Being Trusted. Remotely.
I am often asked about my remote freelance experience. Questions people ask vary, but usually what most of them really ask is:
How do I get to the point when clients line up at my doorstep? (Because currently they don’t)
Shocking, right? My answer always seems to be disappointing:
Have you thought about the reasons your prospective clients don’t trust you?
There are all sorts of good practical advice on becoming and being a remote professional, including books like 37 signals’ Remote. However, years of working remotely and talking to prospective clients about their project needs taught me something else. Things like ultra sleek portfolio, knowledge of latest trends, or even superb listening skills are not as important as the subtle, undeniable, gut warming feeling your prospective client is left with after talking to you - trust. If this feeling is there, you can be sure that your client has experienced a mental orgasm.
It may seem that I’m exaggerating, but if you think about your client’s projects and your role in them in terms of a pain and a painkiller — you’ll start feeling the relief your client feels when they find an effective painkiller for their pain. All they need is to trust you to be that painkiller.
The thing about being trusted remotely is that when it happens it feels random, even serendipitous. You’d say “we just clicked”. In my experience, it’s never random. We simply overlook many aspects of trust building. Here are examples wrapped in my personal advice.
Your originality is overrated
I’ve worked with various clients to build their remote project teams and I’ve talked to overwhelming number of freelancers who all make the same mistake during the first interview. They are trying to be as original as possible which in their opinion makes them stand out among other candidates. Do some reality check — your prospective client doesn’t know you at all, there’s a chance you’re from very different cultures, and entrusting someone who’s far away with a project is not easy. Remember, the person you’re talking to is not looking for a circus actor, but someone to trust, so your originality is highly overrated most of the time.
I’m sure that after some time of working together and getting to know each other your client will appreciate the fact that you’re into polyphasic sleep to enhance productivity or that you get inspired at Burning Man, but during the initial “dating” phase details like these will do more harm to the trust you’re trying to build.
In my own experience with prospective clients, I know that mentioning my lifestyle may spur some curiosity and I could use that to stand out and be a more memorable candidate, but I intentionally avoid mentioning, that, for example, right now I’m in my hammock on a little known beach in Ecuador and I’ll be going surfing after we’re done. I barely know the person I’m talking to and therefore, I can easily lose this client if instead of genuine curiosity or admiration for my lifestyle I get a silent “freakin’ hippie!” People see things differently.
Learn to say “I don’t know”
Sometimes during an interview your prospective client will describe a problem and ask you for advice. You may think that you know the right answer and you will be tempted to lay it out in front of them right away (after all, you’re the genius here!) For example, a client might ask “we’re not sure if this kind of application needs a dashboard, what do you think?” Even if you feel you’ve been waiting your entire life to answer this question right here and right now — don’t. Jumping to solutions without fully understanding the problem only shows that your approach is superficial and your work won’t be thorough. If your client insists on your immediate evaluation, “I don’t know” is a perfectly good answer. Even better one — “If I gave you my answer without proper analysis and research, it would be highly unprofessional of me”. Many of my former clients told me that this attitude is what bought their trust in me in the first place.
Don’t just say “No”, be helpful
Don’t just say “No”. “No” shows that you don’t care about helping your client with their pain. If after the discussion you understand that you can’t take the project — offer a compromise, lay out criteria which, if met, could allow you to take the project. Your prospective client is likely to be willing to adjust to your requirements if they see that you genuinely care. If you’re not interested in the project — offer to check with your network to see if you could recommend someone else. Be helpful, show that you care.
Do your inventory yourself
Take responsibility. This is such a cliche phrase that we don’t even think about its implications anymore. Re-connect with what taking responsibility means. If something didn’t work out, don’t wait for your client to start the audit. It takes courage to do the inventory of your own wrong turns, but it’s your job. Your client should be able to trust that you’ll take care of it.
The trust must be mutual
Have you ever noticed that trustworthy people seem to live in the world where honesty, integrity and justice prevail? In this world, not only they give their integrity, but they also expect it from others. If you don’t consistently demand honesty and integrity from your clients, they will intuitively know that you don’t live in that world. In other words, your requests for integrity from others will signal to your clients that this is one of your fundamental work principles and you won’t compromise it. Integrity buys trust.
The truth about clients is that they don’t line up at your doorstep because your skills and services are unique (btw, they aren’t). This only happens if they find in you someone to trust.
