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MANAGING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS' OR FREELANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS MEANS MANAGING THE GAP

By Mariette Durack Edwards

A client who was moving on from coaching asked me recently to give her a
final recap of my observations and comments about working with her and
identify key issues for her to focus on going forward. This was an
interesting exercise and prompted me to ask her for similar feedback about
her experience of working with me. Her remarks confirmed much of what I had
concluded but there was one area that surprised me. High marks went to her
trust in my ability to help her reach her goals, my knowledge and experience
as well as my objectivity. However, I missed an important opportunity to
leverage what I knew about her communication style by not initiating
conversations that included more detailed analysis of her approach to her
goals. Clearly, my perceptions about how things were going didn't quite
match hers. Yet they easily could have had I checked in with her earlier
into the relationship. Her feedback suggested to me that I revisit my
client enrollment process to build in a system for confirming the client's
experience right from the beginning. As a result, I've built an extra step
in the system to identify immediately where gaps might occur.

What's the lesson? Your opportunity to build a stellar client relationship
starts with managing the gap between your perception of how things are going and your client's. Begin the process here . . .

--Know who your ideal client is. Minimize problems from the get-go by
targeting clients you want to work with and clients you would enjoy and have
fun working with.
--Ask the right questions. Craft questions that will help you manage client
expectations early. If you offer a service, ask how the client will measure
results, what criteria he will use.
--Trust and act on your intuition. When you feel something is "off" with a
client, confirm that feeling by engaging the client in conversation. If
your intuition says this is not the client for you, be bold and refer him on
to someone who would be a better fit.

--Get your needs met so you don't need your clients. Accept clients because
you want to work with them, not because you need them to make your next
mortgage payment. Build cash reserves so you can always be at choice.
--Challenge your assumptions. Confirm your assumptions before acting on
them. It will save you from making costly and potentially irreversible
mistakes with your client.
--Survey your clients early into the relationship. Check in after the first
meeting to verify/clarify that you are on target then follow up often.
--Increase your knowledge base. Learn as much as you can about your client,
his business, his industry, his customers, his problems and concerns. Learn
new ways of doing things, new techniques and technologies. Learn how to use
new tools to serve your client better.
--Build trust. Be reliable, honest and dependable. Keep your client's
interests in mind. Avoid political situations that could undermine your
relationship with your client.
--Learn to negotiate. Possibly the second most important skill in managing
your business, mastering negotiation skills will give you a sense of power
in constructing a client relationship that wins for both of you.
--Anticipate and initiate. Look for opportunities to help your client
achieve his goals. Include your client's goals in presenting new ideas.
Step back and see how your client might see a situation and respond
accordingly.

The more you know about what your clients really want, the more effective
you will be in managing the relationship.

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Mariette Durack Edwards is a business and personal coach, consultant,
speaker and writer and a certified instructor for The Entrepreneur School.
Her newest book is "The Way Things Work: 25 Must-Know Principles for Making Dreams Come True." You can find Mariette on the web at:
www.bizcoachmde.com.

Links -----> Open Jobs--folios--Adobe Photoshop Tutorials--Design Contests -- All Work At Home Ideas--AllFreelance--Graphic Designer Resources--All Advertising Online--Artists Helping Children--Blue Sfear--ContractedWork -- FreelanceWorkExchange--AllKidsMurals--Web Hosting--Website Hosting

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MANAGING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS' OR FREELANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS MEANS MANAGING THE GAP

What's the lesson? Your opportunity to build a stellar client relationship starts with managing the gap between your perception of how things are going and your client's. Begin the process here . . .

The more you know about what your clients really want, the more effective you will be in managing the relationship.

What's the lesson? Your opportunity to build a stellar client relationship
starts with managing the gap between your perception of how things are going and your client's. Begin the process here . . .

The more you know about what your clients really want, the more effective
you will be in managing the relationship.