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Great Clients, Great Benefits

Posted April 3, 2006 By Caroling Lee |

Wouldn’t it be great if you were always able to get what you pay for? Being a great client can get you more for your money and save you time and energy.

How to be a great client and get better results

Whether you’re working with a lawyer or an accountant, being a great client will get you better service (and probably more bang for your buck), save you time and build stronger, more trustworthy partnerships. It’s also just good practice.

“Whether you’re working with a lawyer or an accountant, being a great client will get you better service”

Have you ever been frustrated working with a service provider? Have you ever felt that you weren’t getting quality service from them or that they had dropped the ball?

Instead of getting angry, or more frustrated, try some of the tips below to build a better, more effective partnership with your provider. These will also help you weed out potentially bad partnerships and thus save you money in the long term.

• Choose partners whose skills and expertise you trust. Getting referrals is a great way to do this.
• View the relationship as a partnership
• Ask clear, specific questions and try to understand the process upfront. Understand what to expect.
• Be proactive and responsive.
• Be kind and respectful.
• Make requests, not demands.
• Learn to communicate effectively.
• Be a good listener.
• Be flexible.
• Read the fine print. Documentation may seem lengthy or cumbersome – but it typically has great information on guidelines that will facilitate your working relationship.
• Do your homework and set goals you can articulate.

How can it save you money?

They say that time is money. Using some of the tips above can help you become more efficient and thereby save you time on your project.

• Less time spent on ineffective communications. If you’re being charged by the hour – this can save you dollars on consulting and meeting times.
• Less likely to be ‘nickeled and dimed’ by your provider. Great clients get more from being easy to work with. Your provider is more likely to do work for you that would normally be charged just because they enjoy working with you.
• More likely to get quality service. Not to say that not-so-great clients don’t also get quality service, but great clients are more likely to see providers go above and beyond the call of duty.
• More likely to build a long-term relationship. Long-term business partnerships save you time from searching for new providers and also give you someone to count on for great service.

It’s true that service providers run the gamut, but following some of the tips above could make a good relationship into a great one.

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