1. Don’t rush your customers. Pouncing on them as soon as they arrive is not enticing to customers and can come across as a bit desperate. Give them space to consider their purchase. Stay accessible, but don’t smother them.
2. Don’t hound your customers. Give them room after they leave to evaluate their options. A phone call or email a day is fine, but don’t go overboard (calling an hour after they leave the showroom is a bit excessive).
3. Don’t argue with your customers. You obviously have strong opinions for and against certain features relating to your product, but if your customers have opposing opinions, it’s best to disagree respectfully — and gently.
4. Don’t downgrade the competition. Berating your competitors won’t win you any points. By showing respect for the competition, you demonstrate a quiet confidence in your own product.
5. Listen to your customers. Are you paying attention to what your customers are saying? Are you listening to what’s important to them? Be fully present and listen to the needs, desires and frustrations that your customers are sharing. This is invaluable when it comes to fitting the right product with each person, and the ability to recall minor preferences is even more impressive.
6. Focus on your customer’s needs, not yours. This may be surprising, but the customer doesn’t care about your bottom line. They’re not worried about making this work so that you benefit. They don’t care about your timetable either. Instead of worrying about your needs, focus all your effort and attention on doing an exceptional job.
7. Don’t be condescending. Don’t patronize your customers. Consider the possibility that they may have actually done their homework and know what they’re talking about. Your customers understand that you have “inside” knowledge, but don’t talk down to them or be dismissive. It’s insulting, and that alone could cost you the sale.
8. Know what you’re talking about (and find the correct answers when you don’t). Here’s an example. I went into one dealership this week and had settled on colors for the interior and exterior. When I went to another dealership, they said that color combination wasn’t available. (Yes, it was. I had seen the car myself.) It turns out that the combo was available, but the person relaying the incorrect information knew that they’d have to get it from the company’s other dealership, which was an hour away. That’s three strikes. One of salesmen didn’t know the facts about his own vehicles and suggested that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and the other lied for the company’s benefit.
9. Don’t just say what you think customers want to hear. “What? You need a certain price? No problem. We can do that.” Yet when the customer shows up with checkbook in hand, that price no longer exists. Puffing and bluffing isn’t going to impress your customers, and if you’re only trying to appease them, eventually that will surface, leaving customers feeling very frustrated with you.
10. Shoot straight. If you can’t do something, you can’t do it. Period. Say so. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Be direct and upfront and never skirt the truth.
11. Communicate clearly. Go over things slowly and carefully (and then go over them again). Be thorough and detailed with your responses to avoid misunderstandings.
12. Stay cool under pressure. When you’re dealing with other people’s money, there will inevitably be tension. Proceed with caution. Take breaks. Take a few breaths. Keep things in perspective and consider the other side. Do not, under any circumstance, lose your composure. Talking too quickly or loudly and seeming frustrated or agitated will only risk evoking the same response from customers.
13. Keep your promises. Call when you say you’re going to call. Have what you say you have. Do what you say you’re going to do.
14. Know what’s really going to impress customers. Take cars, for instance. Customers want the best in safety, and a good-looking car with low gas mileage is important, but what about reliability and how about some proof? Rather than going on and on about how super awesome your brand new cars are (they better be), show me one with 500k miles on it that’s still rolling. Paying $30k seems much more appealing when I can think about driving that car for twenty years.
15. Make things easy on your customers. In general, making a big purchase (buying a car, hiring a VA, etc.) can be a stressful experience, so find ways to make things as easy and painless as possible for customers.

I have not been impressed with three-fourths (or more) of the salespeople I’ve come across this week, and if things don’t get better quickly, I might be the customer who simply drives her car to 500k miles — that’s the final lesson. I actually had a salesman tell me that their goal is to wear customers down, until we eventually give up and give in. I will, but it won’t be the way they expect. I’ll go home and keep rolling in my faithful car, because they forget (or weren’t listening when I told them) that I work from home.

So, Lesson #16, don’t treat your customers as opponents to be beat. If you do, they’ll eventually think of you that way, too, and eventually move on to someone who’ll work with them instead of against them.

I’m amazed at the treatment I’ve received this week from car dealers, but it’s made me appreciate exceptional customer service even more. How do you ensure that your customers are impressed rather than appalled?

