ID Frustration or Fulfilling Client Brief?

Design is a Job.

This should help.

In what way Ryan?

It'll reduce steam. Next time.

I feel strongly that the customer is not always right. I much prefer "The customer is always the customer." I find this to be much more accurate and keeps me from grinding my teeth while I'm sleeping. They pay the bills, but that doesn't buy them righteousness .

And to that extent, I find the relationship of the freelance designer and the client to be more of a persuader / decider relationship, similar to what you might expect from a carpenter or plumber. So when the client says, "I need a door to the outside right here," a carpenter is acting prudently to say "This is the second floor. Would you also like a balcony?" Of course the client might reply "Well, I only have the budget for the door. Can we have it by Friday?"

So if the solution planned is inadequate or out dated, I think it is beneficial to all to suggest a better solution. But as the client is still the client, they may well stick with their original faulty plan for a variety of reasons: budget, brand standards, IT compliance, complacency, etc.

If I really want to upsell a solution, I've occasionally made a custom tailored example around a short selection of the content, just one or two slides that look good and show what "could be" better than just words. I also think this works better than showing off an existing portfolio piece, as most customers respond better when they can see themselves in action ("Hey look!" My words are on TV! My words must be important! Look! That's my logo!"). But that doesn't always work either. In the end, a good example still might not change some of the realities, like if it costs more to create and use.

Thanks A @work

The funny thing here is that what I'm giving them is an enormous step forward for them - this is absolutely the way to go for them, they are still trying to convince people that completely linear is not the way, that 200 slides is not a well-designed course (!), all those good things that we know and love.

Full interactive, self-discovery is just not the culture, or the way to initially go here. I feel I'm going as far as I can with them - I think perhaps part of my frustration here is that I have 12+ years experience of creating eLearning, and I want to bring all of that to the party, immediately - I'm falling into my own "SME Trap".

If I were lecturing or blogging about this, I'd be saying that the SME thinks everything is needed, but that the client only required x% at this point!.

This client DOES know what they are doing, they read ID blogs, and understand learning theory. So long as what I create is high-quality, and meets their well-considered brief - does it matter that I'm not trying to get something "better"?

I'm not convinced that, at the moment, it does - especially as they have budgetary constraints.

Differences in opinion may come from the "employed" vs. "self-employed" readers here!

I can certainly sell, I guess I'm partly questioning when it's right to stop doing so.

Bruce

Bruce, you do some great stuff and I understand your frustrations.  You have started on a great journey with Storyline and want to take your clients with you. I am lucky that I normally have a free reign, on designing my stuff (for now).

I suppose one thing you could do is put some really nice demo's together to guide your clients.  Your website is a good example.  Your good at what you do.  I suppose some battles can never be won, and sometimes it not even worth fighting.

Just keep chipping away,

Phil

Hey Bruce, here is my 2 cents on this. It seems you have a client that has some degree of sophistication when it comes to what can and cannot be done with elearning.  In this case I would stop trying to upsell them and just get the work done as fast as you possibly can.

I know it can be frustrating but  it is what it is.

Agree with Nancy. Design is about trade-offs. In this case, you might end up trading off a client that wants the wrong thing but provides a steady stream of work for not having the client

I feel this way about most of the clients I deal with. There are things I'd love to do but the scope of the work, schedule, and available resources (what they're paying) constrain the vision and provide the design framework for something that's much less than what I'd love to do. The framework of trade-offs is what makes design such a hoot.

The biggest questions are:

1) Do you enjoy the work?

2) Are you able to add some value that exceeds the customer's expectations and gives them a little bit more of what they need (as opposed to what they want)?

If the answers to those two questions are both yes, I'd call that a win. If no... I'd be seeking other clients:)

The book Ryan refers to above is great. It describes the job of a designer not as an order taker but as a skilled consultant. I recommend it as it's a great (if a bit irreverant) read.

@Nancy/@Steve - I may not have been clear.

I'm no longer trying to upsell, I just feel strange when I'm not pushing boundaries a little. With everything we've done in the beta for example, "simple is good" just feels odd sometimes.

As Nancy said - they are sophisticated in their thinking, and to both your questions Steve - Yes.

Have bought Ryan's book recommendation.

Sorry if this all sounded a bit self-seeking and moany...it was not meant to be.

@Phil - appreciated, talk soon.

Bruce

@Bruce - I know exactly how you feel about this and  struggle with it all the time.