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Throughout my career, and life for that matter, I’ve run into a number of different personalities. From the bubbly outgoing types to the silent and distant ones, dealing with so many different personalities can be difficult.

When you’re a business, however, their money is green whether they are friendly or not. In order to keep these different types of customers happy, you need to adapt your management style accordingly. Knowing when to say “no” to clients is a different story.

While there are many types of personalities out there, there are five types of personalities that you will most likely have to deal with:

1) The Control Freak. There is always one person who just can’t let go. Maybe it is a matter of trust, maybe it is because they built the site themselves, or maybe they just like to control things. Regardless, this type of client can drive you nuts. Typical symptoms of a control freak include: mass emailing you during the day to question you about every little detail, overly aggressive, tendency to yell and type in CAPS, and you will generally have to argue the benefit of every change and keyword you wish to make and target on their site in an unnecessary amount of detail.

Suggested medication: Let them feel like they are in control. If they feel like they are in a constant power struggle with you, it will make them fight with you even more. It is really easy to get frustrated when working with a control freak, but the best way to get them to listen to you is to remain calm, and explain how the changes you will make will benefit their site in great detail. Remember, they aren’t an expert – so make sure you put it in words they’ll understand.

2) Ferris Beuller. Maybe not as charming as Ferris, but the main problem with this client is: they are MIA. It seems like you are their number one priority until they sign on to the contract. Once that happens, you’ll be lucky if you can schedule a meeting with them. Typical symptoms of Ferris Beuller include: non responsive to emails and phone calls, never turns around deliverables that require their approval, little to no feedback, and occasionally burst out into song with “Twist and Shout.”

Suggested medication: Nag, nag, and nag some more. These clients require a lot of hand holding, and it is ok to be stern with them. Make it clear that you need their help in order to market their website successfully. The key is getting their interest. Find the best way to get in touch with them (phone, email, meetings, etc.) and make sure you are consistent with them.

3) The Expert. In my opinion, these are great clients to have. They have a general foundation for Internet marketing, and they might even specialize in one area. You may be working on their SEO, and they are an expert in Analytics. Typical symptoms of the expert include being interested in what you are doing, understanding the benefits of it, they challenge your ideas (making you rethink your strategy to make sure you’re on the right course) and makes suggestions of their own.

Suggested medication. Remember not to get offended by their ideas and when they challenge you. Stay receptive to their ideas and don’t get frustrated when they challenge your strategies. If you just relax when dealing with an expert, you’ll find they are a pleasure to work with.

4) Robert Ford. Actually, they are generally accusing you of acting as the Robert Ford of the relationship. They have such a poor understanding of what Internet marketing is that they routinely accuse you of sabotaging their website, and refuse to believe that your strategies will be effective. Typical symptoms of a Robert Ford include lack of understanding of the internet, preferring traditional marketing, referring to search engines as “the Google,” and they think that whatever you do to their site will ruin it.

Suggested medication. Keep in mind that if they were totally against the idea of Internet marketing, than they probably wouldn’t have hired you. The best way to handle these clients is to schedule a training session. Go to their office and give them a general overview of what SEO or Pay Per Click is, the fundamentals of them, and use case studies to reinforce their benefits. If you are patient with them and are able to take away their fears, they will become much easier to work with.

5) Average Joe. This is your basic customer. They know that Internet marketing is important and they trust that whatever you do for them will benefit their business. Typical symptoms of an Average Joe include little to no need to nag them for things, very open to any ideas and strategies you have, and they treat you like the expert you are.

Suggested medication. I find with the Average Joe that is important to keep them informed on the progress you are making with their site by sending them a monthly report on the milestones you have reached, the increase in traffic to their site, and the improvement you are seeing in their conversion rate.

As I stated earlier, there are many different client types, but I find that these 5 show their faces more often than others.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 9:09 pm in Client Profiling.