What Would You Learn If You Could Read Your Client’s Mind?
Posted September 14, 2009 in Managing Clients 18 Comments »
Have you ever wished that you could read the minds of your clients? Have you ever wanted to know exactly what a client was thinking in the middle of those project negotiations?
You’ve probably had those desires at some point in your freelance career. Clients often hold entirely unknown expectations — and a quick glimpse into their thoughts would be very enlightening.
While it’s probably not be possible to actually read your client’s mind, it is possible to make some educated guesses about what your client wants and needs. By putting yourself into their situation you can get a better idea of what they are thinking, and hopefully use that information to improve your relationship .
Five Things Your Clients Are Thinking
At one time or another we’ve all been someone’s customer. Remembering what it’s actually like to be in that position can help you to relate to your own customers better.
Here are some thoughts that your clients might be having:
I hired you because I can’t do the work.
Either they don’t have the time to get the project done, or they don’t have the expertise to do it. Your clients are relying on you to have both the time and knowledge to do the work.
Have you ever hired someone to do a task that you could have done yourself? Hiring someone to cut your lawn, clean your house, or even do household repairs may all fall into this category. How would you feel if the person you hired to work for you started the job and then didn’t finish because they “ran out of time.” You’d probably be pretty upset if this happened to you. Your client also gets upset when you don’t allow enough time to get his or her work done.
Ask questions if you need, but don’t bother me with too many details.
Your clients will almost always want you to ask questions if you really need their input on a project, but they also hired you precisely because they don’t want to worry about this project. Once you know what you need to do, try not to bother them with too many details that they might not care about.
Have you ever hired someone to repair your car? If so, unless you’re a car buff, you probably don’t really want the repair person to explain every single detail how they will accomplish the repairs. You just want your car to work properly again. Your client is the same way. They just want the project to go smoothly. They don’t want to hear every single step that you took to make it happen.
I’m expecting you to be prepared and ready for work.
Your clients don’t expect to have to provide you with anything to do your work. You should already be prepared with the industry standard resources and equipment to be able to perform your services.
Imagine hiring a painter that showed up to paint your house without a paintbrush. How would you feel? I know that I would be a bit annoyed if this happened to me. That annoyed feeling is exactly how your client feels when you don’t have the design or writing tools that you need to do their job right. Note: this doesn’t apply to tools that you are buying specifically for your client, like a bit of programming code that they will own after the project.
Don’t make me have to guess when the project will be finished.
If you and your client have discussed and set a due date, then it is important to plan for and stick to that date. They likely gave a due date for a reason, and they expect that date to be met.
What if you hired a band to entertain for a big party that you were planning? Wouldn’t you expect them to show up to work on the date and at the time of your party? Of course you would. You wouldn’t expect the band to wander in a week after the party was over and announce that “now they are ready to play.” In fact you probably wouldn’t pay even them if they showed up to work that late. Your client feels the same way about missed deadlines.
I dislike revisions as much as you do.
Most freelancers don’t realize it, but a lot of clients hate rework as much as we do.
I once hired a painter to paint my bathroom. He arrived promptly with the proper tools, and immediately began to work in my bathroom. I had some errands to run, so I went ahead and left him to do the job. A few hours later I returned to find that my bathroom had been painted a lovely color of sky blue. The only problem with that was that I had requested that he paint the bathroom a cream color. Naturally I made him redo the job and he had to eat the cost of the rework, along with the cost for the wrong paint. The fact of the matter is that extra work just isn’t good for anyone.
Have You Had Bad Experiences As a Customer?
Have these sorts of things ever happened to you?
Can you remember any instances of being the customer when something went wrong?
If you can, try to relate what happened to you as a customer to your role as a freelancer. Do you treat your clients as well as you want to be treated when you were the customer?
Share your thoughts and stories in the comments.
