How Your Clients Are Like Kidnappers

Startup Sunday

I recently observed to a networking buddy that I was starting to view clients as kidnappers. Before you think my small business has taken a turn for the worse, or that I've become paranoid, let me explain.

You know how in those Lifetime Television movies (or last season's Grey's Anatomy finale) the street-smart victim of an abduction tries to humanize herself to her captors? The idea is to tell the criminal about your kids who rely on you, or the aging mother who would be devastated if you died. You talk about your background and your dreams in order to seek points of commonality -- and more importantly, to make yourself seem a unique and precious individual to the person who holds your fate in his hands.

It's the same thing with a small business, especially the many one-person shops like mine that provide professional services to a number of customers. If your clients, like kidnappers, perceive you as a three-dimensional human being, with hopes and dreams, and understand the extensive professional background that qualifies you to provide services, it will be harder for them to kill you -- as a line-item in their budget when times get tough.

On the other hand, if all your interactions with clients have been over email, with perhaps a few phone conversations, you will seem about as real to them as the people who work to provide electricity or water or Internet service. When budget reductions come down from the higher ups, it will be tempting to think that they can find a cheaper alternative to your services.

So how do you establish yourself as a unique, precious human being to your kidnappers, I mean, clients?

Talk on the Phone

First, take the time to talk on the phone, rather than using email all the time. During these phone calls, mention small things about yourself that might lead to a real conversation.

I recently had a client call with questions about the latest project I turned in. While I was opening the file with the relevant work, I passed the time by mentioning that I'd bought a new laptop and needed to make sure I was using the machine containing her project. Coincidentally, she had just upgraded computer systems across the department, and was having trouble with backups and file transfers. I was able to give a few pieces of advice, but more importantly, I found a point of connection with someone who previously had been all cut-and-dried business. It's not much, but it's a human touch to build upon.

Obviously, don't blather on and on about your personal life when it's clear the client isn't interested, but make small comments and follow where they lead. If the other person is receptive, you may soon build a friendship as well as a working relationship. (And we all know it's harder to kill a friend.)

Meet In Person

Second, meet in person. I know that in this information age, it seems more efficient and thus smarter to conduct all business virtually, without having to actually get in a car, train or plane to meet face to face. But there's something about in person get-togethers -- especially if they're over food and drinks -- that builds strong bonds and inspires creative ideas. Yes, you can even be more productive in a face-to-face meeting than in a virtual one. (After all, the person on the other side of the phone may be multitasking -- meaning you definitely aren't getting his best ideas.)

As a journalist, I have discovered that the best material from an interview often comes in the last two minutes of a visit -- after the tape recorder was turned off and we were walking to the elevator, for instance. Once, I had a source tell me, just as I was leaving his office, a piece of information that threw into doubt all the fluffy sounds bites he had fed me during the official conversation.
 
So now that I run my own freelance writing business, I make a point of asking new clients to coffee or lunch, and regularly meeting those who are open to in-person visits. I periodically travel to New York, where most of my non-local clients are based, to expand my network and to nurture old relationships.

Ask for Feedback

Finally, it's important to regularly take the temperature of your clients and ask smart questions about where their business is headed. When you turn in a project, ask whether everything was how they wanted. Rather than simply completing the projects assigned to you, explore whether there are other areas where you could contribute -- for instance, where they are short staffed.

If you understand the bigger context of your client's world -- and how you fit into it -- you will be well-positioned to seize opportunities for expanding the work you do for them, and certainly to avoid being fired because their business shifted away from the services you have offered in the past. You'll also be able to spot areas where you should develop your skills, or hire a subcontractor, in order to provide new solutions that you see they need.

Moreover, when you ask for feedback and receive positive comments, the experience reinforces your client's positive impression of your work. Having the client speak out loud the warm feelings he may be thinking solidifies those good thoughts in his mind.

And of course, if you receive constructive criticism, make sure you immediately rectify any problems. It's much better to hear about problems with your work because of your inquiry. The last thing you want is for the work product to make its way up to your client's boss's boss in a weaker-than-desired state. That's guaranteed to move you down in everyone's estimation -- if not cut you outright from the preferred vendor list.

So now do you understand why I say clients are like kidnappers? Do you agree?

Photo by Anna Gutermuth via Flickr.

Comments

[Karen]

These same tenets can be applied to fundraising, and are probably useful to remember in all lines of work. Your opening description likening the relationship to that of a kidnapper and kidnappee reminded me of the great Flannery O'Connor story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find.". Except hopefully we freelancers/consultants will have a better outcome if we heed your advice!