Caffeine - Cat

Finally it’s done. You have designed 3 logo proposals for a client. You lean back in your chair and a take a look at your computer screen. You are happy with yourself and maybe you are even thinking about getting a well-deserved beer with some friends afterwards. But wait, is it really all done? Have you thought about how you are going to sell it?

Below are 5 easy-to-remember advices on how to present your proposals to a client.

1. From inspiration to paper…

Always provide reasons to support your designs. Good arguments provide good results, so go for the best. Be sure to take some time off to prepare them. They will sure come in handy when you find yourself in front of a hard-to-satisfy customer. Be convincing but above all, provide good design and marketing points (target audience – brand awareness – color theory – typography etc.). The plus would be to include a professional summary.

2. A good first impression always wins it!

The word to sum up this paragraph is: PERFECTION! Make sure your client is impressed with your design the very first time he sees it. Check your text for any misspelling. Ensure that you have every detail correct and clean. If you have to present your logos in person, then I would recommend you mount them on a clean surface. If you’re sending them by e-mail, create a cover page and compile your logos in a protected PDF document with a minimal page layout design. Is it necessary to point out that the smaller the file size the better? ;)

3. Bring your design to life

Help your client to visualize how the logo would look like on a different medium. Even if it was not planned initially, make the maximum effort to provide the logo applied to a business card, web site, promotional stuff like pens, mugs etc. In other words, bring your logo to life. People are generally more objective when they have the reality before their eyes. Help yourself; ease your client’s decision.

4. Attention please!

Do you like it when you are speaking to someone who is not paying attention to what you are saying? NO! YOU DON’T!! So spare your client from this kind of unprofessional attitude. Instead, listen to them. Interact, suggest, advise. Communicate!! When a client rejects or alters a design or a proposal, it is actually the design they are rejecting, not YOU! Never take it personally. Sit down and have a professional conversation about your diverging opinions and agreements. Note down their suggestions carefully; this is going to be your bible.

5. Compromise…

I know, as a designer, that this can be sometimes painful! But at the same time it does solve problems. So you just need to get on with it. Clients very often succumb to their personal preferences when choosing a professional logo. I have seen this too many a times. The point is that a logo does not necessarily have to please your client or your own self. It should fill its purpose as a logo i.e. PLEASE THE AUDIENCE! Now if you can achieve this and at the same time please yourself and your client, then forward me your contact details! :) A friendly advice – if you are seeking good financial outcome, please your client; if you are seeking personal achievement, please your own self; if you are seeking greatness, please the audience!

There you are. Remember, drafting super-duper designs doesn’t mean that success is behind the door. You need to sell them too! And for that, I urge you to start working on the “selling” side of the job. Be objective when talking to clients and never take criticism personally.