Image from Flickr by thebig429

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A friend of mine who is new to teleworking was complaining that her overseas prospects wanted to speak with her on the phone. Since she didn’t want to have to pay for international calls, she turned down these lucrative offers. “I don’t want my fees to be consumed by phone bills,” she said.

“You don’t need to use the phone, you can always use voice chat or VoIP,” I suggested.

“What’s that?”

It seems that not everyone who sets out to do web work knows how to establish their communication methods. There are many tools that allow us to sidestep more traditional — and usually more expensive — means of communicating with our clients, such as client visits and phone calls. For those who are just starting out, here are your options:

Email

Sometimes I still see online contractors with casual email addresses like “sexychick2009@example.com.” While you can use any email address to communicate with friends and family, stick to something more formal for professional use. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of checking multiple inboxes and notifying personal contacts about your new email address, you can easily use multiple email accounts instead, and access all of them via one master inbox.

To avoid having your email addresses plastered all over the Internet (and attracting spam), set up a contact form on your web site. In my experience, potential clients often prefer a contact form they can fill out on your site, since they don’t have to open their email client to send you a message.

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is real-time text chatting over the web. IM is useful for real-time client support and quick exchanges that are too short for email.

Some people have trouble expressing themselves via instant messaging, so don’t make this your only option for client support. Also, if you have clients that aren’t tech savvy, they rarely want to communicate this way. Still, many corporate remote workers I know stay in touch throughout the day via instant messaging. Here are some IM applications you can use:

• GTalk
• Windows Live Messenger
• AIM
• Skype

If you need an IM app that allows you to handle multiple accounts using the same interface, you might want to look at Lifehacker’s roundup of the five best instant messengers.

Phone, VoIP and Voice Chat

Although it might seem simpler to have one phone line for both business and personal contacts, it’s wise to keep them separate. You don’t want to provide 24/7 phone support for colleagues and clients, and you don’t want your workday to be interrupted by a call from your mom, either.

But what if you’re working with people who are overseas, as in the case mentioned earlier? That’s where VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) comes in. Instead of using regular phone lines, VoIP transmits audio through the internet. We’ve covered VoIP here at WWD before, including how you can use it to cut business costs.

There are many available options for VoIP and voice chat apps, including Skype, Truphone, Vonage, Gmail Voice and Video Chat, Calliflower, Phonefusion One and FreeConference.

Fax

While I’ve never felt the need to purchase my own fax machine, there are still some situations that call for faxing. For those of us who primarily deal with local clients, a regular fax machine might be enough even if it’s a second-hand unit. But if you’re mostly working with people overseas, sending faxes back and forth can be costly. Online faxing solutions such as efax and MyFax can be much cheaper in the long run.

Postal Mail

If you’re wary about giving your home address out to clients and business contacts, you can use a PO box or take advantage of online mailbox services such as Earth Class Mail or its European equivalent, Swiss Post Box. There’s also Private Box for those who want mailboxes in New Zealand.

Establishing multiple ways for clients to communicate with you isn’t that hard. When you’re starting out, it’s usually enough to have two different ways for clients to reach you (say, email and phone). Should you need more, the apps and services above give you plenty of options to choose from.

How do potential clients usually contact you? Which method do they use the least?

Image by tecknare from sxc.hu

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When one of your more difficult clients contacts you for a new project, how do you work with them again, without repeating the problems you previously had?

Points to Consider

Before you sign up to work with a previously difficult client, there are some issues you need to address.

Refer to the paperwork. If your client is contacting you for support on a previous project, it helps to go over your signed contracts and documents to see whether the new request is within your area of responsibility.

Understand their position. Oftentimes, I’m the only go-to person that these difficult clients have worked with. This is usually because they’re not that tech-savvy or they have a hard time convincing other professionals to take on their projects. With their situation, they just want to get things done as fast as possible. Keep this in mind if they sound frustrated or in a rush when they’re contacting you.

If you’re going to help them out, know why. In my experience, guilt is never a good reason to stay with difficult clients. This is especially true if they are verbally abusive, need 24/7 hand-holding, and don’t value your work. If they’re immature enough, they might try to appeal to your guilt. Just remember not to give in.

Help out your difficult clients only if you believe in the project and if you’re confident that you can learn to foster a better, mutually beneficial working relationship.

