Do your clients like you? We’d all like to say “yes,” but have a think for a minute. Do they really, honestly and truly, like you as an SEO and as a person?
Although thinking about your "likeability" factor may bring back good or bad memories from high school, it is something that can greatly affect your work relationships and the success of a project. Some of you may be thinking that it shouldn’t matter, and that your work will speak for itself. I'm here to tell you that a mindset like that will get you tossed whether it’s in a month or a year of working together.
Don’t believe me? Story time:
While working as a consultant, I’ve been a part of meetings where, when a potential client is asked why they’re coming to us even with their metrics up and to the right, they’ve responded with a simple, “We just want to see what else is out there.”
This indifferent statement threw me for a loop. How could a company not be happy and satisfied with “success?” Then it hit me: no matter how hard you work, if your clients don’t like you, really and truly like you, you’re gone.
But don’t get discouraged yet! Not all successful projects (or even failed projects) are a lost cause. There are some simple project management skills and tasks that can get your clients to like you more and keep you around for a longer period of time.
Let’s get the love fest started:
1. Hit the ground running
The beginning of any project can be an exciting, yet rocky time. First impressions matter, so don’t ruin yours by dropping the ball. I often like to start my projects by delivering a “Quick Wins” piece in the first few days. This piece aims to identify issues on the site that will take minimal resources to fix and will have a big impact.
Don’t worry about making this an involved piece that takes a lot of time to complete. The point should be to show your new client that they made the right decision by bringing you in, and to keep them busy for a week or two!
Why they’ll love you:
- You get stuff done quickly.
- You’ve already identified big opportunities.
- Confirmation they made a good decision by bringing you on.
2. Pre-deliver and collaborate
If you do not currently pre-deliver some of your work and collaborate with your client, you are doing it wrong. Why would you want to spend an exorbitant amount of time and energy on a piece of work that your client will later tear to shreds if it’s not what they were looking for, or isn’t plausible for them to implement?
Save yourselves a huge headache and take the guesswork out of it early. By emailing your point of contact along the way, you’ll get many opportunities for feedback. Additionally, by pre-delivering, you can ask the client if there is anything they’ve been trying to get buy-in for or pushed through. If so, include it! (If it makes sense and it’s a good idea, that is. By helping your point of contact get something pushed through, you’ll most definitely gain some loyalty points.)
Why they’ll love you:
- They’ll feel included in the process.
- You delivered pertinent recommendations and confirmed what a great idea it was to bring you in.
- You helped get one of their objectives pushed through quickly.
3. Call your client
Don’t let Carly Rae Jepsen tell you otherwise. There’s no maybes about it, call your client. The ghost of SEO past, Tom Critchlow, taught me early on that communication solves all problems, and he is 100% right. The simple act of picking up the phone and calling a client unannounced has resulted in some of the most rewarding and insightful calls I've experienced.
Unscheduled calls can give you and your point of contact a chance to just talk. No agenda. No one else interrupting. You can speak freely, and sometimes you’ll even get your client to open up about their own frustrations, ambitions, etc. These impromptu sessions can turn into a great bonding sessions for you and your client.
Why they’ll love you:
- Calling them out of scheduled time shows you care.
- You share the same project pains, so you can work together to find a resolution.
4. Visit your client and take them out for beers
This little project management, get-my-client-to-love-me-tip is a bit more involved, but has a big effect. Not being able to meet your client face-to-face is a strange thing if you think about it. You simply become a voice on the other side of the phone. If you really want to win over your client and get them to like you, schedule a trip to visit them or tie it in with conference traveling, vacationing, etc.
Meeting your client and looking them in the eyes can work wonders. While you’re there, you should most definitely take some sound advice from Paddy Moogan and take your client for a drink. Nothing says, “Hey, I’m a great person even outside of work,” than taking your client for a beer. Similar to calling them unscheduled, you’ll most likely get a new perspective on some issues they are dealing with and get to know them outside of just work.
Why they’ll love you:
- Visiting them in person shows commitment.
- You’re fun! You have a life outside of work so show them a little more of who you really are (you may even have things in common!).
- They’ll have a face to put to a name and have more of a connection to you.
5. Do work they haven’t asked for
This last bit may have people be thinking, “Why would I voluntarily do work for free?” Well, if you really want to go above and beyond for your client, then you’re gonna have to throw the dog a bone and do some extra work.
Whether it’s completing an extra competitor analysis or outreaching to a blogger who forgot to put in a link, you’re showing your client that it’s not just what’s in the contract that matters. It’s truly seeing them succeed that counts.
