STOP LOSS: Event Cancellation Insurance

YOU’VE NAILED DOWN the venue, secured the hotel rooms, booked the speakers and signed the contracts. But as we learned so graphically on Sept. 11, some things are beyond even the best planner’s control.

What if the show can’t go on? The consequences — particularly for a corporation staking big bucks on a marketing event or for an association that gains most of its revenue from an annual conference — can be dire. One safety net is event cancellation insurance, which can protect your event investment against snowstorms, strikes, earthquakes and other catastrophes.

Known as “business interruption insurance” in other industries, cancellation policies are valuable even when an event isn’t a complete wash. Paulette Norman, assistant vice president of insurance company Seabury & Smith, Park Ridge, Ill., says it’s important to keep in mind that claims can be filed for expenditures due to unforeseen circumstances. For example, she says, a group meeting in Dallas during a heat wave was worried that attendees wouldn’t want to make the open-air walk from their hotels to the convention center. Its policy covered the cost of air-conditioned busses to ferry attendees back and forth.

Whether planners should invest in cancellation insurance depends upon how important an event is to an association or corporation financially and what kind of risk it is assuming. “If you’re holding a board of directors meeting for 65 people that wouldn’t generate income and was inexpensive to hold, there’s no point,” explains James M. Goldberg, an attorney with Washington-based Goldberg & Associates. “But if it’s a big annual event for 3,000 people that’s a major source of revenue, definitely think about insuring.”

“It’s a calculation,” agrees Jonathan T. Howe of the Chicago-based law firm of Howe & Hutton Ltd. “If you’re holding an event for 12 people, it’s probably not worth it. But if the event is for 1,200, definitely.”

Planners can’t rely on a venue’s liability coverage. Howe notes that if a convention center burns down, the venue’s policy will help the owner construct another building — but it won’t help a displaced conference find another meeting site. Likewise, a liability policy would cover the group if someone were injured at the meeting, Goldberg says, but wouldn’t help a canceled event recoup lost profits and expenses.

COVERAGE AND COST

The rule of thumb is that cancellation insurance covers perils that are beyond the control of a planner, such as inclement weather, a principal speaker dropping out, strikes, outbreaks of disease and so on.

What the insurance won’t cover is poor planning. You can’t buy a policy to cover meetings scrapped because a company went bankrupt or losses due to low attendance because of a lack of interest or poor marketing.

The cost of a policy depends on variables such as where and when the meeting is scheduled and the budget. In the wake of 9/11, the standard cost of about 45 cents per $100 of exposure has doubled, according to Eileen Hoffman, assistant vice president of Aon Association Services, Washington. The cost varies with the season, with prices higher in winter than in spring, summer and fall. Coverage for areas at risk for earthquake and severe weather such as hurricanes can rise above $1 per $100 of exposure. “It’s all about timing and location,” Hoffman adds.

Because it is a smaller, more specialized market, cancellation insurance isn’t standardized, as term life insurance is, and it is written on a policy-by-policy basis, says Goldberg, who estimates that about half his meeting clients purchase insurance. He notes that policies can cover multiple meetings or just one event.

WHEN TO BUY

The earlier you purchase cancellation insurance, the sooner it can start working for you. Hoffman says coverage begins as soon as premiums are paid and extends to five days after the event, to cover things such as extra expenses if hired trucks or moving people don’t show to break down exhibits. The insurance can be purchased up to one month before an event begins or as far out as a year in advance. Coverage purchased well before an event can be vital if something happens to the facility at which your event is booked, she notes, explaining that the policy would cover costs incurred to relocate.

Lou Novick, president of Rockville, Md.-based Novick Group, remembers one group with a conference planned at the Fontainebleu in Miami not long after Hurricane Andrew. The group was able to file a claim to cover $100,000 in expenses for moving events to other hotels in the area, and another $10,000 to inform attendees of the changes.

Insurance also is usually less expensive if purchased far in advance. Insurers increase the price, theorizing that the closer the event is, the more desperate a group must be for coverage.

Goldberg urges planners not to make a commitment before getting at least two price quotes and reviewing the policies carefully to determine what is not covered. “For example, some companies opted to exclude coverage for terrorist attacks and incidents,” he notes.

Michelle Holmes, vice president of Washington-based Rust Insurance, adds that 9/11 was “devastating” for this class of insurance business. She cautions, “In my opinion, another major catastrophe could make this coverage unobtainable.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Above all, everyone interviewed agrees that planners should, at the very least, consider a cancellation policy if their event is of fiscal importance to the organization — even though, as Novick notes, less than one percent of those who take out policies file claims.

“You’re going to see an even greater trend toward this kind of coverage thanks to the volatile nature of the financial market,” Holmes predicts. “People are less willing to take the loss upon themselves.”

