面对现实吧。某一天，你真想炒了你的客户。经历了太多竞争，一再被指责，总是在修正计划：你已经受够了。这件事每个人都经历过，而且还会再次遭遇：到了项目执行结束才发现还不如去麦当劳烤汉堡赚钱多。欣慰的是，对于大部分常见问题，我们做了一些简单的指导方针来帮助你确保自己的收入超过低保。
恰当的勤奋
“老手掌握资料，鲜有臆断。”-Colin Powell
清楚你的角色
    记住，客户对于产品和服务总是知道得比你多。对于自己做的事，他们是专家；他们的问题通常出在表达不清。那就是你，作为设计者，介入提供的帮助。你是一个图式交流武士，但为了弄清楚你的，以及最终弄清你客户的想法，你必须完全知道该说什么。
    一开始，优先获取尽可能多的信息，这些信息包括公司、他们的产品或者服务、你作品的预期受众以及它必须存在的原因。准备的越好，开工前收集的信息越充分，他们就会越快接受你的设计，你也会早些拿到报酬。用充溢的资料组织一幅图景，有条理的描绘你正努力获取的成就，再借由你的判断力从这团乱麻中指出美好所在。
选择正确的客户
“别以为能让每个人都满意。” -37signals
    记住你努力的一部分是确保计划适合你。你不是万能的超人，如果自以为是，你不仅会显得很傻，而且还会失去金钱。
    记住Vilfredo Pareto原则:80%的产出来自20%的努力。换句话说，你80%的收入来自20%的客户，那么专心对付好的那些，炒掉差的吧！保持你的优势，不惧怕推掉项目。最后，每个人，包括你的客户，情况都会好起来。
我重申……    不要试图接受办公桌上的每一个项目，即使你已经开始了。这样做将会减少客户大量麻烦。选择两三件优势项目来做，建立起好名声，你就会吸引那些想在此领域中寻找天才的客户，接下来，他们会愿意为服务付出大价钱。哈佛商学院教授Michael Proter称，在价格和质量间你能保持一项有竞争力的优势，而且只有一项。专注于你的优势，建立良好名声，那么你再也不用打价格战了。
交流
“交流的关键在于听清言下之意。”-Peter F. Drucker
禅的方法 


    禅的哲学教你用初心 面对每一个任务。也许在自学粒子物理时容易做到初心，但面对整天、每天都在做的事情时就难了。努力尝试把自己当初学者；你就能更好的理解、感受客户的观点。你也会发现，行话说得少（像初学者那样组织语言），客户能更快的接受你的观点并转化为他们自己的看法，这样做促使你成为客户所在机构的圣人，也让你的生活更轻松了。
    但是获得初心并不简单，不像改掉骄傲自大的专业腔那样。你得像初学者那样处理每一次谈话和交流，不带期望和先入之见。没有了假定和先入之见得帮助，你不得不问更多的问题，从客户得到更多信息；就像那样，你得工作会变得简单。
    声明：如果禅对你来说太新潮了，记住这句格言：假设带来蠢事。
听出言下之意
    当客户说：能把那字弄大点儿么？
    客户的意思是：字体也许有些难看认。你觉得呢？
    每个人都害怕“把字弄大点儿”这种话，而且每个人（好吧，几乎每个人）大都会退缩，然后痛苦的投降。当面对客户要求修改设计，特别是那些没有接受过设计培训的客户，收起你设计者的自尊并问清问题很重要。你应该弄清楚客户真实的意思。在对设计做出修改之前，停一会儿，让客户解释开工前研讨会议上你为此设计勾勒出的特定目标。（你确实设定了特定的目标，对吧？）
助你达成的小提示：