Additionally, this is a great opportunity for you to show them a bigger project vision. If your project is set up for a smaller engagement, you can naturally up-sell your client and get them excited about what else you can do achieve together.
Why they’ll love you:
- You did “free” work.
- You took some initiative for the betterment of the client.
- You’ll open their eyes to bigger opportunities.
Will my clients like me?
That’s the goal! But, in all seriousness, the sign of a good consultant is someone who can build strong relationships and deliver quality work. Often times we forget the former by getting to bogged down in work. SEO is easy. Consulting is hard. Remember to come up for air and say hi to your client, because, who knows, it could save your project if the timing is right.
While I agree with most of the sentiment of this article, I think you have to be careful - both with maintaining professionalism (and a professional relationship) and ensuring your client doesn't think they can ever 'take advantage' of you.
Going out for beers is nice in theory - but getting drunk with a client? I think you need to be careful with this one to stay on the right side of sober. A dinner with a sole glass of wine (or no alcohol at all) might be a safer bet.
The last thing you want is to say the wrong thing, or harm their opinion of you by moving from tipsy into drunk.
And doing work for free? Yes, it might make your client love you and rule out ever looking elsewhere. It also might make them think you'll do other things they ask, at no extra charge, and at what point do you say 'no'?
I agree with your last point especially. Doing work for free is a slippery slope. It would be nice if all clients appreciated the freebie, but often, you'll open the door to an escalating list of 'extra' tasks that you should really be charging for. Once you're in that position, you can understand why a client would be confused - you did all these bits and pieces for free last time, so why not now?
As an SEO copywriter, I used to get asked to do free work on a trial basis. Quite often, the client would disappear without a trace as soon as the freebie was delivered. It's something I feel pretty strongly about; if you have a good portfolio, you shouldn't really need to work without pay.
Once you start doing little things for free, it becomes expected that you won't charge for other tasks to be completed. Then it comes down to what to charge for and what not to charge for. That may jeopardize your working relationship with the client in the long run!
As for going out and drinking with business clients, I think @ Julianne is thinking of 1 or 2 beers... not getting smashed.
Hey Amy -
Thanks a lot for your comments. I actually pretty strongly disagree with your statements about your clients won't take you seriously or that you need to maintain an air of professionalism. I have had many clients tell me that they appreciate the fact that we are candid and a partner with them instead of an outsourced solution.
Also, Julianne is talking about projects where it has a set end point. What she is talking about (going above and beyond) will then lead often to a continuation project. So it's not ongoing free work, but communication is key here to set those expectations, tell them that you're going above and beyond, and that translates into future success.
Hi John,
Perhaps drinking and socialising with clients has worked for you - but this doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone. I stand by my thinking that this is ground you need to tread very carefully on.
In the comment above yours, Dubs has said "I think @ Julianne is thinking of 1 or 2 beers... not getting smashed. "
But as I see it, you can't make assumptions about a client's attitude towards drinking within a business relationship. Unless it's something they've expressed an interest in doing, I'd think it advisable to steer clear of suggesting it at all.
How can you be sure that it's not something they're actually quite uncomfortable with (perhaps they don't drink often), but go along with out of politeness or because they feel obligated to?
And where do you draw the line? Is two drinks okay? Three? Ten? It might be okay to say just have one or two, but how often does one drink lead to people staggering home at three in the morning?
A couple of drinks with a client may leave you feeling tipsy, and thinking that a couple more is a good idea. Either way two drinks is enough (in some people) to loosen lips and make you say something you probably shouldn't.
And I think that the issue of drinking/socialising with clients is even more controversial when it comes to women in business.
As much as I'd like to think we're all equals, the fact is we're not, and many businessmen continue to think that women aren't as capable as they are. Losing our air of professionalism with male clients is unlikely to boost their opinion of us, or improve our working relationship.
With regards to 'free' work, perhaps this is a different issue with projects of a set time frame - I didn't realise that this was what Julianne was alluding to.
Probably one of the most contradicting arguments I have read in awhile -_-
Amy is right, be very careful when asking your client out for a drink. Just make sure you know what you are doing and have a plan & adjective before doing so.
But what if your client is Anheiser Bush? How many beers is appropriate then? Don't you think limiting yourself to just one or two Buds might be perceived as a slight? And, what if you don't even like beer and would rather order wine? I have a meeting with them next week so I'm looking for some good advice here.Thanks!
Ah yes, the good old "if you do free work, nobody will pay you ever" argument.
I actually do the opposite. I always do free work first. Not only do I get a chance to blow their minds away, it's also a good marketing approach: it's called the law of reciprocity. Do such awesome work that they WANT to continue.
Especially effective when I'm competing with established competitors.
