Comments on: Effective Client Communication

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:03:47 +0000

As a frequent hirer of freelancers, the only two things I really ask is that you listen to what I've asked for and that you get it to me on time. I've met a freelance manager and he's constantly rushed off of his feet so it would be selfish to take up more of his time for a project that didn't really need it. Joshs last blog post..Facebook Konami Code Hack

By: 1300 numbers

1300 numbers — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:29:33 +0000

Good article.I’ve come to accept the fact that some clients just prefer phone calls or face-to-face meetings. I do like face-to-face on some occasions myself.. 1300 numbers

By: fungus help

fungus help — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:59:26 +0000

Hi, I completely agree with you, I always try to follow these advises and I think it helped me a lot.

By: Ways to Build Your Email List, Competent Jerks or Lovable Fools, Negative Comments Are Positive and More | Abaminds Entrepreneurs

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:59:05 +0000

[...] Effective Client Communication – Do you communicate with clients exclusively by email? Or are you open to phone calls and meetings as well? [...]

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:31:59 +0000

Ugh, this is the issue I keep going back and forth on. At first, I always did calls at the clients' request. Then, I started charging because I was wasting way too much time hour-long calls with prospects that never panned out. Now, I'm getting some larger clients who want to chat first so I'm starting to bend a little again. Round we go. Melissa Donovans last blog post..The Purpose of Online Marketing Strategies

By: Martijn Engler

Martijn Engler — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:46:25 +0000

I know exactly what you mean, and I prefer e-mail for the same reason. But I've come to accept the fact that some clients just prefer phone calls or face-to-face meetings. I do like face-to-face on some occasions myself, so I usually suggest to do one for our first meeting. After that it's usually e-mail and a phone call once in a while. Martijn Englers last blog post..Shared items van Google Reader automatisch naar del.icio.us sturen

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:33:25 +0000

@ James – heh heh. Can you blame me? You hadn’t visited in a while. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten I was out here.

Seriously, though, I did think of you in this article. The 60-hour phone week horror story has stuck with me ever since I first heard you tell it.

@Jenn – You beat me by 4 years! Impressive.

I agree with what you’re saying about a no-phone rule. My instinct says to cut it out altogether, but then I recognize that some clients really just need it. Now, I don’t mind when its requested, though I still don’t prefer it.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:00:31 +0000

I am not quite that shy, but I know what you mean. I also met my husband online ~ 1991. It was actually an almost entirely local network with only a few portals to the outside world. It was a good way to get to know people and our little social group has done a pretty good job of staying together all these years.

I think that setting an absolute no-phone rule can cause problems, not just for clients, but for you. It makes it that much harder to deal with the occasional phone call. However, I absolutely agree with setting limits and arranging to have as much communication as possible via email/chat/etc.

For some backstory, I got over a paralyzing phone phobia because it was that or be fired, and I really needed the job. What I found was that as long as I was constantly on the phone, I did ok, but the occasional phone call out of the blue would throw me. That’s why I would advise not shutting off phone communication with clients completely – but let them know that you prefer email.

By: James Chartrand - Men with Pens

James Chartrand - Men with Pens — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:56:26 +0000

Heh. James bait?

Major no-phone rules over here. We hire that out and do have someone who will talk with clients on our behalf (and she does a fantastic job!), but we’ve had bad experiences with phones. I once spent a whole week – nearly 60 hours – on almost back to back phone calls.

We had to make a choice for us. We love our clients and really want to make them comfortable, but we couldn’t do our jobs well for them by opening up the phone lines.

So we shut ‘em down. The interesting part? Most of our clients thank us – they hate phones too.

James Chartrand – Men with Penss last blog post..Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: The Antisocial Social Worker