This is all about maintaining good client relationships. I’d like to be able to argue that if you are not good at personal relationships then your client relationships will suffer. But 90% of the time I’d lose that argument. Let’s face it, I know gobs of people capable of winning awards from their employers for good client management, yet they cannot maintain the most basic friendships in life. Sardonic quips aside, there are commonalities between maintaining positive personal and professional relationships. So let’s get to it!
“Business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.”
Mark Cuban
Five Things You Can Do To Maintain Good Client Relationships
Whether you are just getting started in business or you are a seasoned professional, the five things listed below will help you maintain good client relationships. If you master these skills, you will demonstrate your value beyond a single project. After all, is said and done, a good client relationship leads to more work! It will lead to another project, a referral to more work, or in some cases it may lead to a job opportunity. Therefore, it is paramount that you internalize the skills needed to maintain good client relationships!
Consistent Communication
Communication is paramount in any relationship, so why would that be different in the business world? It’s not. The first thing you can do when you kick off a project is to establish weekly meetings and check-ins. When clients know they’ll have regular contact with you, they’ll feel more comfortable, supported, and confident in your ability to get the job done. You could meet every week or even make sure to send a weekly email recap about the project’s status.
If there is a part of the project that relies on input from your client, sending reminders before those deadlines actually arise can help. It shows you are on top of the schedule and that you’re doing everything you can to ensure success. Additionally, it’s okay to gently nudge them when a deadline passes for one of their items. Keep your tone in check and show flexibility.
Something that a lot of people miss is the communication after a project is over. Stay in touch! A quick check-in email or catch-up call shows that you value them as a client (and as a person!). Your client will feel those positive vibes and you’ll be first on their list whenever they need to complete a similar project. Luckily, the next item dives deeper in how to create even more of those vibes.
Be Polite-Authentic-Happy
As the great Maya Angelou said above, “…they will never forget how you made them feel.” Client meetings, at their core, are relationship starters. All good relationships (the healthy ones) rely upon open communication where both the sender and receiver follow unwritten rules of good communication. Since they are unwritten, I’m here to write them down for you. If some are missing, message me so I can update the list. We are better together.
Unwritten Rules of Good Communication (Polite-Authentic-Happy)
POLITE
- Smile
- Greet everyone by their name
- Kindly ask how about their day, weekend, or their family if they shared about them
- Say please and thank you
- After you explain something, ask clarifying questions to check for understanding
- Avoid politics, religion, and pandemics in small talk
AUTHENTIC
- Show interest in them as a person
- Ask where they are from, if they have siblings, what they like to do for recreation, what kind of food they like, or comment on something you may notice in their background (Zoom calls).
- Share a story about something you like that reveals something about you.
- Show them you care – avoid telling them
- Be consistent and reliable in your character
HAPPY
- No matter what – the show must go on
- 3 deep breaths biophysically will change your state of mind.
- Smile as you talk
- Think happy thoughts
- Envision the client happy with your final product – do what it takes to get there
- Offer compliments
- Acknowledge when something’s not right AND then demonstrate optimism it will work out because you will make it so
If you spend the time working on PAH (Polite-Authentic-Happy) you will maintain strong client relationships. For example, when it comes to my blog posts, I write as if you are my only reader. I only care about what you think! Every time I write to you I do so with a smile. I believe in what I write for you and ALL the time, I am happy to write for you!
Empathize When Problems Arise
The best thing you can do when something goes wrong is to put yourself in the client’s shoes. If they have big emotions about a small problem, or if they aren’t satisfied with a deliverable you think is acceptable, try and empathize. Your client may have a lot on the line with this project and be under lots of pressure, or simply have stress happening in their personal life that is giving them less patience to deal with issues at work. Meeting gruffness with gruffness doesn’t turn out well for anyone. Avoid acting out in front of the client and offer options when you deliver potential solutions so they feel supported and in control.
Underpromise and Overdeliver
When you’re in meetings with your clients, avoid the urge to give a ton of detail about all of the future things that you’re excited to take care of for the client. Keep your deliverables clearly defined, to the point, and aligned with a project schedule. You don’t want to make promises you can’t keep, even if those promises are well-intentioned. It’s a common scenario to say “yes, yes, yes” to whatever the client requests and tell yourself you’ll figure it out later. When the time comes to “figure it out later,” you may realize that some of the things you’ve promised are out of scope or just not possible. Sometimes you’ll be in the “figure it out” stage and find out that you can do more than you thought – a pleasant surprise for the client. So play it safe: underpromise, and overdeliver!
Follow Through ALL The Time
Make sure you hit EVERY. SINGLE. DEADLINE. It will speak volumes to who you are as a person and business partner. Minimize the time that the client is waiting on you for your input or deliverables and keep the ball in their hands. You want them to know that your word is gold: if you say something is going to be completed, it WILL be completed. This is the most important thing you can do to build trust and develop a long-term business relationship.
Summary
Once you’ve started a good client relationship, do everything in your power to maintain it. Be a consistent communicator so your client knows what’s going on with a project at all times. Be PAH (Polite, Authentic, Happy) in all communications to the best of your ability. When things go wrong, put yourself in the clients shoes. Empathize when problems arise and you will find it much easier to deal with difficult situations once you understand that we’re all human. Another technique is to underpromise and overdeliver which also ties into possibly the most important thing you can do: follow through ALL the time. Don’t make promises you can’t keep! If you can internalize and showcase these 5 skills on every project, your clients will be ecstatic and keep coming back to you.
Helpful Links
Why Hire an Instructional Designer? – VIDEO
Types of Freelance Clients by ID Lance
How to Use Vimeo Review to Improve Your Learning Video
How do you know when you’ve learned something? – VIDEO
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