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.
###
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.
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