The key is to be discerning:
1. Are they legitimate prospects?
2. If they are legitimate, can they afford your full services?
And I agree with Julianne. If my client pays me $1000, I aim to deliver $1500 in value. I never ever stick to "what's agreed on the contract". I don't want them to be satisfied. I want them to be a raving fan.
And guess what? In return, I charge twice the rate others do (close to triple figure hourly rate). And I get all my clients through referral.
It's awesome you guys are insisting potential clients take the risk. My 2 cents.
Andrianes, it has hard to think the way that you do, but darn it I really want to. All your points are valid, and I feel you are correct. I am going to try and it your way and believe that not everyone is trying to rip us off. I appreciate what you said about your rates, because I feel the same way. In the long run if you provide great work, it will attract great clients.
Magiclogix, you brought up a great point: most people assumes it's a big bad world out there. Everyone trying to rip us off. But the truth is almost always the opposite: most of us are good people who HATES ripping off other people.
Hi Julianne,
The sentiment here is spot on - do things that make you stand out. Whether that be by being more proactive, responsible, or over delivering... the thing to be careful about though - as Matt and Amy have noted - is not to misalign your expectations with that of the client.
The most important thing that I've always found when it comes to working with any type of client is to manage expectations. Let them know what they're going to get and, when you do over deliver, make sure that they know this isn't something that's within the contract - you've done this because you wanted to / thought it would help.
One other thing that I find interesting is the (negative) effect that offering free or discounted services can have. If you undervalue yourself at the start it's really hard to change that perception... which I guess probably brings us back to managing expectations :)
Matt
Nice post Julianne - you certainly seem likable :)
I'm working with a new client now. I think the thing that struck a cord with him and gained his trust is that I offered to explain why I was doing certain things. I was very transparent and even offered to teach some SEO basics. By working with clients this way you'll certainly pick up more work through referrals in the future.
Plus, it's nice to be liked!
Great article!
This might seem like common sense but it took me a few years to realize: if you convince your client to try something, but it doesn't work, don't shy away from it. Be transparent. And most importantly, make sure you have a clear explanation of why it didn't work and what you plan on doing to fix it.
It's not always a fun conversation to have, but it builds trust and respect.
This is definitely a subject in agency land that many account managers get wrong so thanks for bringing it up. I would say however that a number of your points could lead to unrealistic expectations from the client, if you over-deliver and collaborate early on then they will expect that every month, some of which might not be achievable due to workload changes/new clients.
Speaking to a client is obviously important as, like you said it does help strengthen relationships and while everyone likes a drink not all clients will appreciate it, especially early on in the agency/client relationship. All certainly food for thought though :)
Its more of a culture that needs to be developed . And its also probably dependent on personality of individuals to get out of line and help the clients , like answering their late night calls / emails etc .
Customer selects us to provide service , we dont select them to work with .
Good post !
Unscheduled calls really are magical. It makes the client see that we are always tending to their business, not just at scheduled times. A good suggestion here, is that if you have an idea to improve something, don't talk about it at scheduled meetings. Call on a Monday morning, and just say something like "Bob, I was doing some brainstorming during the weekend while at the beach (change to whatever you want) and I got this stellar idea! I just could not wait until our next meeting." This will get the client thinking "wow! even on his days off he is thinking of ways to help me." Works like a charm every single time.
Julianne:
The client is the most important element in this equation and managing the client and his/her expectations is what we need to be good at as Matt alluded to above, Listing out the responsibilities of each party to the contract and spelling out deliverables and when they are due (on both sides) is just a good way of doing business.
Forming a social relationship with a client makes sense and if a consultant can't take a client out for a drink and not get drunk then that consultant should not be in business.
"People Don't BUY What You Do, They BUY Why You're Doing It" - Fav Quote
I agree with the overall message of it being imperative that your client like you. However, additionally your client should trust and understand why you believe in what you're doing for their company. Personally, I strongly believe in developing "partnerships" with clients in order to 1) understand their visions fully 2)take ownership of this vision 3) to implement the vision accordingly in order to grow the company. In doing so, it's equally important to be honest with that client about any faulty details of this partnership ( i.e. lack of resources,etc) as this builds further trust. From my experience, by taking full ownership in the project and providing HONEST/UNCENSORED communication, a genuine trust/relationship can be established.
My clients are not locally based. What are some things I can do to build the relationship when they are not in the same state as me?
sending a package is always helpful!
as long as it dosen't tick.
sending a package that ticks should *only* be used as a last option!
sending packag
You can still do steps 1,2,3 and 5.
