site now and my processes is to get an approval on the home page before I show an interior page.

Now my client was expecting one interior page, but I noticed that there were actually 3 different major interior pages (one for one type of chart (30 pages), one for another type of chart (30 pages) and one for basic information (10 pages) so I presented all 3 in 2 different versions.

All my client had to do was pick which background they liked best and which navigation structure they liked best.

Sure, I spent more time doing the work, but in the long run it was more efficient to do so and it made my client feel better seeing the differences before I went into the entire site.

Bottom line... sometimes it pays to spend more time to make the project go faster... then it becomes more profitable!

You've got the job.. now what?

OK, so you have a new client and a new assignment now. What do you do?

Well the "knee jerk" response is usually... do a great job!

WRONG. That's not enough.

You want your client to come back to you and only you. To do that you should also be educating your client about all the "extras" you are handling to make their project really fly.

Now as a designer you might be doing things all the time that are second nature to you. BUT for other designers not as experienced, if they miss these things there could be production problems.

For example... all the photos your client sent. You checked them to see if they were high res or low res, you checked to see if they were RGB or CMYK and then made the correct mode change for the medium they were sent for. You might have removed clipping paths. That Illustrator file... you got rid of hidden layers that could print. How about all those Photoshop files where you discard color profiles that could screw things up.

How about talking to the printer. When you did an animated banner.. all the work involved to make sure the banners didn't exceed the max sizes demanded by Google or other companies.

Bottom line... doing a great design job is important.. but just as important is educating your client to all the extra benefits there are when they work with you. That you are giving them more than just a great design, you are giving them files that will the printers will love. That they won't be spending more money getting corrections done at the printer. Or that your web files will work across all browsers. When your clients trust you, you will get more business.