Soucre – BETH NEGUS VIVEIROS, SpecialEvents.com

Invitations Etiquette

Your first step to successful entertaining is a properly extended invitation. Keep these tips in mind if you plan to entertain this autumn and winter: and whenever you plan to entertain.

TIMING
For those special events, such as weddings and when guests must travel, do extend invitations about 60 days in advance. Extend invitations to formal events at least 30 days in advance. For informal get-togethers less notice is acceptable, about two to three weeks should suffice, although more notice is practical, especially if the party is planned during the busy holiday season.

METHOD
The best parties begin the moment the guest receives their invitation. Take care in choosing the style and method in which you plan to notify your guests. The invitation should reflect the style of the event: Special and formal events traditionally require written invitations sent via regular mail, although it is increasingly popular to use the various on-line invitation services, such as Evite, for even fairly formal events. Invitations to informal events can be extended via telephone, email, fax, on-line services, or postal mail.

CONTENTS
Whether you plan to extend the invitation in writing or orally, be sure to include all pertinent information. If inviting over the telephone, jot down your facts and read it so you’ll be sure to remember everything.

All invitations should contain:

Who:	The hosts of the party John and Mary Jones request the pleasure of your company
What:	Purpose of party at a Holiday Dinner Party
Date:	Both the day and date are helpful on Friday, December 12, 2003
Time:	Start and ending times 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Location:	Specific site of the event At home 123 Terrific Lane San Francisco
Attire:	Any special information that will make your guests comfortable Informal Evening Attire
Response:	How and by what date to respond and to whom Your kind response is appreciated by Monday, December 1 to Jane Smith 415-123-4567 or Jane@whatever.com

FORGET REGRETS!
Eliminate phrases such as Regrets Only or Acceptances Only. Despite your best intentions, these phrases rarely work as desired. Guests should know they must respond to all personal invitations (See Etiquette Tip of the Month on the RSVP).

ADDRESSES
While it is tempting to utilize ever-increasing technology and use database-generated labels on social and business invitations, you should avoid this practice at all cost! Write invitations by hand or give the appearance of having each envelope personally handwritten or nicely typewritten through your printer.

Traditional etiquette for formal invitations states that each word be spelled out completely on your invitations, including Street, Apartment, and state name.

Be mindful of using the proper honorific when sending invitations and addressing the envelope. Honorific and proper titles can be abbreviated, such as Mr., Ms., Mrs., and Dr. For doctors, use M.D. or Ph.D. on the envelope and Dr. in the salutation, never both.

When addressing an envelope to a couple with one person having a higher rank and status than the other, the higher ranking person—regardless of age or gender—takes precedence over the other person. For example, Senator Dianne Feinstein would go on the top line above her husband, Mr. Richard Blum.

Couples with the same last name can be addressed together as Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jefferson. Couples with different last names may be listed on one line as Mr. Ron Hildebrand and Ms. Syndi Seid or on two separate lines as Ms. Syndi Seid (next line) Mr. Ron Hildebrand. Unmarried couples are listed on two separate lines. If you are not sure of marital status, list the names on separate lines.

EXTRA GUESTS
Unless an invitation indicates a guest is included, only the person listed on the invitation is to attend … Hint, hint: uninvited guests are NOT to attend. As the host, if you welcome a single friend or family member bringing a guest, and do not know that person’s name, add “and Guest” so the primary invited person will know they may extend the invitation on your behalf.

When sending a formal invitation with both an outer and inner envelope, address the outer envelope to the primary invited person at that address only, with the inner envelope stating, “Mr. John Jones and Guest“.

For an informal party, address the outer envelope to include the invited person only. Add a handwritten note to the invitation extending the invitation to a guest. Just as guests should never assume they may bring an uninvited guest, the host should never assume the primary invited person will know they are welcome to bring a guest, unless the invitation is extended.

Source – Advanced Etiquette

Succeeding at the Subtle Art of Venue Negotiation

 

Choosing the right venue for your event is the first step towards achieving the objective of your occasion. And since most planners are working with a budget, it is important to find the right balance of price, quality and accessibility.

The good news is that most cities offer a wide-range of event spaces to choose from. Each site offers their own unique set of advantages and drawbacks, which makes it critical for planners to master the ability to negotiate through the extremes. The guidelines below will help you gain maximum leverage on all of your site visits.

Know Your Options
There are several pieces of information you need in order to negotiate effectively. The date, time and projected attendance of your event are the obvious ones. From there I recommend having two alternative dates to work with. Get these dates approved with your speakers and committee members in advance so that you can move quickly if needed. Reservation opportunities can disappear fast and you don’t want to be stuck waiting for calls from your key decision makers.

Change Your Perspective
The sales staff at the hotel or banquet center has one main objective: To fill their property with paying customers each and every day. Planners are often so focused on their own needs that they lose sight of this fact. While meeting the expectations of your group is important, negotiating with “tunnel vision” can cause you to overlook second and third options that could provide a significant discount. Your best position is to keep your event date open for discussion. Remember, the dates your sales person needs to fill will be considerably easier to negotiate prices on.