·     坦诚提问(但别得罪人)。别再讨论中吵起来。

·  使用 特性/利益（ feature/benefit） 术语以及平实的语言，不要设计腔。

·  使用 是/否 提问迫使客户透露真实想法（比如，“你是否觉得这个字体难认？”）

·  虚心受教。（没人喜欢过分敏感的艺术家。）

    专注于目标而不是实现方法，客户会理解你正努力为他们的利益做事，而不是白拿钱。噢，别忘了你收起的自尊：现在已经不是对你作为一个设计者的技能长篇抨击的时候了。没人关心这个；客户只想要实用的设计，而且在给自己老板展示时颇觉得意。
说到做到
    但别累死。我听说过很多这种情况，客户跟设计者争论原始合同中的是非。如果客户要求你做明显超出合同范围的事，你有以下选择：
    1. 你可以做客户要求的，并不求回报。
    2. 你可以拒绝并坚持按照原始合同做。
    3. 你可以重新商议合同，在项目继续之前达成一个新的中间办法。
    并 没有唯一正确的答案；不同情况要区别对待。要是多做点儿不费事，那这么做可能值得(只要客户知道这是附加的)。要是说，新任务骇人听闻并且实现他们要占用 很多很多很多时间，跟客户开诚布公的谈谈是一个好主意。让他们知道你很愿意帮忙，但是签约的工作时间不够（毕竟你确实还有别的客户）完成这么多。
    如果你无偏见的处理所有事，态度积极（而不是要求别人）、待人平等，客户大都会提供更多的报酬。要是他们对多劳多得大发雷霆，好吧，他们也许已经把自己孤立为应该炒掉的客户了。
搞砸了要承认    然后尽力挽回。错误是允许的；人人都会时不时犯错。希望你不是个惯犯。常规是：意识到错误、开始补救得越早，最终情况会越好。任由时间流逝，错误不会消退，补救愈难，也许开始只是野营地上的小火，现在已成为你脚下地狱的烈焰。让它让路，弄干净空气并 继续干下去。客户会赏识你得坦诚，即使他/她对错误本身不太高兴。
临别寄语    希望你已经理解了。大多数可以算作“常见问题”的事都能避免，如果你已花时间做了恰当的努力而且与客户交流时采取了坚定而合作的态度，那问题就相当简单了。
    记住，客户不是累赘。他们带来幸福（为你买餐桌上的面包）。但是你们的关系应该一直互利互惠。你通过做那些，假设是你喜欢的工作赚钱，客户拿到漂亮实用的东西。希望你们在读完这篇文章之后都学到了东西。
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8 Strategies For Successful Relations With Clients
Let’s face it. Some days, you want to just fire your clients. You go through one too many comps, iterations or edits and you’ve had enough. It has happened to everyone at least once and I’d be lying if I said it won’t happen again; you get to the end of a project and realize that you would have made more per hour flipping burgers at McDonald’s. Thankfully, as with most common problems, there are a few simple guidelines that you can follow to help make sure that you’re never working for below minimum wage.
Due Diligence“Experts often possess more data than judgment.” -Colin Powell
Know your roleRemember that the client will always know more about their product or service than you do. They are the expert at what they do; their problem is usually that they don’t know how to explain it well. That is where you, as the designer, step in to help. You are a graphical communications ninja, but to effectively make your, and ultimately your client’s, point you must fully understand what needs to be said.

From the outset, make it a priority to get as much information as possible about the company, their product or service, the intended audience of your work and the reason that your work needs to exist. The better prepared you are and the more information you get out of the client before you start working, the quicker your design will be accepted, and the quicker you will get paid. Use that overflow of data from the client to form a coherent picture of what you’re trying to accomplish and then use your good judgment to make something beautiful from the madness. By spending ample time collecting information, you have allowed the client to share their knowledge and participate in the project. This is a good thing. When clients feel they are part of the process they are less likely to question the design decisions you make.
Hire the right customers“If you try and please everyone, you won’t please anyone.” -37signals
Remember that part of your due diligence is making sure that the project is a good fit for you as a designer. You cannot be everything to everyone, and if you try to be, you will not only look bad, you’ll lose money.
Remember the principle that carries the Vilfredo Pareto name: 80% of the output will come from 20% of the input. In other words, you will make 80% of your income from 20% of your clients, so focus on the good ones and fire the bad ones. Stay true to your strengths and don’t be afraid to pass on a project. In the end, everyone, including your client, will be better off.
I repeat…Don’t try to take on every project that comes across your desk, even when you’re starting out. This will preclude a large percentage of your client problems. By picking your two or three biggest strengths and building a solid reputation, you will attract clients who are looking for a genius in your fields of choice and who, consequently, will be willing to pay well for the service.
The Harvard Business professor Michael Porter states you can hold a competitive advantage in one, and only one, of two areas: price or quality. Focus your efforts on your strengths, build a solid reputation and you’ll never be forced to compete on price again.
Communication“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” -Peter F. Drucker
Approach all communication with a Zen mind
original image by isa_adsr
Zen philosophy teaches you to approach every task with a beginner’s mind. This is simple when you’re trying to teach yourself hyper-astro-meta-particle physics, but not as easy as you think when it comes to something you do all day, every day. Try hard to put yourself in the shoes of a beginner; you will be more apt to understand and sympathize with your client’s point of view. You will also find that by using less jargon (by assuming the language of a beginner) your client will understand and internalize your point much more quickly, which in turn helps to create an evangelist for your work in your client’s organization, which always makes your life easier.
But adopting a beginner’s mind isn’t as simple as dropping your haughty design-speak in favor of a fifth grade vocabulary. You need to approach each conversation or communication as a beginner does, with no expectations and no preconceived notions. Without the benefit of assumptions or preconceived notions, you will be forced to ask more questions and in turn draw more information out of the client; and just like that, your job will have gotten easier. Disclaimer: If all this Zen stuff is too new age for you, just remember the old adage: When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.
Listen for what isn’t thereWhat the client says: Can you make that text just a little bigger?
What the client means: This font might be a little hard to read. What do you think?
Everyone fears the dreaded “Make this text bigger” line, and everyone (well, almost everyone) has probably cringed and then painfully capitulated. When faced with clients asking for design changes, especially from those clients who don’t have any design training (let alone a good eye for design), it’s important to check your design ego at the door and ask a few pointed questions. What you really need to find out is what the client actually means. Before doing anything to the design, pause for a moment and ask the client to explain what it is about the design that doesn’t accomplish the specific goals you outlined in the pre-work discovery meetings. (You did set specific goals, didn’t you!?)
Here are a few tips to help you get to the point:

