10 Things I Learned about Client Relations (Part 1)

Most of my professional life had been in marketing and advertising agencies so I’ve been handling clients for a quite a bit now. Account management and client relations are not for the faint of heart. While most of my clients have been great to work with (or reasonable to say the least), I’ve seen different facets of human nature that most people don’t see in their lifetime.

Needless to say, I’ve grown a lot the past couple of months and I’d like to share it with people who are also in the same line of work. If you have more to share, I’d gladly invite you to use the comment box below. Maybe we can all learn a thing or two.

1. Manage expectations. This is very important. If you don’t master this, you don’t have any business dealing with clients. From start to finish, it should be clear to you and your clients what the end goal is. You should have clear timelines and concrete deliverables. Eliminate the room for assumptions. This is a business transaction – payment in exchange of service/product.

2. Always respond. Always. I learned this the hard way. Because I was so eager to please the client, I would only respond when I have the information or when I solved an issue on their site. I could’ve avoided a lot of “Are you still there???” emails and phone calls if I had just written a quick note saying I’m working on it and followed up with another note that says it’s done. This gives them assurance that you acknowledge and are aware of the problem. The immediacy of the reply show them that you care about them and their business.

3. Never lie. Not only is it a sin, but it will be double the consequences when you get find out. In the age where answers are just a click away, trust me – you will get found out.

4. Clients don’t care how you do it. Just get it done. In a previous agency I worked in, I’ve seen a lot of account managers explain to clients the process on how we’re increasing their page rank, the metadata we’re writing and the links we’re building for them. While some clients would like to know how you get things done, they’re more concerned with results. Results show their ROI. They are paying you for a service, not an explanation.

5. Clients are people too. They care about their business, that’s why they went to you (or your firm). The old adage is true – people don’t care how much you know until they know how much they care. Look at it this way, would you go to a world-renowned physician who wouldn’t even look you in the eye when he examines you? Or would you rather go to a good doctor who cares enough to pick up your calls after office hours? Same principle applies if you want repeat customers or a client on a long-term retainer.

Now I said 10 things so stay tuned for Part Two!