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Relationships and the Role they play in Business Growth, Episode 94

with Tom McFarlin on March 10th, 2016

Tom McFarlin
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We started of this season of the podcast talking about the importance of communication in business. In this episode, we continue in that vein to discuss the role relationships play in growing your business (and how poor relationships can cripple your success).

Join me with WordPress guru and small business owner Tom McFarlin as we chat about the root of true success: great relationships.

Watch this episode

Episode Transcript

With relationships assume the best and don’t expect the worst – Tom McFarlin

Important points from the episode:

  • You are setting yourself up for a hard time if you are chasing money first and putting people second.
  • You need to stay focused on doing good work and maintaining client relationships.
  • With remote clients you need to make sure that you communicate with them by phone or Skype. This helps to cultivate the trust in the client relationship.
  • It takes practice and effort to build that relationship with client calls.
  • You can prepare notes for points of discussion with your client call.
  • Do not be afraid that to say that you do not know something but you can figure it out.
  • Don’t be afraid to tell a potential or current client that you are currently booked. Let the client know when you can work on their project.
  • Do not undervalue yourself.
  • If the client cannot clarify their needs (requirements) you should probably not take on the work.
  • In you initial estimate set the parameters for work that may occur at the end of the project.
  • A blog on your website can help with customer marketing.
  • You need to stay flexible when setting time to communicate with your client.
  • Walking a client through the way that you do work can help identify how you need to adapt your process.
  • Don’t be a jerk with your peers and engage the people around you to continue to grow your referral network.
  • Time management is important to find your rhythm between paid and unpaid work.
  • Be careful when working for family members or friends. Make sure you stay in touch with them and over communicate to alleviate any misunderstanding.

Pro Tip: Stay thoughtful at particular times of the year to connect with your clients. (Ex: send a card on the holidays or reach out to say hello and ask how things are going).

Important links from this episode:

Tom McFarlin
Pressware
Pressware Plugins
Sitelock
Gravity Flow
House of Grays Free Work

 

 

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