Whether you’re inspiring a brand or walking on eggshells, handling clients is as much of an art as design itself.

border=0 /><BR></div> </p> <p> Forget creative challenges of operating in the design industry, the real challenge is handling your clients. In a design-led business, is the client always right? How can you retain creative integrity in the face of commercial pressures? Sure, you’ve got to handle the everyday stuff, but how can you do that and dazzle the client with your creativity? </p> <p> Right from the start you have to be careful when handling clients – after all, if it wasn’t for them, you’d have to get a boring job. </p> <p> “First and foremost, do your research,” advises Michael Berthon, creative director at English & Pockett. “Make sure you know your clients – their organization and their market.” Initial contact with the client is the first hurdle. </p> <p> A face-to-face meeting is the only way of clearing it safely. “Forget conference calls or video links,” says Berthon. “Whenever possible, a face-to-face meeting is the single best way to establish a relationship at the outset of any project.” </p> <p> It’s crucial to set the tone for the relationship in the initial briefing session. Ideally you want to be the one guiding those decisions so it’s important to be informed, intelligent, confident, and calm. It’s also important to have the key decision makers at every meeting, or nothing gets agreed. </p> <p> <h2>Nice to meet you</h2> </p> <p> <div class=inlineimage><img src= Print

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