Big Picture Bidding Strategies
No one wants to be surprised with unforeseen costs, which is why you really can’t dig deep enough into your price comparisons. Expense categories like room rental, food and speaker fees are expected and planners usually have them accounted for. But what about incremental items like audio/visual, parking, transportation and security? Not only can these expenses cut into your budget, but many of them are eligible for negotiation during the contract process.

Production Costs and Profit Margins
Your sales contact is going to lead off with their list prices for everything. It is basically up to you to identify what items have the best potential for savings. Things like food and staffing are tricky to negotiate because they have fixed costs attached that the venue has to pay. However, rental fees on items like hotel rooms, audio/visual equipment and facility usage are much less formula-driven. In other words, their prices are not directly tied to expenses. These are the items that offer you the largest amount of wiggle room for price discussions.

Price vs. Quality
There is a running joke in the restaurant industry that says a customer can choose two of the following three features: Price, Quality or Speed. The point is, you can’t have it all unless you are willing to pay for it. I would say this joke also applies well to the event business. It is quite possible to negotiate your way out of a successful event if you cut the margins too thin. Tread carefully when it comes to things like food quality and staffing levels. Ignoring your site coordinator’s recommendations because of cost could have you living on the edge of your seat during the event.

Work With the Venue
I’ve worked with several customers who opted to take a “me against them” approach to planning their function. In my opinion you’ll get a lot more out of your experience by maintaining an open dialogue about everything. Don’t be afraid to share your budget numbers or cost concerns with your venue coordinator. Remember, they want your business now and in the future! Tell them how you love the way their lighting package brightens the room, but you simply can’t afford it on your budget. If they enjoy working with you then you just might find those lights “accidentally left on” for your event.

Source – By Geoff Beers, About.com

 

10 Common Mistakes Event Planners Make

By Julius Solaris
www.juliusolaris.com

Technology and social media are changing the way we produce, plan and promote events. Here is a quick sum up of common errors made by you and I when planning an event.

I promise I will avoid any melodramatic view. I won’t say you will be out of business if you don’t follow my advice.

However I’ve tried all the tips below and they worked for me. I have also reverse engineered some of the advice after analyzing the events I respect, no award-winning/we-are-so-great crap.

1. Too Much Social Media

Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, Join our Group on Linkedin, Read our Blog, Watch our Videos on Youtube.

Hey, calm down!

You do not need to be everywhere. Events with a small, cared for presence (possibly in channels where potential attendees hang out) earned my respect over time.

To continue reading click here.

An Event Proposal Template You Can Use

 

Every event needs an event proposal. Here’s how to build a great event proposal template that you can utilize time and time again, it’s great because it’s simple and because you can modify it to fit any of your event needs.

Whether you’re planning a small department party or a grand charity gala the most appropriate way to present your event to clients or management is by creating an event proposal. This is the most serious and professional way to go about planning your event and actually the most appropriate way to keep your own organizational sanity.

What is an Event Proposal?
An event proposal is basically the business plan of your event. It starts with an “executive summary” and goes on to cover every detail of the event.

Why do I need to have an event proposal?
You need an event proposal so that everyone on your team and everyone you’re working for are clear on what the event is about, know all the details of the event and can refer to it if any questions arise during your absence.
Imagine a situation when a venue calls to confirm the dates for an event you’re organizing and you’re out of the office and can’t be reached. The event proposal is something that your team can refer to for this vital information. Yes this seems unlikely however it has happened in the past especially for events that are happening far in advance or when multiple events are running at the same time.

Keep in mind that the event proposal will be viewed by many different stakeholders; marketers, finance, potential sponsors etc. Each with their own goals and targets, therefore the proposal should be general enough to paint the overall picture yet specific for each party to be able to make decisions based on the details provided in the proposal. Click here for an example of how your stakeholders will be reading and analyzing the event proposal.

Event Proposal Template in Detail:

I find it most useful to use my own custom made event template based on a number of templates I’ve used in the past and a number of non event planning templates. When you’re presenting your event idea listen and note the questions you are being asked, then incorporate them into the event proposal.

You’ll find a great event proposal sample here.

Introduction: In this section you are introducing your event, this is where you “write to impress.”  Use this space to sell your event by introducing the event concept, the event title and outline the event program.

Venue/Entertainment/Food & Beverage: This section will expand on your introduction and cover the main questions about the event; this is where you answer the 4W’s [Who, What, Where and When.]

Event Logistics: This is one of the more complex parts of the event proposal template and I suggest using an event planning template to complete this section. In this section you will explain how exactly you are going to attain what you’re promising in the first two sections. For example: how much are tickets going to cost, how are the invitations/registrations going to be managed, will this be an evening or daytime event? Will you be purchasing event liability insurance or just event cancellation insurance? Provide a detailed description of all products, giveaways, brochures, flyers, etc. intended for distribution at the event.

