Kimberly Stevens
?>
Download eBooks and Software
 Fully Verified Winning System Since 1999 & Vip Club Picks!
Winning Sports Picks & Predictions By Zcodesystem.com - Nhl, Nfl, Mlb And Nba Predictions And Picks From The Best Experts In The Industry + Fully Automated System Proven Since 1999 Awesome Conversion 5.26% And Recurring 60% Commission!
The Lotto Black Book
This Radical Approach To An Online Sales Letter Converts In The 3-5%... We've Never Seen Something Like This Since The Early Days Of 2004-2005 And I'm Sure You Haven't Either... We Convert More Than Our Competition And We Pay Out More... Try It!
Paleo Recipe Book - Brand New Paleo Cookbook
Brand New Paleo Diet Cookbook With Over 370 Recipes. Pays 70% Commission On This High-quality, Easy To Sell Product. Get Banners And Promotional Material At Http://paleorecipebook.com/affiliates.html
Articles > Business and FinanceMore Money & Less Stress?
by: Kimberly Stevens
At 2pm last Wednesday, I got a call from one of my clients. Before I could barely utter my "hello," she launched headlong into her story - "I am so frustrated! I have this client who has been dragging her feet at every stage of our project. I'm working on a branding campaign for her company and expected to be finished nine months ago, but every time we get to a stage in the project where the ball is in her court, I have to follow-up umpteen times and push and prod just to get her to move forward. In almost every case, it takes her about two months to do something that could have been done in a week. Then, two months later when she's finally finished with her part, she cheerily announces that she's ready for me to start the next phase and wonders how quickly I can do it. Every time this happens I have to completely reacquaint myself with her project. All in all, I've spent almost twice as many hours as I budgeted. How can I get her to wrap up this project so I can move on?,” she finished.
I cannot think of one service business owner that hasn't faced this issue at one time or another. We all started our businesses concerned about providing great customer service and a quality service delivered on time. We thought that was the key to having happy clients. But, at some point, we find out that great customer service means that we're not allowing one client's delays to impact another client's project, the profitability of our business, or our own personal satisfaction. This is when we have to recognize that we are responsible for this situation. If you've allowed a client to run amuck dragging a project on forever, changing project parameters numerous times, delaying payment of the final bill, why shouldn't they continue to behave this way? It's up to you to put into place policies and procedures that communicate this to your clients and prospects from the very beginning.
One format I've seen used very effectively is a one-pager called "How We Work Together." It's a very basic document that outlines the responsibilities of both you and the client. It makes clear who is responsible for what and when so there are no questions later. It also outlines the consequences if either of you misses the target. Not only does this put the client on the straight-and-narrow, it shows them that you are willing to be held to high standards as well.
By using the How We Work Together document, you can begin setting the stage for productive client relationships from your very first contact with a new prospect. During your first meeting, give them a copy of the document and go through it with them. When I ran my web development company, mine included a rough timeline for each stage of the project and described how the responsibility shifted from me to them and back again throughout the process. It also included a description of consequences should particular stages of the project go beyond the timeline by a specified amount of time. This applied to me as well as them. People like to know what to expect. It left them feeling that I had a system I followed and could be relied upon to do what I was proposing to do. I feel confident that this is one of the reasons I got 90% of the projects I pitched.
I used the How We Work Together document again once I had received the signed contract and deposit payment. At that point, I would consult my project calendar and assign specific dates to each stage of the project included on the document and mail it out to the client. They had already seen the document once, so it wasn't new to them. Now, they just reviewed the dates and used it as a follow-up tool.
If you are currently in a similar situation, handle it as best you can in order to preserve the client relationship and introduce the How We Work Together document at the beginning of the next project with this client. To begin to set boundaries with all of your clients and prospects, create your own How We Work Together document and utilize it in every new project for new and existing clients.
About The Author
Kimberly Stevens is the author of the ebook series, *The Profitable Business Owner: A Step-by-Step System for Starting & Running a Successful Service Business*. Download Sample Chapters & get her free MiniCourse, *The 10 Most Common Mistakes Business Owners Make & How To Avoid Them* at: http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ebooks.htm
kim@askthebizcoach.com
|
?>
News on Business and Finance
The Business Finance Store Discusses New Findings on the Business Benefits of R&D
The Business Finance Store discusses a few new findings and examples of how companies get an incredible competitive advantage by developing and testing new products and services.Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) May 24, 2012 The Harvard Business Review reports that a strong research quotient (RQ) could show that research is crucial to business success and that there’s a solid correlation between RQ and ... Yalian Steel Secures RMB 30 Million Trade Finance From Industry and Commercial Bank of China
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA-- - Yalian Steel Corporation announces that it has obtained a trade finance for RMB 30 million from the Industry and Commercial Bank of China to fund the working capital requirements of Yangzhou Yalian Steel Pipe Co., Ltd , a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company in China ... The Business Finance Store Discusses Small Business Debt Collection
The Business Finance Store discusses some strategies for small business debt collection.Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) May 23, 2012 Wonga, a high profile UK-based short-term lender, is being criticized by the British Office of Fair Trading for its debt collection practices, the BBC reported. One such debt collection tactic included suggestion that the debtor committed fraud and would be reported to the ... The Business Finance Store Discusses the Effects of Business Credit on Personal Credit
The Business Finance Store discusses some of the potential repercussions of business credit on a business owner’s personal credit.Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) May 22, 2012 A recent study by Pepperdine University and Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. showed that most small businesses tend to get funding through traditional channels, the Washington Post reported. Seventy-one percent of small business ... SBA Head Looks Beyond Loans to Help Small Business
Editor of CNBC.com's Small Business section, has covered business and personal finance for more than 20 years. She loves to shop local. "If your mother hasn't called you crazy yet, then you haven't graduated from the school of entrepreneurship."
|
