Goodbye Office — The Pitfalls of Working with Remote Clients

(this piece is from my book Goodbye, Office! (available on Amazon)

If you work with your clients remotely then you should be aware of some common pitfalls.

Neglecting the importance of communicating. When operating remotely, communicating with the customer is of paramount importance. Even if you’ve come across problems with the project, if you’ve got problems of a personal nature, if your Internet isn’t reliable — whatever it is, just keep the client informed. Nowadays, when you can send an e-mail from your phone, it’s ridiculous to say that there was no way to get in touch. Since the client does not, in fact, have telepathic abilities, she’ll immediately assume that you have simply dropped off the face of the earth, and might even start looking for a replacement.

When a freelancer and their employers have clear communications, this is the main basis for a good working relationship. Also, we track all interaction within our apps, therefore ensuring an easy solution for misunderstandings — should they arise.”

Joe Griston. Director, Freelancer.com

You don’t iron out all the details before the project begins.Often, clients are in a hurry, or you yourself might be in a hurry, so you start working on a project before discussing all of the details and conditions. But this haste might lead to conflicts and misunderstandings during the project.

Inexperienced contractors do not read the job specifications seriously enough. They don’t work out the important details when they’re at the beach. They’ll try to wriggle out of an tough situation as best they can, and this approach will not always be appreciated by the customer.

Peter Schekochikhin. founder of the freelance marketplace Work-Zilla

The desire to land a big project right away. Do you want to reel in a big client? Start with small projects. Note that many clients are also oriented to starting out with small projects. For example, one of my friends started with small projects creating one-page sites (it took a few hours to create each), and soon the client began to give him large projects. Meanwhile, another entrepreneur I knew rejected small projects — he was looking for a big project right from the start for which he would immediately assemble a large team. But a big project, especially one requiring a remote team, is not easy to get right away.

Excessively long stages for the project, or no stages at all.All large online marketplaces allow you to create milestones, where payment is made after each stage. The breakdown of the project into milestones not only lets you receive payment after each stage, it also means both sides are on the same page throughout the project.

If the client is in the wrong, it’s not your job to set him or her straight.Try not to get carried away and don’t make it personal. When there are disagreements, instead of escalating the conflict, try to draw up and propose a list of steps for resolving the situation, and provide a time frame. And don’t forget to agree on specific milestones for assessing success. Make sure you secure confirmation from the customer that he or she agrees with all of these steps. A satisfied client will say “thank you” and get back to his affairs, and a dissatisfied client will share her negative experience all over the Internet simply out of principle. More than once it took just one dissatisfied customer to destroy a company’s online reputation.

Disregarding the importance of customer feedback.Inexperienced entrepreneurs might forget to ask the client for a review, especially if the project was successful and the earnings were good. However, it’s particularly when a project is successful that you want detailed feedback from grateful customers. Most customers will be more comfortable if you prepare the review in advance so that all they have to do is edit it and post it.

A lack of specialization and focus. Stick to a couple of major specializations and see how it goes in these niches. Indeed, when competing with other remote teams, customers take first notice of those who specialize in the right field. A narrow specialization is a major competitive advantage in the global market. And the narrower your specialization, the more you can charge for your services.

Don’t try to look like what you’re not. If you have a small team, don’t worry about it! And don’t pretend to be a big corporation. Customers immediately sense the truth, or else they’ll want to come by your office. If you are embarrassed that your company is small or you are still working alone, then just say that you run a “boutique” operation.

Briefly:

• When you work with remote clients or customers be transparent, honest and accessible