Finance: Your budget proposal, your anticipated expenses and anticipated revenue from the event. This is the place to state how you are going to report on the finances and how often.

Marketing: Present a general marketing strategy for your event or how you are going to work with the marketing department to market the event. Talk about your target audience and what need you are fulfilling with your event and why you think it is going to be successful. In addition: list PR companies, media coverage, celebrities and sponsors that you are going to be working with. Note: depending on the size of the event you might need to create and use a sponsorship proposal template when working with event sponsors.

Additional Points to Mention:

Key people: Who is on your team? What departments will you be working with and who is accountable for what. List all the key people who are going to be involved in producing this event and get approval for these names. You don’t want to be planning an event mid way and discovering that your marketing manager is tied up in two other events. Click here for more great tips on event proposals.

Important to Remember: The physical appearance of the proposal is important. Make it presentable, something that you wouldn’t be ashamed to show to a company CEO. It should be professional, appealing, exciting and to the point.

Source – Event Management Tales

 

Top 9 Catering Considerations When Planning an Event Menu

When planning the food and beverage for any event, it’s important for event planners to consider several “not-so-obvious” catering menu planning items to help ensure a successful program. Consider the following when planning your menu:

1. Know Your Guest Profile

What is the profile of the guests being invited to the event? For example, most business people attend many events throughout the year, and the phrase “rubber chicken circuit” is common among political, business and fundraising circles (and others). To prevent your event from having this description, consider the following:

• The professional level of your guest.
• The frequency your guest attends similar events.
• The location where guests reside.
• The ethnic background of your guests.

2. Know Your Guest Preferences

Understanding the profile of your guest, this allows the event planner to begin considering what menu options to offer. The following will help you better plan to meet their needs:

• Older groups of attendees may prefer a milder menu.
• Attendees concerned about health may prefer more seafood and vegetable options.
• Younger or middle-aged attendees may prefer spicier, more adventurous meals.

The idea here is to consider what your guests will enjoy the most based on the type of event you are planning.

3. Provide Menu Choices

Anyone planning an event should offer several choices so that all guests will be pleased with what’s available. Some general guidelines:

• Offer at least two choices of entrees (three is better).
• Offer three or more salad dressing options.
• Serve all condiments on the side.
• Offer two dessert options: one very indulgent, one healthy.

4. Incorporate Seasonal and Fresh Items

When selecting the menu, the time of year should play a large factor in determining food and beverage. Take into consideration which items are in season for spring or winter menus. Another important factor is to consider the region or location of the event and popular food items from the area. Incorporate fresh seafood or regionally grown produce.

5. Select a Menu that Fits the Event Schedule

Sometimes the clock will be the greatest guide to determining the menu for an event. Some examples:

• Box lunches are best if you have 30 minutes or on the go.
• Plated meals usually requires at least 1.5 hours.
• Buffets may be finished in about 1 hour.
• Cocktail receptions require a minimum of 1 hour before dinner.
• Working breakfasts or lunches should incorporate menu items that can hold up for longer periods of time than others.

6. Anticipate Special Needs

Before any event, it is critical for an event planner to find out if any of the guests have a special need so that the catering manager can address those needs prior to the event. Considerations include:

• Food allergies
• Religious requirements
• Dietary restrictions

7. Allow for a Comfortable Room Setup

Choose the appropriate room layout that supports your event objectives. If you’re serving a meal, the tables will be filled with used dishes and glassware, in addition to binders, notepads and pens. That’s why it’s important to choose the best room setup, and allow space for people to move. Examples:

• Boardroom setup should be for a maximum of 15 guests.
• U-shape and rectangle table layout to promote discussion.
• Classroom style is great for a presentation.
• Banquet style promotes small group discussions.

Regardless of the setup, allow for people to spread out. Tip: Setup for 8 in a 10 person banquet table.

8. Create Ethnic or Regional Menus

I’m a huge fan of planning events that have ethnic-specific themes. This allows an event planner and the executive chef to work together to bring region-specific and international foods into your event, and this will definitely please guests. Common ethnic catering includes the following:

• Asian/Chinese/Japanese
• French
• German
• Greek
• Italian
• Mexican
• Middle Eastern

Source – Rob Hard, About.com

Event Team Management

You need a team to organize an event. You can’t do everything by yourself. So I don’t need to tell you further, how important a team is for your event. Event mismanagement is mostly about team mismanagement.

Do the following things for effective team management:

Know your team

Just knowing the names, faces and job profile of your team members is not enough. You must have good knowledge of their personality, life style, likings, disliking, family background, status, educational qualification, knowledge level, customs, religion and especially there needs and wants. By needs and wants I mean their physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, cognitive needs and self actualization needs.

