As you work with clients, it’s easy to become frustrated by delays. Whether it’s wanting to change one small detail at a time, refusing to provide the information that you need in order to proceed, or micromanaging you until you want to scream, some clients are full of delays.
Let’s examine some tips for speeding up slow clients:
Show Your Enthusiasm for the Project
As you interact with your client, be sure to show your enthusiasm for their project. For each client, their specific project is their “baby”, and it means the world to them. This means that it’s incredibly important to them that you be enthusiastic about the work. If you let your enthusiasm shine through, it’ll go quite far towards helping them to speed up the turnaround on their parts of the project.
Opt for Over Communication
Whenever possible, opt for over communicating with slow clients, so that they can feel confident through each step of the project. If anxiety is slowing down their end of the project, this will help them to feel more confident about what is going on, so that they can relax and provide you with the information that you need in order to continue in a timely manner.
Learn more about over communication from this employee engagement platform.
Define Expectations
Take the time to set up expectations at the beginning of a project for who will be doing what, who will provide what, and what you need from the client in order to produce deliverables by specific milestones. Be sure that they understand that if they do not provide you with the information or files that you need by the dates listed in the contract, it may delay the entire project. You may choose to remind them as you approach important dates, as well, depending on the relationship that you have with the client. However, keep in mind that it’s not your job to babysit problem clients, and if this continues to be an issue you may want to consider passing on future work.
Show Your Excitement
As you proceed with the client’s project, be sure to demonstrate your excitement to them. Show them what their web page will look like, how their product can be used, or what the colorways may look like. This will help ensure that they can see how pleased you are to be working with them, and encourage them to provide you with the information that you need in a timely manner.
Clarify Any Issues Immediately
If there’s any confusion with the project, or if the client seems to be delaying, it’s wise to take the time to talk to them and try to figure out what the problem is. This may help stop the delays so that you can get back on schedule. If you need input or feedback from the client and it isn’t being provided, schedule a meeting to clarify the way that these issues are impacting the delivery date, as well as to discuss any confusion.
Avoid Too Many Options
As you provide the client with information about the project, avoid giving them too many options to choose from. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by font, color, and word choices and get bogged down in detail. Instead, provide a few options to choose from, then trust that the client has chosen you to create a project that they want. Micromanaging won’t help either one of you to achieve this goal.
Use these easy business tips to help speed up slow clients, so that everyone gets what they want and the project is completed on schedule. After all, it’s no fun to spend your entire day frustrated by client hold ups and delays.