Stop Being Afraid Of Your Clients

When you’re a freelancer or you run your own business, it’s easy to hide away from your clients. With so much work being done over email, it’s possible you might never need to meet them face to face. While that can be a welcome relief for the introverted among you, it’s not always the best way to do business.

Building strong client relationships is an important part of running your business. If you want to earn repeat business and good word of mouth, then you’re going to need to put in some more effort with your clients. 

It’s time to stop being afraid of your clients and try using these tactics to win them over.

Pick up the phone

While email can be a very efficient way of sending updates and agreeing on terms, it can be useful to call your clients once in a while to have a real conversation. There are some easy ways to impress clients on the phone that will help you to build better relationships as well as have more in-depth conversations about their aims and expectations from you. Schedule regular meetings with your clients to help you keep in touch and build a more natural rapport.

Give them more detailed updates

Some clients will simply let you get on with things, while others want to know as many details as possible about the progress of your work. Having an online portal where you can outline the different stages, agree sign off, etc. can make it a lot easier to keep on track and make sure that everyone knows where they stand. Take a look at different project management tools that can help you run your projects more effectively.

Meet face to face

Meeting a client face to face can be daunting, but it can help make your business more professional. It’s also good to get out of your home office now and then and meet with some real people! You can rent meeting rooms easily and affordably to create a more professional environment that will show your clients that you’re the real deal. A meeting to kick off the project, a progress meeting and a meeting to wrap everything up at the end can be a useful way to ensure everyone is happy, as well as to build a great relationship with your clients.

Follow up

Once your project is complete, it’s a good idea to follow up with clients and see if they’ve been happy with your services, and whether they’re interested in hiring you again. A thank you gift or a Christmas card makes a good way to stay on their radar and help clients to remember you the next time they need work doing. 
Developing positive working relationships with your clients is important to give the best impression of your business. Learning how to manage clients can boost your confidence, while also helping you address those limiting self-beliefs. Working closer with your clients is great when you’re a lone worker, it will help keep your social interactions up and make your job more enjoyable. Improve the way you work with your clients to ensure the success of your business.