Does anyone have a prescreening process to avoid wack jobs?

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30
I was in talks with a guy in a very professional industry.. he wanted me to do up a site for him. I usually accept up front payment in full and work with them on different ideas etc., this guy wanted me to do up a mock site, I accepted and I'll never do that again..and he ended up bailing out (yes, I know.. shocker).

I put the mock site on a domain of his name that I purchased and I got an email from him today saying I hacked him etc. (lol wat?) and I have to take it down because he knows where I live and I don't want to mess with him. A strong part of me wanted to tell him too bad and just leave the page up but I've come to learn that drama isn't necessary and neither is ego, I just want to make money.. so I dropped the page and told him never to contact me again.

I'm sure we've all had experiences like this but what have you done to avoid this? I'm thinking now I won't work with someone unless they follow my process in full.. I can't meet everyone I work with to prescreen them as I don't just focus on the local area. Any advice would be great..

Also feel free to throw in your stories about crazy clients.
#offline marketing #avoid #jobs #prescreening #process #wack
  • Get an up front payment for demo/mockup sites. That way you're covered for your work.

    Search for "monkey's paw" here on the forum to see how to do it.

    Two things you didn't do:

    Qualify your prospect. You just said "sure I'll do the work". Next time, find out about their need, budget and personality before accepting them as a client.

    Set up a strong up front contract between you and the client, describing terms and expected behavior. You didn't tell him what was OK and what wasn't. Nor from what is written here was the next step clear to both of you.

    There is a lot to a consistent sales process. "Winging it" brings poor results.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hey Jason, yeah I didn't mention this in the OP but we had setup a budget for the site, talked about their needs ( I offered other services but he only wanted the site, that's where he was lacking).

      I didn't talk about expected behavior etc. can you touch on this a bit more and mention what you tell your prospects? I'm assuming you don't mention no threats but more along the lines of how you'll work with them, how you do things according to what you know brings results etc.

      This is my first month in offline so I'm definitely learning a lot.
  • Personality fit issues can be the toughest to detect. Your radar should always be on, and you should always be ready to walk away.

    The basic rule is, if there's something you feel you should ask about, you should ask.

    Even if asking the question makes you feel uncomfortable.

    Say you are talking to a guy, and while he's nice to you, every time an employee or sub calls him on his cell phone and interrupts your talk, he screams at them.

    You're in the "wooing" phase now, when he might be trying to get you to take him on as a client (oh yes, it can work that direction). So he's nice now. But how long do you think it will be once you've taken his money until he's screaming at you, just like you're one of his employees?

    Time to man up and say something about that.

    Wouldn't you rather he flips out at you now, and you can move on in search of a better prospect, than two weeks from now after you've taken his money?

    Or maybe he'll realize what he's doing and be shocked at his own behavior.

    Selling takes guts. The difference between a mediocre salesperson and a great one is often the ability to suck it up for 10 seconds and ask the uncomfortable question.

    The best client is almost always the one we never had.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • I do. Its called, my way or the highway and if you don't want to do it my way I don't want you for a client. I also use pricing as well. Higher pricing.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • .....I like how you think Rus!
    • I've always had a hard and fast rule I learned many years ago. "Money Talks, BS Walks!"

      The very second I'm asked to employ my talent, trade or skill pro bono that person(s) are informed that money up front is required to get me to start.

      If they won't cut a check, then anything they say or suggest for me to do is an excuse to waste my time.

      I've walked away from many "We're ready to do business with you, IF YOU DO THIS FOR US FIRST....." CRAPOLA!"

      My advise, keep it simple, be professional and show me the money.
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Always ask for your money up front, that separates the winners from the losers.........Anybody who is not even willing to give you a deposit is wasting your time.

    He took advantage of your eagerness to do the job........Always qualify your prospects....Ask them questions such as, "How long have you been looking to do this? What is your budget? Have you worked with anyone else previously on this job? What did you like/not like about their work?"

    Questions like this show you're serious and not so eager to work that you'll take anything.

    If the person gets offended or takes too long (after all a customer should be delighted! you're asking questions) then you know they're not the one.

    The questions: "Have you had anyone previously work on..........and "What did you like/dislike" are particularly good because you can hone in on their pain points and see what they're really after.

    He'll get his.
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    Does anyone have a prescreening process to avoid wack jobs?

    I was in talks with a guy in a very professional industry.. he wanted me to do up a site for him. I usually accept up front payment in full and work with them on different ideas etc., this guy wanted me to do up a mock site, I accepted and I'll never do that again..and he ended up bailing out (yes, I know.. shocker). I put the mock site on a domain of his name that I purchased and I got an email from him today saying I hacked him etc. (lol wat?) and I have to take it down because he knows where I live and I don't want to mess with him. A strong part of me wanted to tell him too bad and just leave the page up but I've come to learn that drama isn't necessary and neither is ego, I just want to make money.. so I dropped the page and told him never to contact me again.