Outsource locals to take them out for that beer ;P
We have the same situation - most of our clients are out of town. We do most of our communications by email, so a phone call can be enough of "more than normal" to our clients. Besides that, try one of these:
1. Send a physical greeting card2. Send a JibJab ecard. It's fun when you can laugh at yourself, and your clients can see you in a more relaxed way.3. Skype/G+ Hangout4. Meet at a conference and invite to drinks, coffee, dinner (We've done this quite often.)5. Remember birthdays or the month they became a client and give them a call.
I am sure Jen is going to pitch in her cupcake example , I will beat her to it ^_^ : https://www.seomoz.org/blog/8-ways-to-delight-the-pants-off-your-community-whiteboard-friday
Nice post! In about cooperation - absolutely agree. Success is guaranteed if you act together!
absolutely agree. Success is guaranteed if you act smartly Marry@Ebizsubmit
Although i am not total agreement with everything you have said, there many valid points to your statements, at present i am in the process of talking with a new client, to day in fact i went to there CEO's office and spent the entire day going through there web site and data produced by there Google account & my seomoz account plus a few other tools of my own, at the end of the day i got a better view of the work i would need to do on the business to drag it to the top of Google, at present they use PPC, There site has no title, no description, no sitemap & they have been operating for 10 years just on PPC, I could not believe what i discovered, needless to say the day was a long one but time well spent given what i was able to show them through spending time working together, needless to say i walked out at the end of the day with a new customer which i will certainly be in constant contact with.
Just to add i gave my time for this day for free & walked away with a customer that was not wanting any one short term, quote we want someone for the long hall, so the value of the day has just become so worth while.
Wow, what is the article actually about? The most points mentioned here are quite obvious and I’m questioning myself, how can this stuff be new for someone who is making ANY business? For those guys some more “insider tips” – smile, be nice, make your clients to your friends, be patient… blabla
To point 1: “quick gains” – maybe fine for some businesses, but for SEO quick gains often end with big pains
Point 5: “Do work they haven’t asked for” – suicide tip for big projects. Clients always try to snick some “minor” features in the project, “oh it’s so easy, you need 5 minutes for that”; Last time I made this kind of feature for free, it took me two days of back and forth revision process and resulted in some additional costs for me!
Curios enough is the fact that this weekend I was working for a client for free and today I received an email saying that I desiver a coupon of 200$ in products of the store....the Boss really enjoy it ;)
Nice article ;)
Clients always like responsive person or organization which makes them relax about effective work on time. I have large experience about conference chat with client on Skype. I am really glad to find some more important concepts.
Some excellent points, pertinent to more than one industry. The "take them out for beers" one works well in any job!
All good points - think it is vital to remember the people-skills side of what we do. Reporting is great, but bottom line - even when you work in technology relationships need more than results to be built. Be good at your job but act like a human too.
This changes with every client to every business. Sometimes things will work, sometimes they won't. It's about a balance and taking from this what u need. Not everything needs to be followed like a bible.
Throw the (client ) dog a bone?
In principle, step 5 is good - do work they haven't asked for. Unfortunately, I have found that in practice, over-delivering becomes the norm, to the point where the client is no longer satisfied if you *only* provide a pre-defined set of deliverables each month.
Meeting the client face-to-face is fine, even sharing a beer, but I fear this breaks down the traditional customer relationship. You still want to be their contractor, not their buddy. This distinction is important, and harks back to the point I made in the previous paragraph - you'd *expect* a buddy to overdeliver if you're working with them, and you'd be disappointed, maybe even hurt, if that isn't the case.
In a nutshell, 4 and 5 could be useful strategies but speaking from experience - they are only suitable for a proportion of clients. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
I appreciate this article, I don't think people have enough personal contact with their clients. Clients want to hear from you directly and know that you're constantly working in their best interest. I think alot of these things help them to budget and plan to budget for future services. I just wrote a similar blog about other reasons this helps them boost budgets (or helps to convince them they should) if you're interested- https://www.londes.com/ldm-blog/sem/top-5-reasons-to-budget-for-sem.
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I agree with this post and also one of the points above in the comments about transparency - people get sick and tired of being scripted and processed in business, I constantly come up against people who as soon as you start talking "business" put up their defences. Transparency and honesty go so far these days I think in a lot of industries it's under-rated.
I also wonder about search engine marketing as an industry though - in fiercely regulated industries such as law, medicine and finance could this "likeable" attitude thrive as much as it does in our industry? (If not thank goodness I work in this one!)
Great post - lots of food for thought.
Very effective article, i really found great info .
Really great post - loving the mozblog lately.
