Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











Ten Tips for Working Remotely with Your Clients

Guest post by: Todd Jamieson

Article Overview: A few years ago, I decided that if we wanted to grow our business, we’d have to look for clients outside of Ottawa. I am fortunate enough to work in a business where it is not always necessary for me to meet my clients in person, so I decided to take advantage of some of the great tools out there and try to have more remote meetings.

Free Download - How Bob lost the sale and didn’t even know it. By Todd Jamieson
Name: Email:

Ten Tips for Working Remotely with Your Clients

A few years ago, I decided that if we wanted to grow our business, we’d have to look for clients outside of Ottawa. I am fortunate enough to work in a business where it is not always necessary for me to meet my clients in person, so I decided to take advantage of some of the great tools out there and try to have more remote meetings.
The benefits of meeting electronically are immense, and we have been able to work with clients as far away as Australia, Hanoi or Hong Kong. But doing business by phone or e-mail is not as easy as many people may think. It can be challenging at times, and does require a bit of extra work. Over time, I have learned to use the following techniques to ensure my remote meetings are effective and productive:
  1. Save on your phone bill: international land line calls just don’t make sense. Ask up front if your client uses Skype. Using Skype allows you to keep in contact more frequently. You can even simulate an in-person meeting using Video Calls. Best of all, Skype to Skype calls are always free.

  2. Share your screen: screen sharing software like join.me or other tools are a great way to give your client that “real world” meeting feeling.

  3. Use reverse screen sharing whenever possible. Many of the more advanced screen sharing software allows you to see both your screen and your client’s screen. This is really handy for troubleshooting.

  4. Save with cheap conference calling: if other attendees insist on using a land line, there are a number of services to allow you to have free or really cheap conference calls.

  5. Have a time-zone converter. Try to be a good host and whenever possible ask for meetings in your client’s timezone. Use this tool to quickly convert times and avoid any embarrassments.

  6. Keep it to the point. When communicating with clients for meeting minutes or updates via e-mail, be as detailed as possible but don’t write unnecessarily. Subscribe to the Five Sentences philosophy.

  7. Take screen shots to illustrate your points if you can’t easily communicate them with words. Using tools like Jing are very helpful at describing the problem.

  8. Don’t bother sending files via DVD or an old-school FTP server. When sending large files (5mb +), consider using a large file upload service. Using these tools will help transfer large amounts of data quickly and conveniently.
  9. Always book meetings with an online calendar: when working with remote clients, it is really important that meetings are booked ahead of time. Use a service or software that supports the ics standard. This will allow your client to automatically add the meeting to their calendar and will convert it to their local time. A great free tool that I use is the Google Calendar.

  10. Use software that supports collaboration. When discussing new ideas, it is helpful to allow your client to have access to relevant information whenever they want. I’m a big fan of Google Docs, a free service and allows for multiple editors and it keeps track of every change made. It is also delivered as an online service, so there is no software to download.
What are some of the tools you use that help with simplifying remotely working with suppliers or clients?

Related Articles
  Remote Workers & Telecommuters: How to Increase Productivity When Working from Home
  As a Virtual Assisant, How Do I Find a Niche?
  QuickBooks Hosting 101 for the Small Business Owner
  More Customers - Watch those Little Things
  You Can Juggle a Franchise and a Family
  Finding Work-Life Balance in the New Year
  Bookkeeping Tips on Tips
  How To Convince Your Boss Telecommuting Is A Good Idea
  Saving Time and Money with Remote Agents
  Cloud computing strategies
  10 Tips For Total Immersion In Presentation Skills Training
  Top tips on how to manage flexible workers
  Presentation Skills Training For Highly Effective Mobile Teams
  Winning Business from Client Requests for Proposals (RFP)s.
  Going Virtual
  Networking Tips from the Networkers Networker
  Converting Overwhelm into Productivity in 7 Simple Steps
  iSeeVideo Application for Securing Office Premises
  3 Top Tools For Online Businesses
  Ten Top Business Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach

Home > SEO > Todd Jamieson > Ten Tips for Working Remotely with Your Clients >
Article Tags: communication, great tools, remote work
Referred by: http://www.brymarkpromostore.com

About the Author: Todd Jamieson
RSS for Todd's articles - Visit Todd's website

Todd is a husband, father, board member, and founder/CEO of Envision Online Media. He is an avid reader and enjoys sharing new business, productivity and technology ideas. He lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife and two sons.

Click here to visit Todd's website Dashed Line

More from Todd Jamieson
Five Things Every Business Owner Must Know About Google
Is Your Routine Making You Stupid
Ten Tips for Working Remotely with Your Clients
Dont Hire a Web Developer to Build Your Website
How Strong is your Web Brand


Related Forum Posts
Business Tips Business Tips - How about: Tips for managers to handle employees more effectively? Tips on how to deal with difficult customers? Tips on how to deal more effectively with suppliers? The only three I have in mind right now, but will try to come up with something else. Chris
Re: Who Did You Learn Most From and Why? Re: Who Did You Learn Most From and Why? - Hi Martin, You missed out on the most essential community that helps you grow - Your Clients. Well, I believe that my Initial Clients have been the ones who have given me the moments of 'aha' in my business. They have stood by me even when I was a starter and that has helped me shape and build my stand. They have helped me grow as an entrepreneur, learn to have loads of patience and make the most of what comes across. They have also helped me to strengthen me as a person. btw, personally speaking, my Grandfather always kept me on track and lent me emotional support when I was down in any matter - be it business or otherwise.
Re: What is Your Favorite Thing About Owning A Business? Re: What is Your Favorite Thing About Owning A Business? - [quote="freddyb45":1t3lpfi8]For me it's the fact that all the time and effort you put in is worth a lot more, due to it making you "business" more profitable. Working for yourself is also a positive, although employing people you can trust is quite different.[/quote:1t3lpfi8] I like this idea. Working for yourself means you are investing in your own future, not someone else's, although there is value in working for someone else first to gain experience and confidence. Working for yourself does not automatically mean success, fame and fortune. For most entrepreneurs, it takes much work and dedication to get to the point of financial success and comfort - sometimes years. But the benefit is, again, you know you are investing in yourself and building equity for your own future. GT :-]
Coaching Women vs. Males Coaching Women vs. Males - Tami, Do you have any clients from Eastern Canada? I was wondering if Coaching Clients from either Coast was any different. Also is it different coaching women entrepreneurs vs. males?
Re: help wanted in u.k. Re: help wanted in u.k. - Working on it all, a new world to me cheers brendan


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Are You Fulfilled

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Log On

SEO and the Entrepreneur
Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.