Rebuild Your Relationship

Once you decide to work with a difficult client again, make sure that you’ve learned from your previous mistakes and won’t be likely to repeat them. Use the insights you’ve gained from your experience to make the relationship work this time around.

Improve your contract terms to forge a more balanced relationship. Go over the last contract you signed with this particular client. Are the terms clear and easy to understand? Are there any clauses you need to add or modify to protect yourself from being exploited?

Discuss the things that didn’t work out last time and propose solutions for them. If you had to “fire” a client before, they’re probably aware that your working relationship wasn’t smooth to begin with. It’s best to express your concerns and propose ways on how problems can be avoided this time around — without blaming each other for previous mistakes, of course.

Train your client to be more self-sufficient. I used to provide solutions to my clients’ simplest needs even if they were outside the project scope. While there’s nothing wrong with going the extra mile from time to time, constant support for even the most irrelevant tech issues can be a drain on your time and energy. Instead of providing solutions yourself, point them towards the resources that can best empower them to help themselves.

As freelancers, we see ourselves improving and becoming more professional as we gain more experience. Our difficult clients are the same way. It’s reasonable to expect that they, too, can become easier to work over time.

Have you ever had a difficult client go back to you for more projects? If so, did you avoid working with them again or were you able to establish a healthier working relationship?

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But if something is repetitive, then it can be automated.  How can we make our clients better informed so that they don’t ask us the same questions repeatedly?  I believe that the following 5 documents can help:
Client tutorial reports. I got this idea from Yuwanda Black’s post at Copyblogger.  As an SEO copywriter, she works with many clients who are unfamiliar with her field.  This is common among web workers.  Designers may be approached by clients who haven’t figured out their branding yet, and PPC (pay-per-click) consultants might have clients who haven’t chosen a target market.

So what should be in your client tutorial?

• Prerequisites. What do they need to know, prepare, and have before they can start a project with you?  Why do they need these things?  If they don’t have these prerequisites, list some handy resources that will help get them started.
• A glossary of jargon. Although you should avoid using too much jargon during initial communication, those terms will eventually come up.  Give your clients an easy reference in case they encounter these terms that they don’t understand.
• A short “crash course” on your field. This may include paragraphs on why hiring a professional is important, how good design/copywriting/whatever service you provide will improve their business, and any background information that can help them understand what you’ll be doing.

FAQ document. FAQs or “Frequently Asked Questions” are usually found in websites of a company or small business.  I rarely find links to FAQ pages in a solo freelancer’s website.

For the uninitiated,  FAQs are pages where you respond to anticipated or predicted questions from clients or website visitors.  They are presented in a simple question and answer format.

This document, when introduced well, will lessen the time you spend answering repetitive questions such as “What methods can I use to pay you?” or “Are there other services you provide that aren’t listed on your website?”  Note the most common questions that your previous and current clients have raised.  These will give you a good idea of what questions you should include in your FAQ page or document.  You also have the option to serve this in the same file as your client tutorial.

Layperson’s translation of legalese. While some of your clients can easily afford lawyers, there will always be those who cannot.  It’s entirely possible that some clients actually just skim through your contracts without reading them, leaving them unaware of the details of your arrangement.  If you don’t think it’s possible or if you believe all the fault lies with your client, just remember how many times you signed up for an online app without reading the lengthy Terms and Conditions.

What might work is an accompanying document that translates each paragraph or item from the contract into plain English.  I don’t just do this with clients, I provide a similar document to my contractors as well.

Just remember to add a notice at the end stating that your layperson’s version is not meant to be a replacement for the contract itself.

Annual update. After all, a lot can happen in a year.  You may have received an award, got another certificate, or were featured in a major magazine.  You shouldn’t hide these things, especially not from your clients, who would probably love to know that they’re working with someone as accomplished as you are.  Just make sure that you mention these accomplishments in a way that shows how these will benefit them.  If you’re the overachieving type, you can do this 2 to 3 times a year, just make sure that your tone is personal and that you don’t come off as a spammer.

Case studies. Unlike the 4 documents mentioned above, case studies are better if they’re publicly accessible rather than sent to clients privately or on a need-to-know basis.  They are meant to convince potential clients that your methods work.  They are marketing tools rather than ways to facilitate better communication and understanding between you and your clients.

