Have you ever worked with a client who made you question your career of being in business as a professional photographer? If so, you’re not alone. Here’s how to spot the warning signs early. You’re a heart-centered photographer and you want to serve everyone. However, every now and then you book someone who makes your life miserable and makes you wonder if you even want to continue as a professional photographer. So what do you do? Here’s what I want to tell you… you don’t have to work with everyone. Here are a 3 red flags to look out for when you get a new client prospect.
- Chronic complainer
When they call and they strongly state how they have never liked any photos of themselves ever, that might be a red flag. I ask them questions, like, have you ever worked with a professional photographer? What didn’t you like? If they’re going through situation after situation and you see a pattern of this person working with lots of pros and they still aren’t happy, it’s likely that they have things about themselves that they despise. And when this is the scenario, no matter how excellent the images you create are, they’re likely not going to like it.
- Rock thrower
When a potential client calls and they talk negatively about another photographer that is almost an immediate deal-breaker for me. If they’re saying negative things about them, I feel like they’re gonna say negative things about me as well. I get curious and I try to give them a second chance in the case that there was some type of extraordinary experience that might have happened. I ask them questions to again see if this is a pattern.
- Drama dealer
This is the person that you can tell dramatizes everything. They use absolutes like always, never, ruined, forever. We want to create a fun experience that ends with beautiful artwork. We want to create some magic and so when people come in with elevated levels of emotion it raises a red flag for me. I hold space for them that maybe they’re having a bad day or they’re going through something really bad. So I get curious right and let them talk and I try to again get at the heart of the issue but what I’ve found is that usually in one conversation we can decide if this person is just addicted to drama or not.
I hope this has served you because most people are amazing clients. Keep serving, keep being amazing, and don’t be so hard on yourself, my friend. You’re doing great.
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