Why My Clients Think I’m Psychic

My clients often say that I’ve read their minds yet, as far as I know, my psychic powers are pretty undeveloped.

Still, it’s a useful knack to have when providing writing or other business services to people around the world. So, how do you get inside your customer’s mind? The truth is that it’s laughably simple. You just need to do two things: ask and listen.

Asking Questions

You never find out anything if you don’t ask — and that’s true for discovering what’s important to your customers too. I spend a lot of time asking questions at the start of a client relationship so I can be crystal clear on what they are looking for. The typical client contact goes like this:

If the client can’t be bothered to fill out my two page form, then it’s often a sign that the relationship is going nowhere. If he (or she) does, then we have a basis for conversation. My client questionnaire (which I’ve talked about before) asks not only what writing services my clients want but how they want people to see them. In other words, it taps into their aspirations. This is very useful in decided how to frame the content I provide for them.

Once I have the answers to the questionnaire, I prepare my own job spec that includes both what they want and what I think they need (after all, they are hiring me for my expertise). I send this back, get approval and a deposit and start work.

Listening to the Answers

A key part of the process is reading what they tell me and understanding what lies beneath it — as a writer, I’m pretty good with nuance. It works even better when I do a phone consultation because then I can hear for myself what gets clients excited and happy — and that’s what I want to deliver when I write for them. Delivering the hidden brief is important — there’s always one and it’s my job to find it.

As a project progresses, I often repeat the question and answer session, checking that I’m on the right track and getting feedback as I work. I always like to do a test piece (the first bit of the project) to see if we’re both happy before I go further. That avoids any misunderstandings at the end. I listen to feedback, tweak if needed and proceed.

Generally this results in happy clients who get more than they bargained for (in a good way!) They typically say that what I deliver is much better than what they had in mind. I’m pretty proud of that. :)

Using Follow-Up

The asking and listening process doesn’t stop with the end of the job, because there’s still room for more learning. I use a quick follow up with new clients to see how they found the process of working with me. That gives me feedback on which of my working methods resonated with them most strongly. Again this is invaluable for working with those same clients — or with new ones — in the future. My follow up questionnaire goes like this:

• What did you hire Sharon to do?

• How did she deliver?

• How did you find the experience of working with Sharon?

• Would you hire Sharon again?

(No, I don’t have delusions of grandeur, but phrasing the questions this way gives me answers that I can use as a testimonial.) I read the answers (listening again) and ask questions if I need to know more, so that I can provide an even better writing service next time.

So that’s why my clients think I can read minds — do yours?

This post is part of the March 2012 Word Carnival — a monthly group blogging event specifically for small business owners started by Tea Silvestre, the Word Chef. (It’s the most fun you’ll have all month!) Check out the rest of this month’s lineup here.

Update: Find out more about my client questionnaire in my podcast: Writing Tools: Your Client Questionnaire

Image credit: Living in Monrovia