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Client-Related Challenges
7:04 with Paul BoagWhile clients provide the direction for projects, they can also damage our productivity. Paul provides some tips for dealing with clients, meetings, and communication.
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So we've stumped on our distractions.
0:00
But the next problem—the one area which is very hard to ignore is the client.
0:02
We might be able to turn off our email some of the time,
0:09
but that doesn't mean we completely remove clients from the equation.
0:12
And clients do damage our productivity
0:16
whether we like to think it or not.
0:19
Or whether they like to think it is more to the question.
0:21
Meetings, calls, emails all eat into our actual
0:24
productive time of getting work done.
0:29
Then there's scope creep,
0:32
which screws with our scheduling and our profitability.
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We have this project all planned out wonderfully,
0:38
but then suddenly the client wants something else that we hadn't planned.
0:41
It's that whole unpredictable nature about clients
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where you don't really know how long
0:48
it's going to take them to sign off a design
0:50
or whether they're going to quibble over a particular aspect.
0:52
Now all of those things need addressing,
0:56
and we need techniques for dealing with working with clients.
0:58
Now we've already addressed the issues of telephone calls and emails
1:02
and suggested there are some things you can do there,
1:06
but there are other things too.
1:09
Take for example meetings.
1:13
Always schedule your meeting with a client even if they're nearby.
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Even if it's a client that you could easily pop in to see,
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don't just have ad hoc meetings.
1:23
Make sure they're scheduled into your calendar
1:25
so that they happen when you want them to happen,
1:28
and they don't just suddenly interrupt you in the middle of something else.
1:31
Another useful technique is to make use of video conferencing.
1:35
This limits the amount of travel time to see clients.
1:40
Now I said earlier that meeting face to face with clients is really important,
1:43
and I stand by that.
1:46
But not every conversation with a client needs to happen face to face,
1:48
and a lot of the time you can use video conferencing to do that.
1:53
Always, always set a time limit on a meeting with a client.
1:58
Don't allow it be an open-ended meeting,
2:02
and also don't feel that you always need to go with a
2:05
default that a calendar is set up for.
2:07
Most calendar apps will automatically set a meeting as being an hour long.
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And for a lot of meetings, that's too long.
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So what we tend to do when we have meetings with a client
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is we make it very clear that we need to stop by this time
2:20
because we have other commitments that follow on from there.
2:23
So arrange your meetings with that end time in mind.
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But also try and group the meetings together
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so that you're not constantly begin interrupted through the day.
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Have an afternoon or a day a week which is dedicated to meetings
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so that you're not constantly interrupting your time spent building the website.
2:42
Always have an agenda going in for a meeting as well.
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So many meetings turn into these open-ended discussions
2:51
that don't really go anywhere and drag on endlessly.
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Have an agenda and stick to it.
2:58
And say up front that you have to be done by a certain time.
3:00
There's also scope creep to consider as well.
3:05
First thing to do for dealing with scope creep
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and stopping a client getting carried away
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is to have a written specification.
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Outline exactly what it is you're supposed to be delivering,
3:17
and insure that everyone is signed up with that specification.
3:19
Then if something comes along that isn't in the specification,
3:25
it's clear.
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And there's none of this, well, I thought it was going to be included.
3:30
That happens so much and can throw out your projects.
3:33
Be realistic and honest with your clients
3:36
about ideas that they come up with.
3:39
If an idea is easy to implement,
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feel free to implement it.
3:43
But a lot of the time you want to push ideas back into a second phase.
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I recommend keeping an ideas list
3:51
between yourself and the client
3:53
that when they come up with new ideas,
3:55
put it down on the ideas list.
3:57
That's where these new things go.
3:59
They don't get rolled into the project
4:01
so making it longer and longer.
4:03
Review the ideas list at the end of each project,
4:05
and that can turn into the repeat business we talked about earlier.
4:08
Finally there's unpredictability,
4:13
those aspects of client behavior that are hard to predict
4:15
and can really throw out a project.
4:19
Communication is a key aspect of that.
4:22
If you're communicating with them often,
4:25
then these things are less likely to arise.
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Also avoid surprises.
4:32
Show your client stuff often.
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A classic example of where this can go wrong is with design.
4:37
Designers like to work in isolation.
4:41
They like to go away and produce their beautiful designs
4:44
and then present them to the client in this ta-da moment.
4:47
The problem with that approach is the client is surprised
4:51
with a completed design that may or may not be in line with their expectations.
4:55
If you had shown them sketches and mood boards
4:59
and wireframes and all of these other things along the way,
5:02
then you would have identified problems earlier on
5:05
rather than having this problem hit you after you've spent
5:10
a lot of work and a lot of time working on a design.
5:13
So show the client often what you're doing.
5:17
Adding contingency as well to projects.
5:20
Make sure that there is ample time
5:22
for these unpredictable things that clients tend to do from time to time.
5:25
And when they do say something that surprises you,
5:30
that sets the project off in a different direction, that is unpredictable,
5:35
don't go in and just say, no, I'm not going to do that
5:39
because that doesn't help with the client relationship.
5:42
Instead explain the consequences.
5:45
Point out to them that if did this, it would have a knock on effect on the project.
5:47
Most importantly, make sure that the client understands
5:52
that they might only be adding a day’s work onto the project
5:56
with something that they suggest,
6:01
but that doesn't necessarily equate to just a days delay
6:03
in the overall time of the project.
6:07
The reality is you have other commitments with other clients.
6:10
And this—your clients wouldn't like it
6:13
if their project was pushed because of another client.
6:15
So if you set a certain time to work with a certain client,
6:19
you need to stick to that.
6:23
So if the previous client overruns,
6:25
then it's going to be a while before you can come back to that project.
6:27
So there you go.
6:32
Working with clients is never easy
6:34
and does have an effect on your productivity.
6:36
You're not going to get to sit endlessly coding without having to deal with clients.
6:38
But working with clients is something that's manageable.
6:43
If you set meetings that happen at a particular time,
6:47
if you have a way of dealing with scope creep,
6:50
and if you have methods of dealing with the clients unpredictability,
6:54
then you will get a lot done,
6:58
and the client doesn't need to dominate your day.
7:01
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