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

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