OK, you are at a crossroad wondering what path to pick to find the best way to impress the clients you already have for them to hire you again. You have been thinking and thinking but nothing seems to be original enough for you to really go with it and go all out. Some clients are harder to impress then others and some are almost impossible to even please.

However, thinking out of the box here is key. It’s the one thing you can do to put yourself on the map and really be one of those that really dare to be original. And original is what you want to be. Copying everyone else is just not cutting it anymore. And to be honest, doing what everyone else does is just plain boring and just puts more options on the table for the client to choose from. They want to know that they are using the best. That they will get the edge they are looking for.

Dare to be original. Dare to be the one putting your nose out there saying:

-”Hey, I am no designer. I create trends and I do it with a smile on my face and a fan club behind my back. I am just that rad!“

In this intense post I will be listing 10 ways you can really impress your clients and make them stick with you instead of looking for a new source of inspiration and gain. BUT, always remember that some clients just want the mundane and boring, chiseled in stone, creativity right out of the book. So if you’re fine with that…well, you probably shouldn’t do this.

Enjoy!

1. Name Your Dog

You just scheduled a new meeting with a client. It’s the unveiling of your work and they are coming down to your office for it. You know they have a lot of work left to be done, they just haven’t asked you to help them with it yet. If you have a dog this is a great time to benefit from it’s “cute” factor. If you have a habit of bringing your dog to work with you every day this is even better. With a few weeks of notice and scheduling you pull this one off quite easy and effective. Re-name your dog after your clients company. When they drop by, of course your dog will check out who’s knocking at the door, right? When you open and are welcomed they will say -”Aw, what a cute dog.” Here is your opening! Reply -”Yeah, “Digg” is a wonderful dog and companion. Just love him to death!” They are sure to take notice and the rest of the presentation will go as easy as pie.

2. Tattoo

OK, so this one is probably the one that has the most prolonged effect on you as a designer and it also depends on your level dedication and sacrifice you are prepared to put in to it. There is always the other approach using the rub on tattoos but that has a higher risk level. Not necessarily less humoristic but if you want to come across as a hardcore trend setter and a dare devil the second option isn’t to be recommended. Simply drag your behind to a tattoo studio, bring your clients logo (preferably a smaller sized one) and just go to town. Make sure you position it visible when wearing what you are usually wearing. When you have that last meeting to present your work make sure you make it clear where it is by gestures. When they notice, well you are hired. Either that or they think you’re nuts. But hey, you’re a trend setter, you get other clients right?

3. Base Jump

This will make a lasting impression and great publicity for your trend setting abilities. You WILL need to have some experience including sky jumping and base jumping. Don’t do this if you haven’t. Wouldn’t be a lasting promotion and your career as a designer and developer would be cut quite short. However, if you do have the skills to pull this one off it’s a major gain for you and your reputation. Pick a skyscraper in your city (if you have one). Assemble a large audience waiting on the street, including your client. Put on that jumpsuit of yours and prepare. Come up with a great and catchy line like -”We are working with the best, “Apple” is rockin’ than the rest!” Make sure you have a clear throat and that the lines are remembered correctly. When you jump, start shouting them over and over again. Everyone should now know you mean business.

4. Rock Move

Would you consider yourself to be a dare devil? Well, if you do this one is a sure winner. Anyone can do it really. If you dare that is. Create a big poster with your clients company name on it. Also create a black t-shirt with the company name on it as well. Plain white text in large letters. Now, you have to pick an event and a band with great publicity factor. TV event is to be preferred. Make sure you are there with plenty of time to spare and before most so you get a great spot and clear access to the stage. The show begins and there you are, at the peak of your scheme and ready to become a legend. At the right time jump up on the stage, hold that poster up high and your t-shirt visible for everyone. THERE! You have successfully shown your client you are the man for the job and that you will go to any extent to get them the boost and creativity they need and want.