Every person has different needs and different priority to fulfill them. While for some getting recognition is more important than job security. For others job security is more important. Determine the needs of your team members and fulfill them in order to get optimum results from them.

Physiological needs

The need to have food, water, warmth, shelter and other things necessary for survival.

Your team members will not feel anything, if these needs are met but can cause them discomfort, sickness and pain if these needs are not full filled. So as an event manager it is your job to make sure that all the physiological needs of your team are met from time to time. Just imagine how a team member who hasn’t eaten anything all day will perform his duty in the evening and you will get my point.

Safety needs

It includes need to be safe from physical and psychological harm. It also includes job security and financial security.

As an event manager you have to ensure safety of your team especially women. A person can’t give his best in an unsafe environment.

To protect your team from psychological harm, make sure there are no internal conflicts (like ego clashes, altercations, conflict of interest etc) among team members. If there are conflicts, then resolve them judiciously.

Providing job security to your team is also very important. At no point any team member should feel that his job is under threat either by your actions or by someone else actions.

Take care of your team beyond the work place. If any team member is facing a financial problem, then help him as much as you can.

Social needs

It is the need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. Need to love and be loved by friends, intimate partner, family and social groups like your team.

To fulfill this need, there must be cordial relationship between you and the team and among the team members. A team member will not perform his best if he has considerable family problems. Try whatever you can to reduce his family problems. If you can’t do much at least accept his problems and empathize with him. Try to reduce his stress by giving him a day off or engaging him in the sport he likes the most. Ask you team members to be as supportive to him as possible. All this will help.

People who have strong social needs should not be placed in a job where they have minimum interaction with people. They are the best for marketing or PR type jobs.

Esteem needs

It is the need to get respect, recognition, fame and status.

Some people have stronger esteem needs than the other. You will have to identify those team members who have strong esteem needs and then find ways to fulfill those needs. For e.g. if a person is working very hard to get recognition among the team members and you are not giving him the recognition he deserves (by openly praising him or giving him promotion) then sooner or later his motivation level will go down and he will not give optimum results or worst will not perform and quit.

Cognitive needs

It is the need to understand, learn, discover and explore.

People who have strong cognitive needs should not be placed in a job which is monotonous and which doesn’t offer any possibility of intellectual growth. Frankly speaking, people with strong cognitive needs are not suitable for event management jobs.

Self Actualization need

It is the need to be the best. It is the need to become everything, one is capable of becoming.

Very few people have that such type of need. If you have some one in you team with this need, then you have both advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is that you can always expect optimum results from him. The disadvantage is that he will tirelessly seek for the position of leadership and if he didn’t get it, then he will leave you soon and may even become your competitor.

Source – Event Education

Etiquette for Social Gatherings

Attending a social gathering requires knowing a few basic etiquette guidelines. There is proper etiquette–what attire to wear, how to RSVP and what to bring–for just about every social event. At times, all of these can seem a little overwhelming, especially when you consider that there is a whole different set of guidelines for business etiquette. Knowing a few basic etiquette principles will help you feel more comfortable during the evening. Remember to use common sense, and look for good examples of proper etiquette if you don’t know what to do.

Toasting

Understand the proper etiquette for toasting at a social gathering. Traditionally, the host offers the first toast, especially at formal occasions. Guests can offer the first toast at less formal occasions, such as dinner parties, to thank the host for bringing everyone together. Stand to deliver your toast while everyone remains seated unless otherwise instructed by the toaster. After the toast, the toastee raises his glass or bows his head in acknowledgement to say thank you but does not drink. Prepare your toast in advance so you know what to say; this prevents rambling. Keep it short and focused on the toastee and the event. Speak clearly with sincerity and confidence.

Greetings

Saying hello and goodbye to your host is proper etiquette for a social gathering. Greet the host within 10 minutes of arrival. A common greeting for North Americans and Europeans is a firm handshake. For situations where people are well-acquainted, a peck on the cheek is appropriate. Refrain from kissing in business situations because it can easily be misunderstood. Use a softer grip when greeting Asians and Middle Easterners because the handshake is a newer custom in those regions. Seek out your host to say thank you and goodbye. Always say goodbye to guests you know well or talked to for an extending period of time.

Dinner Table

Sitting down at the dinner table for a social gathering can be intimidating. Use the following guidelines as a starter for dinner table etiquette (here are many more detailed guidelines). Pass food dishes to the right around the table, but use common sense if someone a few spots down on your left asks for a dish. Use silverware starting from the outside in, and indicate you are finished by placing the silverware together at the 4 o’clock position on your plate. Place the napkin on your lap as soon as you are seated. Never ask for seconds, but graciously accept them when offered. If you’re unsure about proper etiquette, watch and follow good examples around the table.

