> > > HOME
/ MANAGE
/ CRM /
How
to Handle Clients
Article by Peter
Cooper
If you're planning to offer services via the Web, or currently do,
you have to become competent in dealing with your clients. Let's face it, what's
the most important aspect of your business? It should be money. And just as important?
Customers. They are the strongest link between you and their money. Since demanding
clients will make up a good percentage of your sales, it's important to learn
how to deal with them in an easy and stress-free manner.
This article
is not about customers in a typical e-commerce sense. We're not talking about
customers that you'll never talk to, negotiate with or be able to get annoyed
with. We're not talking about general customer service. If you want to learn how
to deal with these types of customers, then please read my other article, Dealing
With Customer Objections.
In this article, however, we're going to
be talking about customers who come to you with a project to complete or who are
going to paying to receive a service. These are customers who will be paying good
money and expect good work in return. Keeping them happy is crucial to achieving
your business's goal. To make money.
The key topics are how to deal with
money, contracts, impossible client demands and schedules. Let's start with the
most important one first. The money.
Money
Money. On its own
it's such a bold harsh word, isn't it? You might even be a little scared of the
word. You might love your work, but really hate asking for money or following
up on those invoices you sent two months ago. However, money is the lifeblood
of business and without it you might as well not bother.
Take the recent
dot com horror stories as a warning of what happens without money. The easiest
way to deal with money is to confront it head on and deal with it in a 'matter
of fact' manner. Let's look at how to deal with money problems with clients.