Darrell Etherington recently wrote an informative post about case studies, which is a must-read for any freelancer who is interested in creating them.

These 5 documents might require many of your non-billable hours if you want to produce them.  You can create them incrementally over time, so that you won’t be too overwhelmed.  Of course, you can always outsource or delegate to others.

Even with all the initial work involved, I think these documents would be worth it.  If you have any experience with creating these documents, please share it with us in the comments.  How have they worked for you?  What are the other advantages of having these documents?

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I know this because it has often happened to me, whether I’m applying as a contractor for a project or I’m the one hiring others to work with me.  Asking these questions, no matter how simple or common they might be, makes you better prepared to take on a project.  Plus, they show your client that you go the extra mile.

So what are these questions and why should we ask them?

What is this for? A few years ago, I made the mistake of accepting a seemingly simple request from a client to write articles about bathroom cleaning tips.  I did the project with a slant on using homemade cleansers, not knowing that what the client wanted was to incorporate the use of commercially available products into the article.  In the end I had to redo the entire job.

Some projects only look simple on the surface, but they turn out to be more layered than you think once you ask your client what they intend to accomplish with your work.

Will we be working together on this project? I’ve had a couple of instances where a contractor would assume that we’ve sealed the deal even without mutually signing a contract or me giving them the “Go!” signal.  One of them even got angry because he cleared his entire schedule for two weeks expecting that I would hire him for the project.

Most clients would be looking at the portfolios, resumes, and applications of several freelancers before committing to one.  Unless it is stated clearly, you cannot be sure that you will be chosen.  Other ways to phrase this would be “Would you like me to start this project?” or “Do we have a deal?”.  Of course, don’t get started on anything without the actual contracts signed.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how did I do? It’s best to ask this for each aspect of the services you provide including the quality of your final output, customer support, and an overall rating.  This gives you an idea of how successful you were at meeting a client’s expectations.

If you didn’t get a perfect 10 in some areas, it’s best to follow this up with “What could I have done to get a 10?”  This shows your client that you are constantly pushing yourself to improve with each project.

Is there anything else I can do for you? I make this question a mandatory part of my final email once I’ve sent in my final output and I’ve received full payment.  It never hurts to ask this, and it might even give you a few unexpected projects from satisfied clients.

How has my output affected your business so far? You should ask this question a week or a month after you’ve completed the project. In fact, if you’ve provided services that have long term effect (such as a website design, online ad design, or an ebook) you might want to contact your clients every few months to ask this very question.

If your work had very little effect on your client’s business, propose to find alternative or added solutions that will help them reach their goal.  This isn’t necessarily about upselling, it’s about caring for your clients enough to provide them with solutions that truly work.

What has your experience been like when it comes to asking – or forgetting to ask – these questions?  Do you have any questions to add to this list?

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In cases like those, it’s important to take calculated steps in fixing what went wrong.

Don’t panic. Your client is probably emotional the first time they contact you about a problem.  Since that’s the case, it’s your job to be calm and logical.  No good can come from having a shouting match about who’s right and who’s wrong.

Of course, this is easier to say than it is to do – especially if the client calls you on the phone.  It’s easier to be calm and collected (or at least to seem that way) when you’re communicating via chat or email.  On the phone, it takes more willpower.

Read (or listen) between the lines. Oftentimes, when your client is saying something, that’s not what they really mean.  “This isn’t what we talked about” could mean “I understood your proposal differently”. A phrase like “I could easily replace you with a high school student” usually means “Fix this as soon as possible” with a dash of “I have no idea how difficult your work is”.

In other words, take the time to truly listen and interpret what went wrong.

Be accountable. At least a small fraction of the blame, if not all of it, should rest on you.  This is why you need to take control of the situation and start channeling both your energies into finding a solution.  You need to ask yourselves what went wrong and what could be done to repair the damage.  Speak in terms of situations and events, rather than people.  Otherwise, it will look like finger-pointing.

Remember that even if you’re at least partially accountable, this doesn’t mean you have to accept verbal abuse and enslave yourself to unreasonable requests just because you’re feeling guilty.

Provide options. Giving clients several options to choose from makes them feel empowered.  You’re not forcing solutions on them or telling them what to do.  This makes it easier for your client to accept your proposed solutions, since they know that the final decision is in their hands.

