Ever finished a project with a client, groaned, and thought to yourself: never again?
Or perhaps you had a fantastic experience and thought to yourself: how did that happen – and more importantly – how do I get more of them!
It’s easy to place the reasons behind both square at the feet of your client.
But as a business owner you actually have the power to create both situations yourself – again and again.
How?
By starting at the beginning.
Too many business owners leave these five crucial points out of their expectations before starting with their new client.
#1 What Is Your Client’s Ultimate Goal?
You’d think having the end goal in mind would be the first thing both you and your client agree upon.
But unfortunately plenty of business owners assume they know what their client wants without checking first.
Meanwhile, the client can sometimes expect you to think exactly like they do, without communicating any clear goals.
Ultimately this can lead to miscommunication and not-so-stellar results.
Although it may sound obvious, always begin your first meeting by asking exactly what your client’s ultimate goal is.
This is a great starting point for you to explain how you can help or not.
Likewise, if your client struggles to tell you in definite terms what it is they need, this might be a sign that it won’t be an easy job.
#2 What Are Your Deliverables
Your next step will be to explain to your client clearly and concisely:
Exactly how will you deliver this ultimate goal?
This is where you outline your deliverables: what results you will deliver weekly or monthly in order to get your client one step closer to that ultimate goal.
This step is crucial because it defines exactly what is a good job and what is not acceptable each month.
Two things clients and business owners can sometimes disagree on!
#3 Define The Parameters Of Your Scope
Your scope of work is equally as important as your deliverables.
In this step, you will outline to your client the parameters of how you will achieve your deliverables.
Essentially, it’s what you will and won’t do for your client.
If you’re a financial advisor, for example, your list may look like this:
- Ultimate goal: earn your client $60k/year in investments
- Deliverables: successful 5% returns yearly on their initial sum investment
- Scope of work: you will manage their investment portfolio, but you wont design them a weekly budget for what to spend their money on!
#4 What Is Your Client Willing And Not Willing To Do
Just as it’s important to outline what you will and won’t do, you need to find out what clients boundaries are.
Here’s an example:
There’s no point in designing an amazing social media strategy for your client if they’re not willing to build a personal brand!
Knowing what your client is willing to do is crucial in understanding the best strategy moving forward to assist them.
Knowing their limits will also help you skip any embarrassing missteps and ultimately let you help them more effectively.
Now, How Do You Clarify Your Finances?
By following this list, you and your client should be able to tackle any challenge that may lay ahead – together!
The next blueprint for success you’ll want to invest in is simple, but crucial: your business finances!
Don’t worry: you won’t have to work with your client on this one.
Instead, work with Australia’s most trusted and qualified accounting firm: The A Firm!