More and more of us are becoming contractors (over 200,000 according to CSO) and one of the key skills to being successful is knowing how to treat our customers in such a way as they keep giving us repeat work (the easiest sort of work to get).
1. Consistently do a good job. Most businesses will accept that you have a bad day but what matters is what you deliver 95% of the time. Give your best every time and while it may not be said directly to you, it will be seen. Admit when you make a mistake and be willing to take responsibility when something hasn’t gone as planned.
2. Stay out of office politics.. Remember one of the reasons you became a contractor was to avoid politics. Well, keep doing that. Don’t get involved in gossiping about other staff members. Remember they work there all the time. You don’t.
3. Keep your skills updated and let your customers know. In the world of IT in particular, you snooze you lose. Let your customers know when you are up to date on new programs. It will keep them happy and keep work flowing for you!
4. Invoice promptly and be nice to the accounts people. Invoice your customers regularly. One idea is to bring the invoice with you on the day you do the work so the person who is signing off gets it asap. The sooner you invoice your customers the sooner you get paid. And remember your payment can be held up in the accounts department so it pays to be pleasant to them!
5. Form alliances with other contractors. Yes, I know they are supposed to be your competitors but many contractors create informal links with others in the same line of work. If you can’t take on a piece of work, it creates added value for your customer by being able to recommend another contractor. Make sure that the relationship is a reciprocal one.
6. Be generous with your customers. Sometimes customers will ask you to do something that is outside the terms of your agreement with them e.g. answer a query for a customer. It always helps to offer to do this although it’s a good idea to specify a limit on this e.g. if the problem takes longer than 15 minutes to sort, you will bill for the time.
7. Say no sometimes. In the beginning the temptation is to take on as much work as possible, but you need to be careful to schedule in downtime and r & d time so that you can keep your skills up to date. And remember you don’t have to give a reason.
8. Prune out the crap customers. Any contractor will tell you about the horror customers they have. The ones who beat you down on price, then hassle you non-stop and after all that, delay payment. Quite often the contractor had a bad feeling about them but took them on anyhow…and then loses time with good customers because of it. Tell them you are not available or give them the names of other people they can go to. Go with your gut on these people!
9. Make dealing with you a pleasure. Respond quickly to queries whether by phone or by e-mail. Let people know when you will be on holidays.
10. Enjoy being a contractor. Contracting is not for everyone but if you enjoy it, there is a huge freedom and confidence that comes from knowing that you are employed over and over again for the quality of your work.
Anne Walsh is a life coach based in Co. Galway. You receive a free 10 part e-course called “Personal Freedom” when you sign up to her free monthly newsletter: Bring your best self to light at www.annewalshcoach.com. You can also find many useful time management and stress tools at www.annewalshcoach.com She can also be contacted at anne@annewalshcoach.com. Comments and opinions always welcome--really!
To learn more about this author, visit Anne Walsh's Website.
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So much for the belief that the customer is always right.
