Building Strong Client Relationships
[00:00:00] Igor Benić
Welcome to another episode. In this episode we are talking about building strong client relationships. Establishing and nurturing meaningful connections with them is crucial for long term success, repeat business and positive referrals. Some of the best clients can be clients you get from word of mouth and such clients trust you from the start. I have been freelancing for years now. My last real 9 to 5 job was around 2016-17 when I also freelanced on the side. And for the last 6 years I didn't have a lot of clients actually. I made sure that clients like the work I do so I can have more repeat work. It's much easier than just chasing new clients whenever you need new work. So how can you make sure to build a strong relationship with your client so they keep calling you back or referring you to others?
[00:01:11] Igor Benić
Well, the first thing is communication. Communication is the foundation of any successful relationship. To better understand each other, you have to be open for communication. I consider myself more introverted than extrovert, so my preferred way of communicating is definitely async, such as emails or slack. And for me, that works really well with clients because everything is tracked. Replies to emails, discussions on slack, everything can be tracked and that helps you retain the picture they have in mind. You need to be transparent, of course, when estimating and discussing a project. That means that you should tell your client if they have a requirement that you can't actually achieve on your own. Also, when you stumble upon an issue, let them decide how to handle it. Don't do it on your own. You present options you could think of and then they let you know how to proceed with it, or maybe even just drop it.
[00:02:25] Igor Benić
The second step would be under-promise and over-deliver. This is something I like to do when possible. I tell them usually what I'll work on, but while working on a solution, I also implement ways that might save them minutes or even hours of work, such as managing posts or entering some data that could be cumbersome. I try to make some ways for that to be much easier and maybe done just within 2-3 steps instead of 10. And clients like that. If you're working with a tachy client, like I used to do, coming up with ways to make the code manageable, easily reusable, and such, while working on a feature, is also a way of over-delivering. But don't lose hours trying to over-deliver though. That will cost you money and patience in the end, and maybe even the patience of the client. But if it's something that is not too hard for you to implement, but it will save the client time or money, sometimes it's a nice way to show your commitment to them and the quality work.
[00:03:50] Igor Benić
The third part for me, the third step would be to be reliable. Has it ever happened to you that you worked on something, even when you went to school, and you counted on someone to do their part, but when the deadline hit, that part was not done? How did you feel about that person? You will probably never trust them with something again, and you don't want clients to have such an image of you. It will hurt your business in the end. So be reliable, and part of being reliable is also being transparent, as I said before. If you said you will do something by a set date, make sure it's there, and if not, make sure the client knows it beforehand, preferably days before. When I stumble upon some issues, I like to notify my client and tell them that because of that issue, this solution will be delayed, or that we should have a discussion on it, and provide them with ways to handle it, and stuff like that. And that's how you build trust and reliability. Once a client knows that they can count on you, every new project they have, they'll think of you first.
[00:05:21] Igor Benić
And now let me tell you about a product of mine that's actually sponsoring this episode and that is NewsletterGate. It's a WordPress plugin to restrict content with your email list. It's completely free. You don't have to have a payment system on your site or even a registration flow. It's definitely the easiest way of restricting content. Users will just enter email and if they're on your email list, they'll see the restricted content. That's all. Of course, if you want to have them sign up to your email list immediately on that page, you can allow that as well. So it's a nice way to build your email list. So yeah, visit my product on newslettergate.com. And now back to the episode.
[00:06:18] Igor Benić
The fourth part is to understand their business. And this is something that you'll have to do when estimating the first big project with them. You'll need to understand their business, not entirely, but you need to know a bit better what their goals are. That way, you'll be able to always think about that when working with them. They will also feel listened to, and by showing interest in helping them achieve their goals, they'll see you as an integral part of their team and business. In many cases, when I've worked with some clients, having their goals in mind helped me propose solutions that sometimes worked better than the initial idea or scope. And so, sometimes even, they change the whole project or task description, and they were really happy with something I proposed. So, do try to understand what they want to achieve, and ask many questions about it, because it will also help you understand how to code something if you're a developer, how to market something if you're a marketer, or how to design a landing page, or a part of a feature if you're a designer.
[00:07:42] Igor Benić
And my last part on building a strong relationship with client is to get back to them. Getting back to clients is a great way to make sure they don't forget you. Even though you had a successful project with them, they're probably busy on other fronts as well. Same as freelancers, employees, employers, we are doing lots of stuff, right? And we can be forgetful on some other stuff. So you can get back to them in different ways. Offer ongoing support or maintenance for the project on a project you have done recently with them. That's also a nice way to have a repeat business. You can also propose changes that might further improve the project. You can let them know you worked on a similar project so they can check it out. And that's a nice way to say hello as well and to let them know that you actually think about them. You can also invite them to events where you can meet. For example, if you're going to, I don't know, WordCamp or a similar conference, you can invite them or ask them if they are coming so you can have a drink together. And you can also show appreciation to them for hiring you. For example, I worked for a short, short period with a client, but I definitely thank them for the opportunity that they gave me. And maybe in a recent future, they'll hire me again. And of course, that's only a few. I'm sure that you can think of at least five more ways in your client's niche or industry that you could use to get back to them. Just asking them how it's going and how the project is moving on is a nice way to contact them.
[00:10:00] Igor Benić
Let me know if you have other preferred ways of building strong client relationships and send an email through our podcast website and I'll definitely like to discuss it further with you. And until you listen to me again in another episode, have a great day, have a great week, have a great month and enjoy your time being here freelancing, earning money and working on challenging projects.