Image by BK Ninja
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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18 Comments
Steve Bellante
September 14th, 2009 at 2:42 pmThe hours of conversation and email I could save if I was able to actually read a client’s mind would be priceless. Unfortunately for me though, I haven’t been able to perfect those powers… yet! I often find that a standard template Q&A session in the beginning really helps to hammer out the details and eliminate any break downs in communication that could occur. Interesting post.
Laura Spencer
September 14th, 2009 at 2:53 pmLOL – Steve!
I heartily agree with asking questions up front. The more we understand about the project the less likely we are to have a miscommunication.
Tyler
September 14th, 2009 at 3:20 pmGood insight.
We actually just did a similar exercise with our company. We asked “what information clients need to choose us?”. We created a list of questions based on our experience with clients and used the answers to shape the content on our website.
A good thing to do is ask some of you clients that you have good relationships with. Its very enlightening to discover why you were hired.
Aleksandar webdesign
September 14th, 2009 at 3:24 pmExactly. Putting yourself into client’s skin and look through his perspective can help a lot.
Laura Spencer
September 14th, 2009 at 3:36 pmTyler – what a great question for a freelancing business to ask — “What information clients need to choose us?”
I like that idea!
Thanks for sharing.
Mark
September 14th, 2009 at 6:16 pmAs tempted as I am to do something other than what the client requested I know that neither one of us like to do revisions. Great insight on the mind of a client. Thanks!
Alex Lim
September 14th, 2009 at 9:40 pmI just wish the universe had bestowed me the power to read minds, it’s a good asset. I really understand that clients are too busy, but I would greatly appreciate if they will allow few minutes to discuss their expectation and some few details. Regardless, putting yourself in the position of the client is a better way to understand them.
Personally, before I ask questions, I make sure that I read all the instructions and materials available. It’s a waste of time (annoying for the client and embarrassing for the freelancer) to ask questions when the answers are already in your inbox. ss
Great post Laura
Suzanne Boles
September 15th, 2009 at 12:26 pmGreat advice. Thanks for sharing this! Even those of us who’ve been freelancing for a long time need to remind ourselves of these useful tips!
Kei
September 15th, 2009 at 12:42 pmI love your articles Laura. Fun read and I always learn a lot. Thanks for sharing! ~ Kei
makemassair
September 15th, 2009 at 5:03 pmYour paragraph about the reworks is very much close to home at the moment.
I’ve been doing some work with a new client and have had to do several reworks beyond the original one that I offer in the quote.
What has helped is the clients total honesty and this is the first time they’ve needed this particular job filled (a graphic design piece for print) and so they are learning. Which I am happy to accommodate as they paid promptly, upfront more than I quoted them for (which was a shock) and have offered a bit more due to messing me around. I like them as clients despite the extra work I’ve had to put in.
Also, I can see that they would be a good client for repeat business from themselves and their partners.
In some situations it can be beneficial I think, as the client knows me and my working methodology better and I know them better a client. Which I’m hopeful will lead to a good working relationship.
m.
Heather Villa, CMA, MBA, MSM
September 15th, 2009 at 8:51 pmOh Wow! If I could read minds, it would be the ultimate ability and no more trying to decipher between what the client says and what they mean!
List Building Site Blog
September 18th, 2009 at 4:18 amGood idea Laura. How i wish i could read client’s mind directly. Thanks for this good insights.
lisa
September 19th, 2009 at 11:22 amI need to start compiling a list of questions that I will ask to my client. This will really help me save those wasted hours of not getting what client wants.
Thanks for the great article.
Nic loves languages
September 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pmNobody likes revisions. I find the best way when dealing with translation jobs (where the client often doesn’t know the source or target culture) is to send the question as a yes/no question or a binary question.
For example,
Should I provide you with a pdf? or,
Do you want a pdf or .doc file?
NOT
What kind of format do you want me to send you?
The difference may not seem significant but the client doesn’t want to hear from you much. If they can give short answers, it just saves them that much extra time. You could also make sure that you send a lot together rather than many separate brief emails.
Nic
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