· Ask blunt questions (but tactfully). Don’t start or get hauled into arguments.

· Use feature/benefit terminology and plain language, not design-speak.

· Use yes/no questions that push the client to reveal what they really think (e.g. “Do you think this font is hard to read?”).

· Take criticism well. (No one likes an overly sensitive artist.)

By your focusing on the goals rather than the implementation, clients will understand that you are trying to use your craft for their benefit, not just to take their money. Oh, and a note about that ego you left at the door: now is not the time to go into a diatribe about your profession or your skill as a designer. No one cares; your client just wants a functional design that they can be proud of when they show it to their boss.
Do what you said you were going to do
But don’t die by the contract. I’ve heard of many situations where clients and designers get into arguments about what was and wasn’t in the original contract. If the client comes to you with something that is obviously beyond the scope of the contract, you have a few choices:

1.          You can do what the client wants and ask for nothing more in return.

2.          You can refuse to do it and stick to what the original contract said.

3.          You can try to renegotiate the contract to a new middle ground before continuing work on the project.

There isn’t any one right answer here; different situations call for different actions. If you’re not going to get badly burned by going the extra mile, it will probably be worth it (so long as the client knows you’re hooking them up). That said, sometimes the new request is outrageous and would take many, many hours to implement. In those situations, it is a good idea to be open, talk it through with the client, make it known that you’d love to help but it would be too much of a time commitment (you do have other clients, after all) for the current numbers to work out.
If you approach things with an open mind, with a positive attitude (instead of a demanding one) and on an even playing field, the client will generally help you out with a bit more cash. And if they are livid at the thought of paying you more money for more work, well, they may have just singled themselves out as a client who needs to be fired.
Admit it when you screw upThen do everything possible to make it right. Mistakes are okay; everyone makes them from time to time. Hopefully you’re not a habitual offender. But the general rule is: the sooner you recognize the mistake and take the heat for it, the better off you’ll be in the long run.
By letting more time pass, the mistake only grows and becomes more difficult to cover up, and the heat that was originally a small and controlled campfire is now the roaring flames of hell licking at the bottoms of your feet. Get it out of the way, clear the air and get on with it. Your client will appreciate your candor and honesty, even if he or she isn’t that happy about the problem itself.
Parting ShotHopefully you’ve started to catch on here. Most of the things that can be counted as “common problems” are fairly easy to circumvent, especially if you put in your time doing your due diligence on the front end and adopt a firm but cooperative attitude in your client communications.
Remember, clients aren’t supposed to be a burden. They are a blessing (they are buying the bread on your table after all). But the relationship should always be mutually beneficial. You are getting paid to do what you, presumably, love to do, and the client is getting something beautiful and functional. Hopefully, you’re both learning a little something along the way.