What resources are out there to improve my knowledge of working with clients well and effectively? Books, podcasts, videos, anything would be great!
It’s geared to freelancers but honestly it talks about a lot of soft skills that are probably equally as important as technical skills when it comes to self employment or when talking with clients.
If you want me to ping you when it's back, drop me a line using 8qwt95ckm@mozmail.com
(That's an aliased address using relay.firefox.com BTW)
Out the top of my head, things you should keep in mind:
- It's a relationship like any other, and you earn each other trust through your interactions over time. So you need to be extremely reliable and responsive if you want to be perceived as trust worthy;
- If something bad happened, be transparent and the sooner you say it the better. It's extremely uncomfortable, and you'll try to delay it because you don't want to say shit happened, even if it wasn't your fault.
- Never bring up a problem without a solution, or a potential solution, or a recommendation for a solution. No one wants problems, we all have plenty of those. Even if it's something out of your control, you should always spin a solution for it.
- Always reply, never leave someone hanging;
But you'll only get these things rooted by exposing yourself and doing it. You'll just be missing someone to course correct you, and nudge you in the right direction.
> - It's a relationship like any other, and you earn each other trust through your interactions over time. So you need to be extremely reliable and responsive if you want to be perceived as trust worthy;
Trust does develop over time. But it's not something to worry about. It's something that happens naturally. Being reasonably reliable is important but set reasonable expectations.
> - If something bad happened, be transparent and the sooner you say it the better. It's extremely uncomfortable, and you'll try to delay it because you don't want to say shit happened, even if it wasn't your fault.
It shouldn't be uncomfortable to be honest with people about what's happening. If you are uncomfortable then there's likely a power imbalance. You don't have enough clients so you are worried about making one client unhappy.
> - Never bring up a problem without a solution, or a potential solution, or a recommendation for a solution. No one wants problems, we all have plenty of those. Even if it's something out of your control, you should always spin a solution for it.
I think the real issue here is that clients want people who are able to exude the confidence that they can solve problems. I see no problem outlining a bunch of problems that need to be solved to a client.
> - Always reply, never leave someone hanging;
Agreed. But I read a sense of urgency here. No need to reply immediately.
The missing piece here is that your skills are in such high demand that you don't need to act like a servant to your clients. If there is mutual respect you will get paid a lot more. Since you are new to this it will take time for you to appreciate this.
I think you said it all here.
I'm talking in a broad sense, that can be applied to any service with high or low demand, in terms of providing good customer service when you're starting out.
You're talking about power imbalances that allow you to provide - arguably - subpar customer service just because they don't have much choice due to high demand.
If demand increases they'll jump ship.
I'm saying this because you reminded me of some friends that do consulting for some big accounting systems, bragging that they lock clients under their contracts and software, only to leave them with crap customer support because the cost to change provider is too high - those clients are hostages basically.
It should be something simple like a spreadsheet or a web page or an app that only does one thing.
The most important thing you will experience is the last 10% of the project taking up 90% of the time.
The least repeatable thing you will learn is why.
After you have done this enough times to start seeing patterns that help you to avoid bad outcomes for both you and the client, you will be ready to start working as a professional developer.
After you have experienced successes and disasters as a professional developer, you will be an experienced professional developer.
This.
Ever notice when there’s a new building going up, and the building looks complete, after just a few months, but it doesn’t open its doors for another year?
That’s because all the “finish work,” like carpeting, drywall, painting/wallpaper, doors, etc., takes forever.
It also generally requires the most expensive employees.
That’s one reason a Mercedes costs three times as much as a Toyota. They seem to be fairly equivalent, but the Merc has a whole lot more “finish,” and that costs a lot.
Most folks find they can live without that extra polish, when they learn the cost. Toyotas are excellent vehicles, and have a reasonable cost.
So, a big part of commercial feasibility, is learning where the “sweet spot” lies, so the last 10% takes only 40% of the time, and the customer is happy.
For myself, I like to do “the full Monty,” and go for 90%, but it has been my experience that no one wants to pay for it.
So I do it for free.
(apologies for my English) and best of luck!
The second most useful advice is to consider the power dynamics in your relationship, as it is not always the direction you expect. The best long term relationships work when the client and the contractor have as much to gain from the success of the project as each other.
And best of luck with your new venture. Exciting times!
I've worked in different client facing role at Software companies for over a decade. There's a huge spectrum of people on both sides who succeed in client facing roles. Introverts, Extroverts, talkers, quiet people, people who lie about everything, people who can't keep their mouth shut and always say what they perceive is the truth, people who are easy-going and friendly, people who seem to have no ability to talk about anything apart from work and tech topics, etc. There's a lot of variance from company to company as well.
IME any "educational" material will paint an overly narrow view of the type of personality who can have successful client interactions. It may only further derail your confidence about being successful in this regarfds.
If you do get a client facing job, watch and learn from your peers. Make mistakes and learn from them. It'll take time to be comfortable, maybe a year or more. Eventually you'll be fine.
You'll get better at working with clients through experience - essentially you'll build wisdom.
For sure, you'll fuck up a lot of relationships before things start to go well. That's normal.
You'll also have to think of an economic position and where you want to stand in the relationship to your clients. Are you thirsty for work? Can you communicate rationally under high pressure? Are you being exploited? How much heart do you put into your client's work?
I've written an article about the relationship I once had with my clients. But since then it probably became outdated once again. It changes constantly, but maybe it's interesting for you: https://timdaub.github.io/2021/01/16/web-principles/
Sorry, I don't know any books or other resources regarding this topic.
The key is to have empathy and remember one golden rule: It is never about you, make it always about them.
