Different working styles.

[Claire Freshney]

Hi All.

I have always worked best with Clients who are laid back. Clients who like to be in Control I find difficult, for example:

• Wanting to chat on the telephone daily
• Want regular updates every single day even when there is nothing to update, mostly I hear "Even if its just to say we're all good" that's all they want to hear - I normally update them via email if they are this type of client with daily updates - but I find they need that phone call. The problem is phone calls usually end up about 45 mins long, even though I have tried to say 10 mins.
• I work best when I am left to it - I am extremely competent at my job and generally only need to speak to the client if I have a question

I can mostly spot these clients right from the start, how can I manage these Clients better so I'm not so drained from the daily updates?

I try and tell them we will catch up every few days and they freak out.

HELP.

 

[Ashley_Price]

Well, if the phones calls are taking up to 45 minutes, then perhaps explain to them that going forward the time for those calls are going to have to invoiced for.

You may have to look at building into your T&Cs that state you are happy to send a daily "update email" as part of the service, but beyond that all the time you are working for the client "including answering calls, phoning them, etc." will be billed in addition to the quoted fee.

It may not stop the controlling clients but at least then you are being paid for the time.

 

[Claire Freshney]

Hi Ashley

Thanks for your response.

They are already paying me for the time as it is included in the daily rate. It's just that whilst I am chatting on the phone, we are loosing work time (which I explain).

For example a recent client was worried saying we have 9 days left on this project we need a daily phone call. On average our phone calls were 40 mins long. So I explained this was not productive and if we do this we are reducing our 9 days down to 7.5 days.

I just don't like the whole 'control' thing. I think that's what the issue is maybe?

 

[bovine]

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last post, saying you dont like the control thing. Its more of a thing for you than an actual work issue. Which is fine, some of the best people in various industries are absolutely fantastic,but dont work well with end users. They need someone working as an interface.
if the customer is paying you, then some will want more involvement than others. Its just the way people are. One customer will give you a short brief and let you get on with, others will nit pick every little thing. If the later makes you uncomfortable, then maybe consider getting someone in to work as the interface between you and the customer. They can deal with the time consuming management of the customers, you can get on with doing the actual work. Yes there is a cost, but it frees you up to generate income.
I suppose it also depends on what the customers are calling about. General chat or specific queries about the project?

 

[Claire Freshney]

Yes I know it's a personal issue. I guess because I am good at what I do, I have an element of control within me. So two controlling people trying to work together, we just clash. It's a personality thing.

You see the problem being the calls may just be a generic update. There is only me in my business and I've tried before having someone else manage calls but to gain my level of knowledge in UX would take some training and Clients don't like the idea of having a middle man, especially when i'm working with large brands - if they wanted that they would go to an agency. It's a problem i'm going to have to try and manage.

Like you say some clients are a walk in the park and we get on really well, then others we just clash because they want to be in control and so do i. Actually quite funny when you think about it.

I'm not sure of the answer yet... Maybe outlining the communication and updates at the start will make it clear e.g. I will send daily updates by email if requested, phone calls are charged as an addition to the daily rate.

 

[SamLH]

Yes I know it's a personal issue. I guess because I am good at what I do, I have an element of control within me.

So people who don't like to control aren't good at what they do?

 

[Claire Freshney]

My control comes with organisation to ensure everything is in order, which "I believe" is the result of my current success. This is not a fact, just my thoughts. Please do not take that literally.

 

[NickGrogan]

Treat the call like a face to face meeting and arrange an agenda before hand. Once all points have been covered, thank them for the call and they'll go off happy.

Keep in control of the calls and everyone's happy.

 

[bovine]

You mention control a lot. Whenever I have conversations with people i never consider if they are trying to control me or im trying to control them. Dont look at it like that. The customer is paying you to do a job for them. They want the end result to be a certain way. But some people have a clear picture of the end result, others dont. The clear ones will want to communicate that with you to ensure they get what they want, not what you want.
I dont know your industry specifically, so set parameters of how you and they operate. If the customers dont need updating daily, tell them when the updates will be coming. Develop systems to automate if necessary.

 

[JamesWhite83]

If you don't really feel there is a need to contact with your customer daily through the phone, maybe try different kind of feedback, like e-mails, leaving phone calls for urgent matters? I don't really think that your customer calls to control you and that they don't trust you. They pay you and want to simply check if their money are well spent, and if they will achieve the result they expect. If the customer insists on calling you daily, in my opinion you should agree, because in some way they are your employer and they pay you, so they can have some demands. In that case, maybe try at least agree on one specific hour that you will contact, so that you can plan the rest of your day and work.

 

[STDFR33]

I can mostly spot these clients right from the start

They are already paying me for the time as it is included in the daily rate

If they are paying you, then they should have the right to request updates when they want. You aren't losing out. You just need to manage their expectations that the project may overrun because of the quantity of updates they want.

If you can spot them from the start, and don't like working with them, you could decline the work.

If you need the money, then it's best you bite your lip and just get on with the service the client is paying you for.

 

[Claire Freshney]

I think that's maybe what it is, I don't need the money and I have the luxury of being a little picky with who i work with. Therefore, in the back of my mind I know i don't have to deal with daily phone calls which are completely unnecessary.

I think i'll just be more picky in future..

 

[AllUpHere]

Maybe you need to work on your communication skills. You tell us how great you are at what you do in just about every post, but it could be that you don't come across to clients as particularly competent, so they feel the need to constantly check what you are doing.

