How I keep my clients in the loop
It’s not enough to get that deposit paid and run off on your own until you’ve finished the engagement. Your client wants to know what you’re doing to progress their project, and they want to know regularly.
How I used to do it (and why it was bad)
When I first started running my practice I would check in with clients over the phone every now and then, or update them at client meetings or write a detailed list of everything I’d done on the invoice so that they knew that I was worth the fee.
Basically, I was bad at keeping clients informed on their project. My approach was adhoc, inconsistent and didn’t always include the things it should have.
I took this from The Little Design Corner. I’ve been doing it for over 12 months now and it not only keeps my clients involved in the process, it has also changed how I keep track of my to do list and how I organise my weeks.
How the Fortnightly Check In works
Its quite straight forward. Each fortnight on a designated day I send a client update. It covers:
What we did in the last fortnight
Any issues or concerns with their project
What we’re doing in the next fortnight
Anything we need from them
This simple format means that they’re up to date with everything and nothing gets left through the cracks. It takes only about 5 minutes per client and takes a real load off my mind.
Using it to organize your week
Basically, everything that I put in the “what we’re doing in the next fortnight” goes somewhere in to our jobs list. This could be “get engineer quotes”.
I make sure I do it during the fortnight. Then, in the next fortnight it goes right into “What we did in the last fortnight”. Simple
Do this for enough tasks and enough clients and you’ll soon feel up your week.
Why it works
It keeps you accountable – you say you’re going to do something in an email, you’re much more likely to do it
It’s consistent – your client knows they’ll hear from you every fortnight
It proves your value – you do hundreds of things for your client during your engagement. Let them know you do it. It’ll help that monthly invoice go down much more smoothly