Definitely can relate to the communications aspect. I've screwed up with clients big time in the past and it was over looked due to the fact that we were heavy on communication and answered quesitons/relayed information every step of the way.
On a deliverables standpoint - we like to send an email with: what we've already done, what we are doing, and what we will be doing email at the 1 week mark and to always point out measurable results along with way.
I really like the "do work they didn't ask for" even simple things like throwing in a Facebook Page can really make people happy (and tell their friends)
As far as the beers, I kind of disagree with that - I like to maintain professional boundaries with our clients. In the past when I've broken the professional barrier into "friend zone" it created a relationship that made it easy for them to call/email inappropriately etc however I definitely see your point.
Thumbs up!
taking them out for beers is surely worthy of a real-life nofollow!
some nice general tips :)
Good one!!!
i would not say that everyone do such things
Spot on - I think that educating your clients could be an important part of building relationships.
SEO can be confusing, with a very unfortunate reputation that comes from black hat SEO companies and spammers.
Offering some sort of SEO training, whether it's informal (over beers, phone calls and the like) or more formal like a short training seminar would be a great way build a relationship.
By taking the time to educate your client, you're doing two things: 1) teaching them your value as an SEO consultant and 2) showing that you care about them and their business.
I tend to agree with the commenters about doing a little bit extra for free.
In my book this doesn't include complete services that you offer for no charge. New or extra services/products cost extra and that's it.
But the concept of over-delivering on your service or product has been proven to work time and time again. Delivering a 10-point report, when you promised 8 points, or promising an AdWords campaign, but delivering an AdWords campaign and a 15 minute tune-up of Analytics will often make the Client feel better about you.
Going a little above and beyond the call of duty is a great way to build a stronger relationship with your clients. Obviously you can't let them take advantage of you and monopolize your time, but a little side project now and then that helps them out tremendously is going to make you look extra valuable.
I think that's something you "are" not "do". It's something you can't learn but the good thing is that it's not black or white, it's not 1 or 0 - it's like Domain Authority - you can have a 50 and still do ok :) You don't have to be at the max of the scale.There are also some random factors - client mood, first encounter and so on that will shape the relation ship forever.
:)
Going a little above and beyond the call of duty is a great way to build a stronger relationship with your clients. Obviously you can't let them take advantage of you and monopolize your time, but a little side project now and then that helps them out tremendously is going to make you look extra valuable.
I appreciate this post, thanks! Do you have any recommendations when your agency has 30-40 accounts per Account Manager?
Good stuff, this is how I like to do business. I work mainly with local businesses at the moment and being open, approachable and offering advice freely is key to my word of mouth referrals. At the end of the day SEO is a service industry and I think if you want to be successful in a service industry you have to enjoy being of service.
Quick wins and responds are main factors to make your client happy. Good job Julie.
It's really great post, Thanks Julianne Staino
It's great .I am a newbie. This is a useful knowlege for me.
Great Post! Two thumbs up.
I deinately agree with you about building a relationship with your clients that are more than just a "client-contractor" experience. It really makes you real to your clients, not just this looming SEO Agency.
I am at search love today, and one of the most interesting things stated was the number of companies that use stock photos for their staff page or their home page. A good non-offender of this is name.com, which brings life to a rather faceless industry, domain name registration.
Another thing I like about Tom, or now more accurately would be Distilled in general, is how they do a lot of their SEO work in house for their clients. Another way of not becoming a faceless SEO agency:)
thanks! something to forward my colleagues.
Regarding that drinking-buddies-fest, I would first take LOTS of time to get to know the client as a person, before knowing if i could take them out drinking.
Imagine your client does stupid stuff when he's drunk - you'll feel bad telling him something about it.
In other words, take Cable Guy's film message - sometime it's better to keep a client-provider distance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQvt1JFFHxg
The like/dislike ratio on this post isn't too high but I think there are some good points here. Obviously they're not applicable in all situations (as so eloquently pointed out by the comments) but there is a method to the madness. Every client is different but it's important to start off on the right foot and have them feel you have their best interests at heart. If that means doing a small freebie every now and then, then so be it, you just have to figure out what the client values the most. And most of the time, they just want to know that you care about their site and will do whatever it takes to get them ranking.
I would nearly disagree with everything mentioned here. Clients don't need to like you they need to respect that you will do work for them well and professionally. They are paying you to do work that you have documented well and listed out.
Doing free work is the rocky road to disaster. A good statement of work and regular updates and tick boxing progress is what a project is.
And making phone calls - I agree with that but do we need a blog psot on this - I ring all my clients as most of them are business people who want to talk. Talk generates dollars (or Euros in my case)
Don't do free work ever...