Customer Service

Independent service professionals need to establish boundaries with clients. You decide how you want to relate to your clients and how you will manage their demands. Take these steps at the beginning of the relationship and your communications will be smooth and problem-free.

By way of analogy, companies often communicate their culture by the way they hire employees. Some companies establish a high standard of professionalism right from the beginning. Everyone is on time, organized and polite. But some companies ask applicants to jump through hoops, such as stress interviews and intrusive questions. You have to decide what you are willing to do to get hired.

Jumping through hoops has never appealed to me. I was lucky in my corporate and academic days: nobody asked me to do anything objectionable. Today as a solo-preneur, I resist client demands that seem unrealistic. For example, one client told me she was interviewing 21 potential business coaches. I was number 4. We had a nice chat. She called back with half a dozen more questions. I told her, “If you aren’t clear by now, you would do better to find someone else.”

Many busy professionals skip the free introductory calls. Instead they encourage prospective clients to sign up for a diagnostic or introductory session. You work together for a very short project. This technique typically produces better results than the free get-acquainted calls. After all, when you conduct a free get-acquainted call, you resemble a job applicant who wants a job. You’re on your best behavior. You probably have a scripted presentation. The whole dynamic will change when money changes hands.

Let’s face it. Experienced consultants, coaches and other professionals are too busy to jump through hoops or get into extended discussions. They have a full pipeline and/or multiple sources of income. When my own business gets slow, I work on copywriting for my own products and for my affiliate products. I develop new information products. I never have downtime.

Besides, your first interview with a new client will influence your relationship indefinitely. I often wonder how employees relate to a company after they’ve survived half a dozen stress interviews and a day of insulting questions. I also wonder whether companies are getting the best employees this way. Even in a tough economy, high achievers often enjoy multiple offers so they don’t have to scramble.

In the same way, your clients will respect your time when you limit your free introductions. They will benefit because when you work with them, you’ll be performing services that have value. You deliver value right from the beginning and you make it clear that you don’t have time to do anything else.

And now I invite you to find out more by visiting
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com. Download my free report, 7 secrets of websites that really attract clients. From Cathy Goodwin, The Website Makeover Pro. Visit me at http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com