If we talk about virtual assistance, there are “universal” types of clients and almost all freelancers or entrepreneurs find themselves dealing with “difficult clients” every day.
We don’t consider the category of customers who do not pay, because not only it is obvious, but above all we have the conviction about it, which is part of our business philosophy: if a customer doesn’t want to pay it isn’t their fault because you, as a VA, didn’t set the conditions from the start, you didn’t ask for advance payment and, in short, you didn’t make yourself respected.
Soooo, here are the types of customers to avoid:
The eternal indecisive
You know, the one who first wants to use Mailchimp, then ActiveCampaign, then Benchmark. Or maybe it’s not the time to send the newsletter yet, better start with Facebook. Then after a couple of days making the newsletter becomes a priority when obviously you’re working on the contents of Facebook.
And let’s not talk about the graphics, with the eternal indecisive it can become a journey of no return. “Let”s make it lemon yellow, or maybe it’s better apple green. Hmmmm, why don’t we make it pink?” You get the point, right? On our end, it is always important to establish conditions and try as much as possible to take the reins, otherwise such a type of customer will steal years of life from you!
The control freak
The one who wants you to set up a site in WordPress but doesn’t give you access, so you have to run after him, beg to get the information that you need. The control freak is also paranoid, let’s face it, they always think you can screw them up or that you can do some irreversible damage to them, and working with such a person becomes really unpleasant.
The absent
They’re the type of customer who contacts you with the best of intentions, but then, go find out why, they disappear. And we’re not talking about those who disappear after a quote, which has now become “a thing”, we’re talking about those customers that already paid, but in one way or another fail to be present to allow a fruitful collaboration for both.
The pundit
It is a very specific customer who, despite working in a completely different field or took a mini-course, thinks they know everything about the online world and has become an expert in digital strategies and, therefore, wants to tell you what to do.
Or, even if they don’t tell you what to do, they’re constantly there to step in with their suggestions on which platform or tool to use because they’ve seen a video of someone suggesting it.
Collaborating with a client of this type can become difficult because you, as a professional, feel undervalued because your expertise is called into question.
Remember that a VA is not a secretary who is told what to do, but a specialized professional who helps clients, advise them on what to do or how to optimize their business.
We're curious to know if you too have had experiences with customers of this type, or maybe with others that you want to share with us in the comments!