How to Spot Toxic Clients (Red Flags to Look Out For)

When working in graphic design, especially as a freelancer, there’s no shortage of toxic clients who are looking to take advantage of you and your skills.

Before you begin to consider working with anyone, you should know what red flags to be looking for. In this article, we’ll explore four different (but sadly all too common) traits of toxic clients who may be looking to take advantage of you.

Note: There’s a chance that the client you think may be toxic isn’t at all, but rather just doesn’t understand the best practices of business and hiring freelancers. So it’s important to take the below points as guidance only. Be sure to judge every client individually before considering working with them.

The Red Flags of Toxic Clients

There are of course more red flags/potential warning signs to look out for, but below are four that I’ve come across the most whilst working in a freelance capacity.

They’re Unsure on Goals

When you start working with a client that doesn’t have defined goals for what they want, you’ll very quickly discover that it’s a disjointed, and often chaotic, process.

As you work through the early stages of discussing a partnership with a client, you should look to learn more about what it is they want to achieve from the collaboration between their brand and yourself.

If they’re unsure, or provide vague answers, this could be a sign that they’re not serious about working together. Make sure you know exactly what it is a client wants before working with them.

They Want Spec Work

Spec work – also known as speculative work – is work completed for a non-paying client to receive paid work later down the line. It’s like auditioning to have them as a client by creating a product, for free/without compensation.

This is quite a common strategy for new brands and businesses who perhaps cannot afford to spend money on quality designers. However, if they’re serious about creating design products that stand out from the crowd, they’ll understand the value that you’re bringing to the table, and will be happy to compensate you for your time, work, and expertise.

Another danger of agreeing to speculative work is that they’ll gladly accept you working for free, but the promise of paid work to come is hollow. The freelance industry is riddled with stories like this. So whilst you can complete work for free, I highly recommend avoiding this at all costs.

BONUS: The essential questions you NEED to ask clients before starting a project.

They Can Offer “Huge Exposure”

Another thing that’s common in the graphic design industry, especially the music and gaming side, is brands, businesses, and individuals offering you “huge exposure” in return for designing something for them.

Whilst some clients may indeed be in a position to offer this, the vast majority of them are not. Unless you have a contract with someone like Drake that says he’ll promote your business every day for the next year, working for “exposure” is rarely worth it.

The reality is that the people who are in a genuine position to offer you exposure are most likely also in a position to pay you for your time and the value you’re bringing them. Think long and hard about working with anyone who’s offering exposure as a form of compensation.

They Refuse to Sign a Contract

The contract is the backbone of working with a client. It provides the bedrock for what it is everyone involved in the partnership will be doing, as well as cementing deadlines, revision rounds, payment timelines, and much more.

When a client refuses, or is in any way hesitant, to sign a contract, this should be considered one of the biggest red flags to look out for.

I’ve heard stories of people working with clients who didn’t sign a contract, only to be cheated or scammed out of payment. Before doing anything for a client – and I do mean anything – be sure to get all the terms of your partnership down in writing, along with the signatures of everyone involved.

You’re a professional, so things will run smoothly. But, on the off chance that they don’t, the contract is the backup that’ll be invaluable if you need to dispute anything.

Your contract should of course be tailored to you and your business. But if you don’t know where to start, this collection of templates from Signaturely is a great place to start.

Conclusion

As I said at the top of the article, these red flags for toxic clients are guidelines only. If you come across a client that exhibits any of them, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re someone to avoid working with.

It could simply be the case that they don’t have a lot of experience in working with graphic designers or freelancers in general. This is why, whenever you’re approached by someone looking to work with you, you keep an eye out for the red flags above, but also handle them on an individual basis.

A red flag doesn’t mean you should just cut all contact, but it does mean that you should dig a little bit deeper to make sure they’re the right person to be working with.

Not sure how to actually go about getting clients? This guide dives into the different strategies you have at your disposal when it comes to picking up new clients: Check out the full guide here!

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