There’s a lot of value in being in charge of your own business. However, it would be beyond wrong to suggest that it’s easy. It’s easy. It’s much easier to be an employee since, in that arrangement, you’ll know how much you’re earning each month, and the weight of bringing customers on board will not be entirely on your shoulders. When you’re running a client-facing business, then you will have that pressure. Fortunately, there are things you can do that’ll help you to make a good impression. And if you do that, you never know where things will lead — you’ll get their long-term business, and they may also recommend you to others.
In this post, we’ll run through some of the most effective ways to make a good impression.
Get the Look
How you look isn’t the most important thing in the world, but it would be wrong to think that it has no impact whatsoever. It absolutely does. When your client meets you, what do they see? There’s no single correct approach for this. It largely depends on the industry you’re in. you would present yourself differently if you were a graphic designer compared with if you were a legal consultant, for instance. The overriding point is that you should take pride in your appearance. People notice these things!
Get the Space
As well as your clothing style, your clients will notice where you work. Your office will be more than just a space that you conduct work in. It’ll be a reflection of you and your business. As such, it’s important that you take the time to ensure that it’s presenting a good image. If your current office is uninspiring, then take a look at the options available at Executive Workspace, and look at upgrading. As with your clothing, it’s important that your office is in line with your overall branding. It wouldn’t make sense to have an overly traditional office space if you’re a “young and hip” company or vice versa, for instance.
Above and Beyond
It’s worthwhile adopting the mindset of ‘we’re here to serve.’ Your clients are more than a source of work — you should view this as a partnership, one in which you’ve invested in the happiness of the other person. They’ll have their expectations regarding what work you’ll deliver, how, when, and so on. You shouldn’t just aim to meet those expectations but to exceed them. Everyone’s happy when they get more than they bargained for. If you have that approach with your clients, then they’ll be happy.
Make Yourself Available
You’ll want to get on with the work that you’ve been assigned. But it’s also important that you make yourself available. There’s nothing more annoying than wanting to get in touch with a contractor, only to find that it’s more or less impossible to do so. At that stage, doubts can begin to creep in, and that’s not what you want. Even if you deliver the work, the journey won’t be as smooth as it could be. Have a slack channel where people can contact you, or give out your phone number (just set restrictions on when you’ll be monitoring it).
Offer Perks
People often give out perks and benefits to new customers. What about rewarding your loyal clients? This is especially recommended if they’ve been offering you consistent work, or they’ve brought in other clients. It doesn’t have to be a long-term perk, but a little bonus here and there can go a long way towards making your clients extra happy with your service.
Do Outstanding Work
Finally, the very best way to impress your clients! Do outstanding work, consistently. You can dress up a company in many ways, but if the work isn’t of the standard that people expect, then you’ll struggle to win long-term clients. It’s important to set your own standards for your work, rather than letting other people — if you have some clients that accept low-quality work, you may be tempted to submit low-quality work. But all that does is help to lower your standards. On the other hand, if you do your absolute best all time, regardless of budget or timeframe, then you’ll build the kind of reputation that leads to long-term success.
Conclusion
And there we have it! This is far from an exhaustive list, but it will help to nudge you in the right direction. Indeed, we’re reasonably confident that if you took all those tips on board, then you’d end up with a long list of happy clients.
No comments yet.