Don't fall for your own hype. It's possible that if you were as good as you think you are, you wouldn't be having this problem.

 

[Brennerz]

Sorry if I should of grasped this, but what is your line of work?

To reduce the number of phone calls, are there other methods you could send updates? of course email would be obvious - but perhaps a voice recorded message.

Depending on the work you are doing, are you really able to give them that many updates?

In the past I took on a large company to do SEO work for me, they turned out to be a nightmare, it got to the point that I had to ask them for a full itemisation of the time spent so I could see where my money was allocated.

Well it turned out from the £500 a month I was spending, they were charging out at £70/hour - so that's roughly 7 hours a month. Every 2 weeks they phoned me on progress, what is next, around an hour each time.... and this was on the breakdown they sent me! So roughly I was paying them £140 a month just to tell me things are going well (which they weren't) and what they are going to do next.

With this in mind - is it really necessary for them to need that many updates? Would they actually understand what you have done.

Perhaps on a daily basis, you could bullet point what you have done and what you will do - perhaps that would deter them from needing the tel call?

 

[Claire Freshney]

Sure i'll consider my communication if and when i have more than one client a year who is difficult and when I am not making any money.

I have many happy clients obviously..

 

[Claire Freshney]

Unfortunately, in my line of work (UX) real progress is made every few days.

Sounds like you got taken for a ride there with SEO!

I think as long as you are 100% transparent with your methods and your Client understands what you are doing - in their language, then you are all good

I bullet point every day and send updated emails. I am speaking about one particular client here, many others are great - i just struggle with this personality type and get around 1 per year who i aim to please, but their working style is too different.

 

[Brennerz]

Do you find yourself dedicating more time than they pay? if they aren't huge payers, could you be earning more for less time if you were to drop them?

 

[Claire Freshney]

They pay me for a day rate - however i estimate my time based upon my 'working hours'. For example if I were to estimate 40 days to complete the job, I haven't accounted for 1hr phone call each day, that's 40 hours (1 week) i have not accounted for.

 

[Jay69]

It's swings and roundabouts and part of running a business and should be factored into your pricing structure regardless of the client type, that way when the odd client takes up your time you know you are covered and the others that leave you alone... well you would have made a sizeable profit regardless if you need the money or not.

I have clients who pay me a monthly support fee and some are on the phone everyday and go way beyond their support time to start of with and for the rest of the year I don't hear from them which is great because they are still paying me and have more than made up for the time I have spent with them and they are the ones who send me referrals.

Be firm, polite and flexible if you are zoned out on a project and they call, ask them if you can call them back in an hour or a specific time and they tend to be more relaxed and happy when you call them back and also you gain some level of 'Control'.

It's not a battle of control however, it's meeting expectations, a customer wants what they have paid for and by heck it's best to give it to them, but if they are offensive or bullish and disrespectful, then decline or close the project down issue refund - minus time spent and cut your losses.

We are all human and it's just about hitting the clients sweet spot, sometimes they have been hard done by in the past and don't want that to happen again, some are just ignorant but all can be turned around into your best clients with the right communication.

 

[tony84]

Some of my clients need a lot of handholding, not surprising as there is a lot riding on it. In the main I keep people well updated. If I get told by a lender that we should have news in 48 hours, I tend to tell clients 48-72 hours. It gives me a little breathing space should that timeframe over run and usually means they are not chasing me until the 48 hours are up.

I do occassionally get people call me up after 24 hours and I just pretty much say I did say it would be 2-3 days for an update, it has only been one. It is one thing I do get a bit arsey about.

 

[woodss]

You absolutely need to lay ground rules about communication - they are not paying you, they are hiring you and there is a difference. They don't own your time and you shouldn't be exclusively tied to any one person unless it's scheduled in (what about supporting your other clients?)

If you're talking for 45 minutes that suggests you're providing some sort of consultancy which should absolutely be billable in addition to any actual production work they're hiring you for.

I have a hard time believing that any client needs hand-holding to that degree and perhaps they need reminding that they should simply let a professional do the job they're being hired to complete, otherwise it's the equivalent of hiring a builder and shadowing him all day asking what he's doing, why and how long it's going to take...

 

[Newchodge]

You need to take 'control' of this situation. People do this without justification, in order to feel they are doing something.

A different scenario, I used to deal with people experiencing problems at work. I would always explain to them exactly what was happening, what the timescale was, and that I would contact them as soon as there was any movement.

I had one client who, having been told exactly what was going on, that nothing would happen for at least 4 weeks and that i would tell her as soon as something happened. She rang the next day and said she did not know what was going on. I started out explaining, again, exactly what was going on and that I would tell her as soon as something happened. i got the same call from her the next day, and dealt with it the same way. And the next day. And the next day. Each call took about an hour. She wasn't paying me, I was her trade union rep and the hour I spent every day speaking to her was an hour I did not have available to do my work.

After 5 days I changed tactic. I don't know what's going on - yes you do, I told you yesterday. But I don't understand. What, exactly, don't you understand. I don't understand what is going on. Well you understood yesterday when I told you. Nothing has changed, and I will tell you when anything changes. Goodbye.

I still got calls every day, but they lasted less than 5 minutes. My client wanted, and probably needed, a psychologist. That was not my role.

You need to take control of your client - ask what they are ringing about. Ask what update they expect that they did not get yesterday. Do not play their game, make them understand that their call is (a) pointless and (b) costing them a fortune.