Client management – Sometimes it’s the hardest part of my job. Clients wait to give copy and approval. Up until then they are into other projects. Crazy stuff.

Does it seem like you are more concerned about a project than your client is? Do you often deal with ambiguity? Who’s in charge? Do your clients have any idea of how they will work with your firm?

If you’ve been hired, then it’s a BDO*: you’re in charge. (At least you’re supposed to be.)

There are two mantras you should recite every morning before starting your day:

1. I will manage my client’s expectations
2. I will lead my clients

Managing a client’s expectations starts with a great relationship, where they value your input and respect your recommendations. Understanding the relationship informs how you will lead. These are mantras that declare your intent to focus on their needs and expectations in a proactive manner, and make the experience of working with your firm easy.

I will manage my client’s expectations

Too often, we can’t lead our clients because we haven’t:

• Understood how the client wants to work with us
• Defined our expectations (to the client) of the collaborative relationship

To manage your client’s expectations, you need to make clear your policies and procedures. Do you expect timely approvals? Put it in your contract, and make it clear to them. Do you provide weekly status reports? If so, are they aware that you do? Should they call you for every little edit? If not, whom do they call? If a client doesn’t understand how your firm works, then you will constantly be responding to their requests, instead of proactively anticipating their needs.

It’s two-sided: The client has needs and expectations, the design firm has (or should have) workflow procedures. Your procedures will have anticipated their expectations, and the client will make it clear if those will work for them. Of course it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, but it all starts with the relationship that your firm has built with the client.

I will lead my clients

Do you wait for the client to call or send copy, or is your firm proactive in monitoring the project schedule? It’s easier to wait for the “trigger,” the email from the client that indicates you need to drop what you’re doing and fight that fire. Do you wait for input from your client, or do you take the lead role in the collaborative relationship?

Anticipating deadlines, respecting timelines and awareness of your client’s needs will allow you to manage your time and lead your clients. This thinking can be applied to everything from business development to project management. It allows you to control the relationship and the workflow, rather than letting it control you. It allows you to lead your clients, and guide them – not let them pull you along.

My recommendation? Develop your leadership skills. Your clients will notice. The rest will follow.

*Blatant Display of the Obvious

By Brian Sooy
© 2007 Brian Sooy