This piece was contributed by Rebecca Tall Brown, a longtime Hera Hub member and founder of Tri-Line Marketing, with a mission of working to restore the autonomy and rewards of marketing back where they belong: with the business owner.
Oh, no. Not again.
Avoid the agony + anxiety of miserable clients with some DIY Preemptive Action.
You’ve probably all been there at least once.
Closing a deal with a new client or customer – who seems like the “right one”.
You’re over the moon.
Price is agreed upon.
Contract gets signed. Work commences.
Cloud nine, baby.
But it doesn’t last long.
Something goes wrong.
The client is either way too communicative with emails, texts, and phone calls coming at inappropriate hours and in overwhelming volume. OR they go completely silent.
You, in turn do the opposite: either stop responding, or think WAY too much about un-answerable questions like: WHAT could be wrong!?
You’ve probably also:
- Avoided emails.
- Started weighing how badly this could affect your reputation Asking yourself questions like: Who do they know that I know?
- Done the hard math to figure out if you’re going to have to issue a refund. And where will the funds will come from?!
- Started going back on the services agreed upon, by say… offering up your first-born to make sure the client stays “happy”.
In the spirit of DIY Marketing Month, let me offer you some seriously productive marketing assistance… by way of stopping you from ever having to go through that hell again.Here’s how:
Take {Preemptive} Action
Maintain control of your projects, keep client focus, and ensure delight, all while meeting reasonable expectations:
1) Have a process.
And tell your clients about this process before your work together.
2) Put your process in your contract.
3) Remind them.
In all emails, remind clients what stage they are in your process.
4) Keep the to-do list in their face.
Let your client know what you’ve already accomplished together — and what you’ve already done for them, and what’s left to do.
5) Mirror their lives a bit each week.
At certain intervals (I usually do this weekly), I ask my clients if anything new has popped up that they want me to know about (or any concerns they have). This minimizes surprises or new shiny ideas from circumventing our work.
6) Don’t forget about formal feedback.
At our halfway mark, I formally ask clients for their feedback on how things are going.
7) Finish with grace.
As we close our project, I build in an “extra week” where they can think things over, so they don’t feel rushed out the door. I’ve found how you finish with a client is what they remember most.
Let’s get the ball rolling for your business:
- Looking at the above steps, quickly jot down the places that you need to fix.
Is it with a lawyer? Is it with someone to help you give more approachable language to your contract? - Write the names of people who can help you.
If you’re not sure… use me to help you find help. - Send a message to those people to set a time to talk.
As you DIY market this month, take a solid stand for your business process: never let misery and anxiety again take over.
And please remember – you’re not a solo-preneur in a silo. There are dozens of people who are in the same boat.
To your empire,
Rebecca
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Rebecca Tall Brown, owner of Tri-Line Marketing, is a Marketing Strategist with small business in her DNA. A fourth-generation entrepreneur outfitted with an MBA, Rebecca has seen first-hand that businesses with well-planned marketing strategies are better equipped to take advantage of opportunities, maximize order and structure, and forge a strong bottom-line.Rebecca works alongside big thinking entrepreneurs, helping them build custom marketing blueprints – effective approaches that close the door on hype and fatigue. In the process, entrepreneurs learn how to organize, revise, maximize, and utilize their marketing as efficiently as possible. Learn more about Rebecca at TriLineMarketing.com