Source – Erica Green, eHow

12 Breeds of Clients and How to Work with Them

There are loads of different types of clients out there and chances are at some point you’ll get to meet all of them. So let’s take a look through some typical clients and see if you recognize a few of your own in there!

Client Breed #1: The Low-Tech Client

How to Spot One:

Looks confused and disoriented when discussing anything high-tech, calls rather than emails, wants everything to be faxed. The Low-tech client needs to go through everything twice to get it, but will then happily take your advice.

The Highs:

The Low-tech client will rely solely on your sage wisdom for all things technology related. They will look to you as your technology saviour and will stroke your ego with their reverence of your knowledge and advice.

The Lows:

The low-tech client will need to be handheld through everything from setting up their email to opening up PDFs. Charge accordingly. They can also be particularly frustrating if they decide to ‘work it out themselves’. A Low-tech client’s idea of how a website should work for example is often not pretty.

How to Work With One:

The low-tech client needs to be handheld. Make sure everything technical about a job is in writing for them to reread at their leisure. This will save you a lot of time explaining things repeatedly. It’s also best to just accept that you will not be using a lot of the technology that makes our lives easier these days (email, online project management etc) and should instead budget in time for phone calls, faxes and face to face meetings.

It is very easy to start to patronize your low-tech client unintentionally. As you can imagine, this can damage your relationship and even worse hurt their feelings. Make sure you balance the playing field by asking for their input in the areas they know about – their business. This will keep them happy stop them feeling the need to weigh in on your area of expertise – which can waste everybody’s time.

Finally if you work in technology, make sure that your Low-tech client knows how to use whatever product you give them!

Client Breed #2: The Disinterested Client

How To Spot One:

The uninterested client is a strange beast – where most clients can’t wait to get involved in your work, the uninterested client just wants things done with as little effort from them as possible. You’ll spot an uninterested client on first meeting when you ask them questions about their business and are met with the minimal response. The uninterested client will rarely provide requested information or materials and will often ask you to complete tasks outside your area of expertise because they “don’t have time”.

The Highs:

An uninterested client will give you a lot of creative freedom, mostly because they have no interest in being involved. Their insistence that you “take care of it” may broaden your skill set and your ability to delegate to outside contractors. You may also gain experience making it work when you don’t have the information or materials you need.

The Lows:

The uninterested client will ask you to take care of everything from copywriting (when you’re a web designer) to flyer design (when you’re a copywriter). Sadly they will often not realize that this should incur extra cost. The uninterested client sometimes marries their lack of interest with wanting things done a certain way producing a very hard to deal with client.

How to Work With One:

It is best to get into good habits early with your uninterested client. A freelancer must be pushy with an uninterested client, so get used to calling and emailing repeatedly. A friendly and humorous tone is a great help when trying to push them along. An uninterested client generally isn’t trying to be rude and unpleasant, most of the time they’re very stressed and crying out for a little help. If you can be straight with them that extra work costs extra money, either take on that extra work if you can or use it as an opportunity to outsource.

A uninterested client is a tricky client, but if you manage to take care of them they often become very loyal, happy to have someone that ‘takes care of business’. Just make sure you are straight about costs, and be clear with yourself that nagging is unavoidable.

Client Breed #3: The Hands-On Client

How To Spot One:
The hands-On client is a frustrated artist, as soon as they walk in the door they will be telling you about their skill as an artist, illustrator, photographer or writer. The hands-on client already has a very specific idea about what they want and usually has very little interest in your thoughts on the matter.

The Highs: 
If you’re happy to just do exactly as they ask no matter what you might think of it, a hands-on client can be a good little earner. Almost always there is little confusion as to what the client wants to see and this can make these jobs easy.

The Lows:
If you feel you have an ethical responsibility to point out the flaws in your hands-on client’s directions, you are headed for conflict. Hands-on client’s secretly believe that they could do their job much better than you and that there is little or no specialist knowledge you could possibly impart.

One oddity about working with a hands-on client sometimes occurs when you give in your creative ambitions and agree to do it their way. All of a sudden your hands-on client may accuse you of making them do all the work or not doing your job. This can go as far as baulking on payment. Naturally this is highly infuriating.

How To Work With One:
When you find a hands-on client, the best thing to do is go with the flow. If you try to fight it you usually lose and the job winds up a lot harder than it needed to be. If your hands-on client knows exactly what they want, then power to them, recognise that and give it to them.

Often its a good idea to explicitly tell them that they seem to have a very specific idea of what they want and that you will be following their direction, however make it clear that if they would prefer; you are more than capable of doing it without their input.

Client Breed #4: The Paranoid Client

How To Spot One:
The legal papers come out almost immediately and are elaborate to say the least. A paranoid client will often not want to even discuss their project without getting you to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and be prepared for drafted agreement to be heavily pitched in their favour.

The Highs: 
If you work with a paranoid client, any legal agreement you sign should also be protecting you. So as long as you don’t breach any part the agreements you sign you should get paid.

