Talking Shop – Episode 9 – Communication
A recent experience with another developer who had poor communication skills made me realize just how important it is to have good communication with your client. Don’t just be a yes man, talk to your client and make sure you BOTH understand each other. The video includes my 3 ain tips to help you better communicate with your client. I encourage you to share your thoughts on the subject in the comment section.
First time coming across your blog you got some great content on here, also a great vidcast are look forward to seeing more great content from Outlaw design blog.
Great post Danny, worth the wait. I am relatively new in freelancing, and I have already experienced some of these problems. However, the same is true in my 9-5. I work a for large online retailer, and I can attest that lack of communication can turn a few minutes into a few hours.
Hi Danny. You gave some fundamental which are sadly often ingored. In my experience, you have to ask questions about every single detail and then put it all in a written form where it is clear with what has a client agreed about (be it an email or a paper document, maybe email is simpler). For a real pro it is a must to thoroughly question a client. Most of us learned that the hard way and because of that I think it’s great that you are giving such valuable information to everyone out there. Hope they hear it, learn it and use it!
Thank you for this timely post.
I am having minor problems with a client due to mis-communication, thorough questioning (and listening) would have made things a lot easier.
good stuff very informative — like the site alot — gd branding
Hi, there,
Really good and informative podcast, Danny. When there is not a good form of communication in play, there seems to be a lot of assumptions. And, we all know about ASSUME – makes an AS* out of U and ME. LOL
I have seen, first hand, what the lack of communication can stir up. You think you have anticipated everything you need and something always comes up. Each of us have our impression of how things should go and it isn’t until after one or the other is unhappy with things that this comes out. If we could begin with each of our expectations, maybe, this could be minimized.
What keeps coming to mind is a raw deal I was in with some rehab work on my house. I signed off on the final draw BEFORE I had a chance to live in the house and see what they had screwed up. OMG! And, they called themselves contractors. HA.
I would go so far, now, in saying that everything be put in writing, whether it is pertinent or not. It is just real hard to know what to anticipate if you have never done this particular type of deal before. Like, I didn’t know that my roof would leak AFTER they got done, so, I didn’t know to look for it. (They put the roof on!) How do you cover things like that in the written agreement/contract? I suppose that would fall under ‘warranty’ if it covers a thing after delivery.
You gave me a lot to think about. Thank you! LOL
Great piece!
Su
I was actually thinking of hiring one of those PSD to XHTML/CSS or PSD to WordPress companies, just to save some time during my development process. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll definitely be doing a bit more research before jumping into that now.
I try to create templates for communicating with my clients so I’m sure not to forget anything. Not only does it save me time, but by sending out individually written emails back and forth, I tend to forget things about the payment process, my overall method of communication, and etc.
Thanks for your further insight to communicating with clients. While I’m still working out systems for doing it more effectively myself, I know I’m not quite there yet.
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Great blog and a great podcast. Thanks for posting.
First, sorry you got yourself into that situation with the coder, it’s a frustrating spot to be in!
I think you’ve covered some good points on staying in good communication with your clients. I know things that really have worked well for me and made my clients feel good about the process is that I share a lot with them during the initial design phase, this helps me to know I am on the right track and also allows for a more collaborative process.
If you finish your design and then show the client, then you’re going to feel a little frustrated about revisions (which the client is sure to have.) I find it is best to put something more loose together first that hits on the points you know they want and then as they give feedback you can give solutions that fulfill the clients needs in a design-minded way.
You also hit on staying in contact, which a lot of people neglect… but it is important. I always try to end interactions with my client (weather is be by phone, email or in-person meeting,) by letting them know when they can expect to hear from me next. This just puts them at ease and eliminates any wonder. You don’t have to stalk them, they don’t want that – but a simple “I’ll be emailing you by end of day Friday†keeps them from calling you on Thursday cause they think you’ve forgotten about them.
Also, one of the things I always appreciate when I hire a freelancer is that they respond to emails in a timely way. I am a web designer, I *know* that during the week, it is pretty unlikely that they are not checking their email for more than a day.. so even if you aren’t able to follow up with a full response to an email about revisions or quote request right away — just write back a quick note with something like, “Just want to let you know, I have received your request and I will be able to go over these Tuesday morning!†There are few things less frustrating than sending an email out and then feeling like it just evaporated into nothing… especially where work is involved.
Anyway, didn’t mean to be so long winded! Thanks for the video!
Well in your first paragraph, you summed it up well, “dun be a yes man”.
LEarning to say “no” to customers is the hardest thing when you have to balance profitability and relationship with your client, esp in the service line.
u nailed it right there
Here’s yet another reason why communication is so important: My website design company, AMedicalDesign shared with me horror stories from customers that used a web design company they did not know was located in India, was being outsourced from India. Indian web design companies charge a lot less because of the country’s pay rate. But you get what you pay for. In many cases, the designer is not experienced, does not produce quality work and may even use templates in their design. This won’t work if you want a customized website, which is why you should know who is building your site.
Of course, the same can be said, of course, for US companies. So it’s important at all times to check out whom you are dealing with. Take for example, a Texas design company that claimed to have a New York location. Upon further inspection, the New York building never had them listed as a tenant. Having a metropolitan address lends credibility to a design company, but honesty is the best policy. Deception about location may make a client wonder about the company’s credibility and if they should work with them. This is why I trust AMedicalDesign (www.amedicaldesign.com).