5 Tips for Project Managers on How to Empower Client Management Skills

Successful client management has many obvious benefits for business. It increases trust with your clients and team members, grows the positive reputation and smooths critical processes for every your project. Improving client management is an ongoing process.

This skill is necessary not only for specialists who work with customers daily but also for everyone in a team. In this post, we discover why project managers need to develop client management abilities and how to empower their skillset.

Why do project managers need it?

Best project managers always talk to customers. Qualified project management revolves around a few core concepts such as effective reviewing, planning and reporting, clear judgment and decision making, motivation and goal setting, and so on. This management calls for projects that benefit the end client or user. However, only the best project managers understand the user impacts and specifically why users request certain features. That’s why it’s rather important in project management to care about customer engagement and client management skills every PM should master.

Mastering client management skills will allow you to enjoy a proactive, productive, and positive working life. Here we combine 5 tips that will transform your client relationships. Do not hesitate to implement or improve them right now and you’ll see a genuine difference soon.

5 tips on how to master customer management skills

1. Learn more about your client’s background

It’s mostly about the industry your customer belongs to.

If you learn more about your client, you’ll make yourself completely indispensable. Be abreast about any industry news and updates, monitor their competitor activities. Share any insightful info with your client that may have a direct impact.

By being aware, you’ll be the key person they come to when they need help or answer. Be sure, this kind of knowledge is not easy to replace.

Think about potential roadblocks. Even the most advanced company has bureaucracy and it can hold up your projects. It’s about different approvals, reviews, etc. that can affect a timeline and cause holdups. Try to identify them before the project gets started.

2. Write weekly updates and status reports

Do not think that you are the busiest person in the world, your clients also do not have enough time to keep track of everything you do.

Of course, your clients must know what you do, so make sure to send them a weekly update email that summaries all the activities you’ve done that week. They will know exactly where you’re up to. Your status report should keep everyone on the same page and tell customers where your time is being spent, what your priorities are and what’s coming up.

Perhaps they will be willing to reply. The weekly email will make it easy to feedback progress.

3. Highlight project wins

If you’ve achieved something great for the client, do not hesitate to communicate it as a win. It’s better to offer this news in an unusual way, not via simple email or message notification. Try to position it to make it relevant and impressive.

4. Be proactive but temperately

When you win a customer first time, you are definitely fizzing with ideas and trying to impress. But then you concentrate on current tasks and projects and the initial enthusiasm fades.

If you want to keep customers long-term, try to keep in mind that there will always be a rival who thinks he/she can do better.

Always! look at your customers with fresh eyes and treat them as a new client all over again. Be proactive with new fresh suggestions to ensure they know you are the best.

5. Remember about honesty

There are difficult conversations, for example about timelines, deadlines, and budgets, when we face a big temptation to fudge the truth.

However, honesty is what will really create a trusting relationship with your clients. They will more likely believe your promises in future if you are upfront about the hard stuff.

Conclusion

Actually, there will always be unpredictable situations you can’t prepare for.

But if your company is permanently facing with customers, it should be vital for your team to improve and develop client management skills.

Satisfied clients are a guarantee of your business growth and success. That’s why every project manager as a team leader should know how to handle them correctly.

What do you think about client management in your company? Were the mentioned tips useful?