The Lows:
You MUST get any major legal agreements looked at by a lawyer (and not the lawyer that works for them). As you would imagine, this can cost a lot of money that your client may not be willing to pay. Often within these documents are a whole list of grounds for the client dismissing you without payment. Grounds might be that you miss a deadline for whatever reason (even if the paranoid client is at fault).

From personal experience, I have always found the most paranoid clients are the ones who seem to have the most problems as well. This happens because they are always on the lookout for evidence that they are being ripped off or taken advantage of. Needless to say this means that you can easily wind up trying to straighten our points of legality with them rather than doing your job.

How To Work With One:
It is not worth working with a paranoid client for a small or low paying job. The risks far outweigh any possible gains. Besides, a personalized legal agreement is very expensive, so if they’re willing to spend a large sum on protecting their interests they should be paying you equally well.

For a large job with a big client you may wish to consider going for it, but even then factor lawyer’s fees into your quote. Most companies have legal agreements because they want to protect themselves or sensitive projects, but some paranoid clients use them in a predatory way. Remember that the paranoid client paid more to be protected, so you should quote more to make sure you get a fair deal.

Client Breed #5: The Appreciative Client

How To Spot One:
The appreciative client will shower you with praise and make you feel special – gosh I love an appreciative client!

The Highs: 
The appreciative client will make your life very easy as they’ll often pick the first version of the first draft and declare it perfect. They’re very enthusiastic and generally a delight to work with.

Even when the appreciative client does not like something they often word things in ways that make you happy to continue work on the project to get it pitch perfect.

The Lows:
They’ll make the rest of your clients look bad.

How To Work With One:
Sit back and enjoy the glory. Make sure you get them a very nice Christmas gift and throw in a freebie every now and then. An appreciative client is like gold to a freelancer, so do your best work and make them feel like a VIP.

Client Breed #6: The Get-a- Good-Deal Client

How To Spot One:
The get-a-good-deal client is a wheeler-dealer and believes that the price you first give is just a starting point for negotiations. You’ll know you have a get-a-good-deal client on your hands because agreeing on a price and job description always involves a bit of to and fro. Often times get-a-good-deal clients are successful entrepreneurial types who have haggled their way to wealth.

The Highs:
Get-a-good-deal clients are often great for getting repeat and referral work having their fingers in lots of pies and you can sometimes make deals that payoff well for you as well as them.

The Lows:
If you aren’t a good negotiator or you don’t recognise a get-a-good-deal client soon enough you can wind up feeling taken advantage of as they take whatever there is to be had. Unethical get-a-good-deal client’s are usually up for ‘no harm trying’ mentality that can see them trying to get out of paying for certain things or at their worst bullying you for more work or discounts.

How To Work With One:
The best way to deal with a get-a-good-deal client is to fight fire with fire so to speak. Taking a get-a-good-deal approach back on them usually negates their strengths and ensures that you cut a fair deal. This means coming in high and then lowering your prices and being very assertive on points of payment and workload.

Client Breed #7: The I’ll-Know-It -When-I-See-It Client

How To Spot One:
The I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client shares much in common with the uninterested client except in a more frustrating way. Their indecisiveness and inability to articulate what they are after makes them one of the few clients that it is generally best to steer clear of.

The Highs:
If you can produce the “It” for this type of client you can possibly win them over and turn the I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client into a very appreciative and trusting client who rejoices in having found someone who has their same ‘vision’.

The Lows:
If you don’t produce the “It” this type of client can quickly become highly frustrating as you stab frantically in the dark while worrying about blowing your budget and timeframe.

To make matters worse the I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It client often becomes agitated or unhappy with you if you don’t magically produce “It” leading to strained relations and a project that rapidly goes south.

How To Work With One:
In order to work with a I’ll-Know-It-When-I-See-It Client you need to remember two things:

– First be VERY clear with how much revisions cost. If you don’t do this you WILL blow your budget
– Second unless you can produce “It” you could be in for a rough project, accept this fact.

Client Breed #8: The Always-Urgent Client

How To Spot One:
All their emails are ‘highest priority’ and their couriers are always red-hot. They work on weekends and late into the night and think that everyone else does too. Additionally the always-urgent client often seems to think they are your only client and that their job should therefore be your highest priority as well as theirs.

The Highs: 
Since there is never any room for prolonging a job the always-urgent client will usually okay jobs relatively quickly. They often won’t have time to okay a quote so you end up charging by the hour.

The always-urgent client generally knows when they are being unreasonable and will do their best to pay you quickly, which is handy for cash flow.

The Lows:
The always-urgent client adds stress to your life, and if you want to keep them you may need to work late nights or over the weekend. You may also endure repeat late night phone calls and nonchalant requests that you build websites, organise photoshoots and produce detailed illustrations in oh… say a few hours!

