Winning Repeat Clients - Tip #4: Find Appropriate Times to be Personable

I've been quiet, yes. The shortest explanation is that I've been moving and doing things that lead up to moving.

Today I'm posting a 4th tip for turning your clients into repeat customers:

Find Appropriate Times to be Personable

It's not exactly rocket science that being personable can lead to better relationships, but the way you do it can make a big difference: for better or for worse.

The most important thing is to follow your client's lead. Some clients will want to learn about you and share about themselves. Others will prefer to stick to business.

I'm reminded of my experience with a certain financial planning company when my advisor insisted on having 10 minutes of small talk any time we were on the phone together. I didn't want to EVER be on the phone with him, but he would insist on quarterly calls, then insist on asking about acting, and writing, and volleyball ...

I am not the type to want to small talk with a stranger, and when it comes to customer service or any service, the more I can do online or for myself, the better. Many people my age or younger will feel the same way. If a little small talk happens naturally, that's cool with me, but this felt forced and he always asked the same exact questions. He never picked up on the fact that I wasn't into it, and the more I asked if we could just communicate via email, the harder he pushed for quarterly meetings on the phone. In the end, I moved all of my assets to another company and it's mostly because of this guy.

So, don't be that guy.

Seriously, do you not
sense my annoyance?

On the other hand, some personal connections can make work more pleasant and fun, and also can help with business. I have one client for whom I write blogs, website pages, newsletters, and books. We've worked together for over eight months now (wow, I hadn't done that math before!) and we have become friends. It was clear from the beginning that he wanted me to personally understand his passion for his business and the voice he wanted in the writing. He wants me to be excited about the topic and grow a passion for it too.

At first, I was resistant. I mean, after what you've read so far in this post, you're probably not surprised. My instinct is to be all business because I tend to focus on the task at hand, and expect others to want the same. Slowly I realized that with this client, allowing the personal connection in was helpful not only to him, but also to me. I was able to write better for him in a way that really connected with how he wanted to represent his business.

The point here is that learning a bit about your clients shows them respect and that you want to understand them and their needs. Especially if they are personally passionate about what they're asking you to write--which is generally the case for me, and I would think for many freelancers that work for individuals.

I hope these stories illustrate this tip well enough--I don't want to go overboard by now explaining what I want you to infer. Lastly though, I want to say that it's important to remember what you learn about your clients so that you can be personable when you want to. You may talk to 10 different clients a day (sometimes I have those days), but they still expect you to remember your discussions/emails/messages with them. I need to work on this one myself, any suggestions for a good tool?

P.S. - I cut my hairs and got new headshots!