How to Deal with Stupid Clients

“People are fucking stupid.”

That’s exactly how I started off the reel I posted this week on this exact topic. It is 100% true that I say this a lot. Along with ‘people are idiots’, and ‘why are people so fucking dumb?’ Mostly it’s mumbled under my breath, vented out loud to my hubby or cats, and sometimes even shared with my most understanding, long-term clients.

But here’s the bottom line: there’s a specific reason for saying that shit, and it’s mostly down to me, not my ‘dumbass’ clients.

If you’re a Gen X fempreneur, I know you’re at the very least thinking the exact same thing frequently, even if you aren’t vocalising it. We just don’t have time for that shit. But fortunately, we can actually do something about it.

The Real Problem is the Knowledge Curse

The thing is, we unrealistically expect our clients to just automatically ‘know the stuff’ that we know. By that, I mean all the structural things we’ve completely forgotten are part of our default, daily business knowledge. The things that are so habitual to us after decades in our industries that we assume everyone else knows them too.

But they don’t.

As an established graphic designer, some of the things I routinely presume my clients should know include …

• Why their branded items print in different colours from what they see on their screens.
• Why their artwork doesn’t print right to the edge of the page.
• The importance of user experience (UX) over a ‘nice’ looking design.
• That a tiny, low-quality JPEG off Google cannot automatically be upscaled into a massive billboard.
• That cramming as much text as humanly possible into a design is completely counterproductive.
• That taking random images off the internet to use in commercial designs is a criminal offence.
• That Photoshop is not an effective program for design.
• That asking to ‘make it pop’ means absolutely fokkol.
• That they don’t legally own the exclusive copyright to any designs containing stock graphics or AI-generated images.
• That they’re not actually paying me for my hourly time, but for the 30 years of trial, error, and experience it took to do it right.
• That copying the way other brands look is not going to help their small business stand out.
• That great, scalable design absolutely does not happen inside Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.

I’m sure you have an equally long, incredibly frustrating list of things you presume your buyers or clients should know, but don’t.

Client Education is Your Best Sales Tool

There are so many massive advantages to intentionally educating your clients, beyond just helping them be less ‘stupid’.

• You are actively teaching them why your specific expertise is valuable to them.
• You are helping them understand the hidden things you’re doing behind the scenes that your cheap competitors skip.
• You are empowering them to appreciate and respect what actually goes into your product or service.
• You are cementing your business as the go-to authority, keeping you top-of-mind when they are ready to buy.

The challenge for most small business owners is that they are so stuck in the woods of their own daily operations that they struggle to wrap their heads around the basic concepts their clients are missing. Like I used to do, I know you’re thinking, “But surely they know that basic fact?” Um, no, they fucking don’t.

Dumbass Eraser Blueprint

If you are struggling to get out of your own head and into the minds of your audience, here’s a simple Dumbass Eraser Blueprint to help you break your expert knowledge down into teeny pieces of high-value content.

1. Demystify Your Industry

This helps your clients understand the absolute basics of what you do—the ground-level things you take for granted.

The Psychology

This relies on the Cognitive Fluency Effect. When people understand how something works in simple terms, their brain processes it easily, making them feel smart, safe, and significantly more inclined to engage or buy.

Actions

• Make a list of terms or acronyms common to your niche and explain one per social post or email.
• Bust a massive myth or misconception about your industry.
• If you create physical products, do a breakdown of the specific tools you use.
• If you’re an artist or specialised creator, explain the raw thinking behind a specific piece.

2. Set Clear Expectations

This helps clients understand exactly what to expect when they work with you, how you actually help them, and what the custom journey looks like.

The Psychology

This utilises Mental Simulation. When a prospective client can clearly visualise the exact step-by-step process of working with you, it eliminates the anxiety of the unknown and makes them statistically far more likely to hit the buy button.

Actions

• Show a realistic ‘Day in the Life’ behind the scenes of your business.
• Walk them through your workflow for different services (without sharing your top-secret trade secrets, obvs).
• Outline a transparent timeline from start to finish.
• Explicitly explain what you expect from them (their homework) to make the project succeed.

3. Justify Your Value

If your clients don’t understand your worth and the invisible labour required to deliver your service, they will assume it’s basic and push back on your pricing.

The Psychology

This is known as the IKEA Effect and the Labour Illusion. When people are shown the amount of effort, research, and expertise that goes into creating a result, they perceive the final output as substantially more valuable and easily validate a higher cost.

Actions

• Create a comprehensive checklist of everything involved in your service.
• Explain the hidden dangers or financial losses of NOT working with a professional.
• Talk about the legalities, compliance, or copyright laws that apply to your industry.
• Highlight the unique ways you support your clients during and long after the project is done.

4. Red Flag Prevention

This helps clients self-qualify whether or not they are actually a good fit for your product or service right now.

The Psychology

This triggers Autonomy Support. By explicitly telling people who your service is not for, you remove the pressure of a hard sell. Giving them the psychological freedom to choose, signals high-level security, zero desperation, and absolute safety, which acts as a magnet for dream clients.

Actions

• Clearly explain what qualifies a person to work with you.
• Give 3 distinct signs that a business is finally ready to buy your product or service.
• Outline exactly what a client needs to have established before they book you or buy your product.
• Describe the exact daily symptoms of someone who needs your urgent help right now.

 

5. Show Your Human Personality

People ultimately buy from people. Sharing snippets of your real life behind the scenes builds genuine trust and human connection.

The Psychology

This leverages the Pratfall Effect and basic human reciprocity. Showing your quirks, workspace, and real-life struggles makes you relatable and disarming. It builds deep emotional trust, which boosts engagement and makes the algorithm favour your educational content.

Actions

• Show off your actual workspace or studio layout.
• Talk honestly about a personal or business struggle you’ve overcome.
• Share one or two weird, uncurated quirks or hobbies you have outside of office hours.
• Share what you’re currently reading, your studio playlist, or your favourite binge-worthy show.

Bonus Pro-Tip: How to Find Endless Content Ideas

If you’ve been running your business for a while, you are already sitting on a goldmine of content. Go open your email sent folder, your WhatsApp business chats, or your past direct messages. Look for the exact questions clients have asked you or the recurring problems they’ve come to you to solve.

Make a running list of those real-world questions and answer each individual one in a separate, dedicated piece of content.

I know this looks like a massive amount of work, but don’t overwhelm yourself. Just pick one single item from any of the lists above to focus on each week. Start actively educating your audience, and watch closely over the coming months as your clients mysteriously become a whole lot less ‘stupid’.

Oh, and also, don’t feel that you can only share a piece of educational content once. You can reshare the same ideas in different ways. The more often a person reads the same thing, the higher the likelihood of them actually remembering it.

Where to Launch Your Educational Content

You don’t need to be everywhere at once. Pick your favourite format and stick to it to build momentum:

Channels

Your website blog, email newsletter, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, or a broadcast group.

Formats

Stick to your favourite formats: simple swipeable carousels, quick B-roll reels with text on screen, or recording yourself talking directly and authentically to the camera.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy this other one on how not to fuck up when checking proofs for digital or print publishing.