How To Work With One:
The always-urgent client must be taken with a grain of salt. Everything will be desperate so you must decide when it is worth the inconvenience to yourself and your other clients. You must make it clear to the always-urgent client when their requests are unreasonable, right from the beginning. As always, keeping this light-hearted and jokey is the way to go, thereby defusing situations where you might otherwise come off as aggressive.

The always-urgent client is similar to the disinterested client in that they both require extra care. You may need to chase up the always-urgent client if you know a job is coming up in order to give yourself more time and as with the disinterested client, if you take care of them when it counts they will be loyal to you.

A word of warning though, having multiple always-urgent clients can lead to severely stressful situations as everything is needed now, now, now! So unless you thrive on pressure, you are advised to limit the number of this type of client you engage.

Client Breed #9: The Decision-By- Committee Client

How To Spot One:
Usually inhabiting the world of large corporate clients, the decision-by-committee client can still be found in smaller operations where they share their decision-making with a spouse, neighbour or dog. The decision-by-committee client is one who lacks a single point of authority and for which every decision must be approved by many people.

The Highs:
Since decision-by-committee clients don’t have anyone making firm decisions it is sometimes possible to just do whatever you think and sneak it through under the radar. This can easily backfire though, so be careful.

The Lows:
The decision-by-committee client at its worst is achingly slow to work with and when many people have their pet peeves you can wind up with a highly inferior product to show for the work. Decision-by-committee client almost always reduce to the lowest common denominator and if there is one person who dominates they are usually the one person you wish *didn’t* dominate.

How To Work With One:
Unfortunately decision-by-committee clients are a fact of life when it comes to working with large corporate clients and this is one reason why it is important to charge high when dealing with the big guys.

It helps to be firm and quickly identify the stronger members of the committee and target them for responses while trying to win them over by conceding lesser points and sticking to your main guns.

Client Breed #10: The Doormat Client

How To Spot One:
The doormat client is the client who puts up with anything and just keeps coming back. They are usually very unassertive and seem to be content waiting for ages for you to get back to them or accepting less than perfect work.

The Highs:
The doormat client is often also very appreciative which is always nice. It’s also relaxing to have a client who doesn’t mind waiting around.

The Lows:
Unfortunately doormat clients often bring out the worst in freelancers. Without the pressure of a potentially angry client a freelancer can easily become laissez-faire about their work and wind up taking advantage of the client’s passive nature.

How To Work With One:
The doormat client requires great discipline to make sure that you stick to your timeframes and deliver the goods. If your client doesn’t protect themselves then it is up to you to do so for them.

While you may wish to take advantage of their generous nature on occasions when you are stressed, you should try your best to treat them the same as every other client.

Client Breed #11: The Budget Client

How To Spot One:
Every client is on a budget, but some clients just seem that much tighter than the others. The budget client can be the result of doing a friend or relative a favour, or equally just a regular client who never has any cash.

The Highs:
Budget clients are sometimes appreciative of the work they are getting done so cheaply – though unfortunately this isn’t always the case.

The Lows:
Budget clients are cheap and at their worst still expect the same service and workload as their higher paying brethren. This makes them both annoying and bad for business.

Budget clients are at their worst when they exhibit traits from other clients such as ‘Always-Urgent’ or ‘Paranoid’, in which case it’s just not worth it.

How To Work With One:
Make sure your budget client realises they are on a budget and that therefore their work may not always be first priority and that you probably can’t get those extra changes or revisions in because it simply doesn’t make good business sense. If your budget client gets aggressive or manifests other negative traits, accept that they aren’t worth it and let them go.

Client Breed #12: The You-Should- Be-So-Lucky Client

How To Spot One:
The you-should-be-so-lucky client is much cooler than you and they know it. They generally have a cool but low paying project for you and are in an industry everyone wants to work in…think music, film and fashion industries in particular.

The Highs: 
The right you-should-be-so-lucky client looks great in your portfolio, and your friends will think you’re cool. You’ll make some handy contacts and your professional credibility will probably benefit. You’ll also be hanging out with the cool kids – TAKE THAT HIGH SCHOOL!

The Lows:
You won’t be paid much and the you-should-be-so-lucky client will act like they’re doingyou the favour, not the other way around. If you do enough jobs for a you-should-be-so-lucky client you will start getting jaded about the industry and feel mistreated for your efforts.

How To Work With One:
The you-should-be-so-lucky client can be a great asset to your portfolio, but that will be the main reason to do the job. Because everybody wants this type of job (until they’ve actually got some) there are many talented but green freelancers more than happy to work for almost nothing. If you are a student this can be a great thing to do, but for a seasoned freelancer it can impact your cash flow. So pick your you-should-be-so-lucky clients carefully and use them sparingly to impact your portfolio or break up the monotony of corporate jobs. And of course, make sure you enjoy being that damn cool!

Source – Jack Knight, Freelance Switch