First Contact: Interviewing New Design Clients - RD227

<h2>Do you vet potential new design clients?</h2> <p>How do you know that you’re the right designer for a project? Or maybe the question should be, how do you know a potential new design client is right for you?</p> <p class="p1">In the past, I’ve covered what to ask during a <a href="https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode120">discovery session</a>, <a href="https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode15">50 questions to ask every new design client, </a>and <a href= "https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode189">four vital questions</a> to ask your design clients about their projects.</p> <p class="p1">Almost all of the questions covered in those episodes are for building relationships with your clients after you’ve decided to work with them. But I don’t think I’ve ever talked about that first contact with a potential new client before.</p> <h2 class="p1">First contact.</h2> <p class="p1">The first contact refers to those times your phone rings with an unknown number, or emails you receive from unknown people or the conversations that start when someone finds out you’re a designer.</p> <p class="p1">How do you determine during those initial first few minutes of contact if this potential new client is someone worth investing your time and energy? Because as a designer, you will hear from people who you don’t want anything to do with.</p> <p class="p1">So what do you do? You conduct a quick, impromptu interview.</p> <h2>First contact questions.</h2> <p class="p1">Here are some questions I like to ask before getting too deep into a conversation. If I’m not satisfied with the answers, I politely end things before I waste too much of my valuable time.</p> <h3 class="p1">1) What can I help you with?</h3> <p class="p1">Cut to the chase. There’s no reason to have a conversation with someone if you cannot help them. The first thing you should do is ask the client what it is they need your help with.</p> <p class="p1">Many people <a href= "https://resourcefuldesigner.com/episode2">don’t know what graphic or web designers do</a>.