5. Graffiti

For this one you have to be a little bit careful. It is illegal to put graffiti just anywhere but there are still places you can put it where your client will see it. First you need to create a nicely designed graffiti of their company name or logo. If they are coming to your office a good place would be in the lobby, right where they step in. That alone would make them impressed that you’ve put the energy and the dedication to pull it off. However, a much more impressive location would for example be the ad spots down in the subway, or the billboards in California for example. Make sure you book a nice restaurant where the billboard or the subway is on the way there. It is also a good conversation starter for the lunch and the continuation of your collaboration. They will sure see that you are the man for the job and start telling you about their different projects ahead.

6. Words In The Sky

If you have a big budget and want to impress a big client this option might be of great interest to you. There are a few places in the world where you can hire “Skywriters”. Pilots that skillfully puts words in the sky using smokers and a plane. The idea is to choose an outside hot spot restaurant or a cafe where you are sure your client will see the message in the sky. Schedule the date, time and location with the “Skywriter” and then make sure your client will be there on time. Let them be picked up or you go there yourself to pick them up. Whatever you can do to make sure all is in order when the show begins. Have the “Skywriter” text the company name or if it is a simple logo try and let the “Skywriter” draw it in the sky. This is a sure way to impress your client for more work. How much more creative can someone be and the publicity for the client is invaluable.

7. Toilet Paper

This goes for a more humoristic approach but with great result and probably one of the more lingering effects. What you have to do is to find a creator of toilet paper that has the option to put whatever text you want on it. When you have found one you need to do a little bit of detective work in order to pull this one off in the right way. You need to do some serious research and find out who is the biggest competitor to your client. Who posts the greatest threat for great business for your client. Print the competitors name on the a few rolls of toilet paper and put them visible and usable for the client in the rest room. When your client visits your office and ask to lend the rest room. There’s your winner strategy. He will enjoy the fact that he/she is wiping his/hers…well you get the picture. You are sure to get a laugh and a continued collaboration with your client.

8. Food Frenzy

Are you a regular visitor to a lunch restaurant right where your office is located? Well, if you have been for quite some time you are in luck. There is a great chance that you have a great friendship with the owner then. This is quite necessary to pull off this one. Schedule a lunch meeting with your client. Ask the owner of the place to re-name one of the dishes (preferably something the client might like, if you know what the client likes that is) after his company for the occasion and for the time being. Bring your client to the setup and watch him get impressed by the gesture. This also makes for a superb conversation subject and also works in your clients favor as everyone visiting the restaurant will see the name of the dish and that gives your client a bit of free promotion. This is sure to make your client see your ability to impress and will most definitely bring you two to further collaborations.

9. Client Friday

This one is plain and simple and not that much of a planner really. Just make sure you invite your client for a Friday beer at a local bar or restaurant. You should really make sure all your staff is around and available for the evening. Create some fliers and plaster it around the bar with your clients company name on them. Call the evening ““Stumble” Friday Beer” and you are all in the clear for some laughs. That is if your clients company name is “Stumble Upon“. It’s not more to it than that really. Just make sure though that you get a catchy name for the evening where their company name is embedded into a fun and interesting combination. Now make sure the client gets all the attention through out the night and that everyone is at its best mood and behaviour. This will put you in the pole position for the next up-coming project that your client is planning.

10. Trashcan Paint Job

Here is a more fun and creative approach to some impressive results. At your office you and your co-workers usually have a trash bin in the kitchen or at the some other public collective gathering place where everyone is more or less hanging around chatting or having lunch. If you do this one is great. You might need to do some research for this one as well just like the toilet paper approach. When you know your most desirable clients competitor, take the trash bin and set it up for a nice pain job that will have your client laugh out of his mind. Paint or air brush the logo and name of your clients biggest competitor on the trash bin in the style of “Microsoft Outgoing Mail” right where you put the trash. Your client is sure to notice the gesture and you will most definitely be in their inner circle of trust. If they won’t hire you for your creativity now, well then they probably just want the mundane and boring creativity never to lead to the edge of things.

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