The Common Designer Personas and How To Handle Them
A Counterpart to Tom Hopkins’ Buyer Types
After being a designer for nearly a decade, I went around asking my former clients turned friends and business owner friends their WORST EXPERIENCES when it comes to working with designers. This way, it could help improve my service and hopefully help other designers do the same. So I went ahead and listed down the common creative personality types and how to handle the disasters of being one or working with one.
1. Prima Donna
The most commonly associated personality type with creatives are those that have vision and are unafraid to go after it. These are whom I’d like to call the Prima Donnas. They know their stuff and are keen on letting their clients know about it. They are absolute divas when it comes to coming up with grand ideas and are UNSTOPPABLE when it comes to executing them.
Clients might even see them as DESIGN NAZIS.
“Did you NAZI how ugly that is?” Yikes! This Designer Persona makes clients feel like their ideas are ugly or that their vision just doesn’t cut it.
How do we avoid becoming a Primadonna?
Absolutely stay away from dropping statements when talking to clients. Instead, use the power of:
“HAVE YOU TRIED?”
Posing recommendations as questions makes them more palatable.
How does one deal with Design Nazis?
Ask them to rationalise their design thinking. These Designer Personas are highly dedicated to acing projects, and asking them to dissect their vision on how they can align with your own goals would help you leverage their strengths.
2. Confused George (Like Curious George?)
These types of designers often have trouble aligning themselves with the clients’ vision. A typical conversation would require Confused George to go around in circles over the same point, but not quite getting what the clients have to say. I must admit, it’s not uneasy to fall into this cycle even for the most experienced folk!
Clients see them as SHADY RANDYS.
When goals are misaligned, this often breeds confusion between client-consultant relationships. This confusion makes clients feel doubtful of what the designers’ true intentions are.
How do you avoid giving off Shady Randy vibes?
Always, always, be crystal clear on what your clients’ goals are.
Ask:
“What can we measure to consider this project successful?”
“What would the future look like when we succeed?”
Got a Shady Randy? Here’s how to deal with them:
Ask them what sort of value exchange they’re looking to get out of the business. This will help you get a better feel for their intentions and help you determine whether or not this partnership is fit for what you’re looking for.
3. Doubtful Thomas (Yep, that guy from the Gospels!)
These types of designers are extremely hesitant and uncertain of themselves. Doubtful Thomases feel like they don’t know how to execute at a professional level or communicate their message. They might have the tendency to hide behind calling themselves “introverts”. While I personally don’t identify myself as an introvert, I can’t help but deal with self-doubt once in a while just the same! After all, we’re all just human.
Clients often see them as SHY & RESERVED — or even worse! Disinterested.
These types of designers are often perceived to be unable to get their message across. When asked to rationalise their recommendations, they make clients feel like they don’t really know what they’re doing.
How to pump up your confidence and show clients how interested you really are:
Focus less on your aesthetic design skills and focus more on helping the client get value from each engagement.
Ask:
“What’s the one thing that we’re missing for us to become successful in achieving your goals for this project?”
“How can we make this better/easier for you?”
How can you deal with Doubtful Thomases (even though their self-confidence isn’t really your problem to begin with)?
These types of designers often come with untapped potential. Doubtful Thomas can become an asset when they realise just how much value they’re bringing to the team. Communicating their strengths and contributions to the team would help them truly realise what their work is worth.
4. Davey Blame (sounds like “David Blaine”)
These types of designers are like magicians — now you see them, now you don’t! Apart from being epically great at ghosting, they don’t seem to take any accountability for when things fall to $h!t! How did that happen? MAGIC.
Clients often label them as SHADY SCAMMERS. RED FLAG!
These types of designers are likely to get blacklisted and be seen as frauds or unreliable. Now, while this might be true, some designers are actually just scared of coming off as incompetent from learning that they bit off more than they can chew.
So, how does one avoid being called a SCAM?
If anything is keeping you from delivering your end of a bargain, be honest about it. Open up to your client and provide them options on how you can make any repairs.
You can say…
“I’m struggling to <insert challenge> due to <insert reason>. On that count, how can we push through while making this fair for you?”
I discussed how to use this in a situation along with other ways to identify the different designer personas in Conversion Conversations: How To Establish & Nurture Business Relationships.
If you’re dealing with Davey Blame, take a step back before pulling out a red alert.
Do give the designer an opportunity to save face while protecting yourself from the risks. To practice precautions, always ask for a timeline of the project along with regular updates per milestone. If you’re unable to see any progress, check in with the designer to see if they’d need anything from you to accomplish the task as agreed upon. If the designer absolutely fails to put up their end of the bargain, take the necessary actions to save you and your business the trouble of being caught up in this designer disaster!
5. Handy Mandy
These types of designers may seem like a charm. Their command of the aesthetics of their work may be crazy impressive, but they can’t seem to pinpoint where they fall in a client’s revenue line. Have you ever had a website done only to see later that it’s costing you way more money than it’s making you? Chances are your website designer was a Handy Mandy.
Clients often see them as POOR NEGOTIATORS.
These types of designers are often called out for being overpriced. When the excitement fades and the bills set in without any growth in a client’s leads or sales, that’s when clients start to feel totally ripped off.
How to leverage the ever so talented Handy Mandy:
Do make sure to ask your designer for figures.
“How can we measure your performance in this project?”
“Can we expect xx figures from your work?”
“What part of my current strategy can we improve to hit xx goal?”
At the same time, bear in mind that this is a collaborative effort and that there are numerous factors that affect conversions. Why not challenge Handy Mandy by running tests on your design? Great design paired with a validated strategy is a recipe for a project success!
How to avoid being a poor negotiator:
Learn where you fall in a client’s revenue line and position yourself accordingly.
Think:
“Where does your service fall into your current client acquisition/sales strategy?”
If you can’t answer it, then ask your client about it!
“Which part of your strategy do you think we can work on together?”
“What role does this project play in your current action plan for your business?”
They say creatives can sometimes be a bit of a nuisance to work with, but projects can become all the more meaningful when communication is done effectively and when each party is able to fully realise each other’s strengths and potential.
How about you, which designer have you got? xx
This article was inspired by and dedicated to Khate Contreras, whose live session in Conversion Designers PH reminded me of how our own internal personas are often the reason behind the difficulties we encounter in interacting with our clients.