Give insurance. Your client needs to know that you’re also taking steps to avoid this particular problem in the future.  Even after you’ve resolved their problem, it’s important to send them an update about any steps you’ve made towards prevention.

Ask for a testimonial. I know this part sounds unusual, but if you actually resolve the problem and your client is appreciative and pleasantly surprised, it makes sense to request a testimonial.  Most people take perfect testimonials with a grain of salt, so nothing stands out like a testimonial that says “I encountered this problem with her service, but she was there 100% to fix it with me.  Didn’t have another problem since then.”  This tells potential clients three things: that you’re honest, you’re a reliable problem solver, and that you take their feedback seriously enough to improve yourself.

Taking care of angry clients can be an emotionally exhausting task.  Although our instinctive response is to feel some anger as well, it’s important to remember that these disappointed clients are the ones who will teach us the most about what we need to do to be better web workers.

Have you ever had an angry client?  How did you handle the situation?

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How can we reconcile its usefulness as a communication tool with the fact that it can be downright annoying?

Using one interface

Having MSN messenger, Yahoo!Messenger, and GTalk open all at the same time can be a bit confusing, or even a complete eyesore (as you can see from the image below).  If you don’t like having too many windows open, you’ll benefit from having just one interface for all your IM accounts.  Programs such as Trillian, Pidgin, and Miranda accomplish this simply.  The one-interface approach can also make archiving conversations much easier.

Tweak your IM client’s settings

Being available via instant messaging is like having the phone ring constantly – just like Melanie said – but only if you don’t change your IM client’s settings.  Find the settings or options menu of your chosen IM program and be ruthless about how you’re notified of incoming messages.  This, of course, will depend on your own preferences.  Personally, I prefer to have no audio notifications, no blinking, and incoming messages don’t launch on top of other windows.  If I want to check for IM messages, I just glance at the Windows taskbar when I welcome such distractions.  But that approach is just for me.  Find what works for you.

One other thing I do is customize my visibility.  Many IM programs will allow you to be “invisible” to different contacts or contact groups when you come online.   You can also be invisible to clients who rarely IM you anyway, and leave yourself visible for a few clients whose projects are more urgent.  Taking advantage of your visibility settings can also come in handy if you use the same IM accounts for both personal and business contacts.

Know your sacred working hours

There are some online tasks you can do that allow for a bit of distraction, such as writing a short email to your mom, commenting on other blogs, or reading your feeds.  There are also tasks that require nothing less than your full attention, especially when you’re doing The Work.  You know, the thing you are mostly paid to do.  It’s often the descriptive text under your name on your business card.

When you’re doing The Work, the rule is simple: don’t be available for IM.  Block out your working hours and let your clients know about it.  It’s likely that they’ll appreciate that you’re taking their projects seriously enough to block out sacred time for them.

Having maximum IM hours

It’s also very important to let clients know that they have a maximum number IM consultation hours with you.  Since I have few clients who need me for back and forth IM, I put a maximum of 4 hours a week for clients with heavy projects (complete web design and web content) and 2 hours a week for clients with lighter projects.

The funny thing is, when I implemented these maximum hours, the clients who used to take up several hours of my day chatting with me changed their behavior.  They didn’t even reach their weekly limit.  In fact, they seemed to have a preference for email when they realized how non-urgent most of their requests were in the first place.  I guess putting a limit in place allowed them to also prioritize their time as much as I did mine.  I was very satisfied with how things changed because of this system that I added a clause for the maximum IM hours in my new contracts, so that clients are aware of it in the beginning.

Getting someone else to do the talking

If you happen to be a web working rockstar and you really can’t handle all the IM requests, you can hire someone else to do it.  Of course, this option is complex and requires a lot of time, money, and effort to implement.  Plus, your clients might not welcome the idea of talking to someone else, especially if they’re so used to communicating with you.  Consider this method only when you’re more of a big business owner rather than a freelancer.

Instant messaging doesn’t have to be a pain, you just need to know how to use it well within your working style.  After all, we should adjust our web working tools to fit into our own work processes, and not the other way around.

Do you have any IM tips and tricks?  What do you do to prevent it from interfering with your workflow?

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