The entrance to my office
You never get a second chance to make a good impression. Regardless of what services you provide, you do not have a business if you do not have clients. This is why giving good service might be the most essential part of your business.
You have to:
- Make that client connection
- Gain their trust
- Assure them that no matter what, you are going to give them your best
- And, ultimately (once the job is over), they should feel like they had the best experience ever
My office
In order for clients to feel this way, I have learned the most important questions to ask are, “As happy as you are, what could I have done differently?” and “At any time did my company drop the ball?” (I have gotten more than an earful in answers to this question over the years. Some responses were: “My calls were not returned quickly enough,” “We needed more of your time, ” and, “We want to keep the flowers fresh forever”–which, of course, is an issue I can’t help with. I suggest after events are over to donate the fresh flowers to nursing homes.)
The designers’ floor
I also learned the hard way that you have to be exactly who you are. Do not pretend to be anyone else. For instance, my offices in New York are in Midtown in a rather modest, commercial section of the city. As you go up, you take a rather small elevator (sometimes it feels claustrophobic) to the top three floors of the building that open to a very open lofty space with a lot of natural day light and exposed pipes in the ceilings. There is nothing slick about it.
The first impression that I’d like my clients to have is that we are who we are. We are artists. We are real folks from all over the world–Brazil, Laos, Thailand, Greece, Mexico, Singapore, Panama, etc… Even though we are in a high end business, and are visited by royalty, celebrities and groups of very creative clients, I feel they understand what we are about once they see our unpretentious surroundings. (I could be wrong, they might also be thinking, “What a dump.”)
The production floor
A couple tips to keep in mind when meeting your clients for the first time:
- It’s more important to make a strong connection than a sale. (I have made the mistake of discussing money too soon.)
- Give them as much time and attention as they want. (In the past, when I have been busy, I have made the mistake of making clients feel rushed and lost the job.)
And here’s the most important thing to realize from all this: NOT ALL CLIENTS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU. If, in the first meeting, your gut is hurting do not take this job. This might be one of the biggest mistakes I have made in the past–a mistake that cost me not only money but many sleepless nights.
I wonder…Even if you needed the job, what are some tell tale signs that might keep you from accepting a new client?
On 02-11-10 Aleah + Nick Valley says:
As always, great advice. We appreciate your candor, and discussion about your space and how you conduct business. It’s true – you are who you are, we are who we are, and don’t try to be someone you are not! If you’re true to yourself and your business, success should shine through!
Thank you for the continued inspiration!
On 02-11-10 Heidi says:
Grear Advice! A great reminder to make your space reflect you. The client needs to know you and trust you, then your able to give them the best experience. And so true about not being overly hungry for business that you take on clients who don’t fit with you. One of the hardest, but most important lessons!
On 02-11-10 Mary @ Lavish says:
If they change their mind frequently (even just during the proposal process), or forget what their original ideas were and want to to come up with a new theme, my alarm bells start ringing. This is the type of client who usually requires 2x the work and wants it done at 1/2 the cost. They usually are extraordinarily hard to please and do not value your expertise nor your time.
On 02-11-10 Apple says:
Wise words – thanks for sharing!
On 02-11-10 Sharon Alexander says:
Thank you! It brings it home so much more when someone else says it….
On 02-11-10 Sonia says:
Thanks for the wonderful advice and tips. Being so down to earth and transparent is great!
A major bell ringer for me is when an overly passive client is accompanied by a friend or family member who advises them continually and ignores their wishes completely. This individual often has little or no knowledge and the same amount of taste and tries to instruct us. I am still rehearsing ways of letting them go gently.
On 02-12-10 isha | isha foss events says:
Thank you for a great post and a constant source of inspiration.
When they TELL you that they are a control freak – b e l i e v e it!
On 02-12-10 WEDification.com says:
These are all SO SO true. Thanks for reminding all of us to be ourselves and keep this industry functioning at the highest level!
On 02-12-10 Sam Friedman says:
Thanks a lot for the time you take to share experience & knowledge which can never be bought for any price, please keep it up. Wishing you lots of success!!!
On 02-12-10 Janice Celeste says:
We never accept a client who has been “talked into getting a video.” We only want clients who really appreciate what we do because ’shoot’ it takes a lot of hard work to make a great wedding film (pun intended)!
We also don’t take clients who are extremely difficult during the initial phone calls. We got into this business to enjoy what we do and if a client might compromise that, I’d rather pass on their business.
These policies have worked well for us and we STILL love our job!
On 02-12-10 MELISSA says:
If any client reminds me of my mother or father or past lovers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I get a red flag right away!!!!!!!!
Often they too, feel as if they are reliving a past trauma and never call again!!!
xxoo
Melissa
On 02-12-10 heather says:
I have a No PITA clause (PITA = Pain In The A$$) in my contracts! A few other things that I do:
Fire clients or don’t work with prospective clients when they try to haggle over the price. If they don’t see value at the beginning, then working with them will be a constant struggle to prove value at every step.
I work mainly from a referral base. This way, potential clients know my work and price range from previous happy clients. It makes such a huge difference!
On 02-15-10 What Are You Investing In? says:
[...] Bailey wrote a terrific post last week about how he handles first meetings with clients. Among many other gifts, Preston’s [...]
On 02-16-10 Rashana of THE BRIDAL PARTY LLC says:
This is a great post. Everything you mentioned is true. Awesome advice!
I’ve learned over the years, big red flags and reasons to turn down a client’s business include negotiating based upon promises of future work, severe questioning of your rates, weird contract revision requests and the stick-and-move technique (continuously playing on your sympathy in efforts to obtain “extras” not agreed upon).
On 02-16-10 Frequently Asked Questions: Should you give a new client ideas or design before they sign a contract? | PrestonBailey.com says:
[...] I said in previous blogs, I take client service very seriously. My main goal, however, is to never ever forget that your design, ideas and services are precisely [...]
On 02-17-10 Alissa Duhon says:
Mr. Bailey, thank you for your inspiration. I have indeed made the mistake of giving too much information too soon. This has happened before and it definitely hurts. I’ve had sisters consult with me only to go with a local caterer whom I referred (yes, but no longer on my top caterer list) had the local caterer decorate and manage the wedding. I have also booked clients who I knew weren’t going to be right for me and lived to regret every minute I spent because at the end they were not only dissatisfied but complained about every single thing. However the guests were amazed, thrilled and very impressed. The behind the scenes production flowed smoothly of course with a few bumps but nothing major at all. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom. As for me while I talk to clients I pre-qualify them and look for signs and personality issues that may be a problem for me later. I’m getting there. Please let us know when you will be mentoring again! Thanks again. -Alissa
On 02-17-10 kristin @ The Treasured Petal says:
I am always cautious when I A) get an email inquiry cc’d to 3 other florists B) show them my portfolio and get no sort of response (either negative or positive) C) they don’t have a ring on their finger yet, but they’ve planned the entire wedding. I’ve learned that I do my very best work when I have a client who loves my style, clicks with me personally, and trusts me to make split decisions if I need to. These are the clients that keep me going!
Thanks for this awesome post!
On 02-18-10 JONATHAN VERZOSA says:
Very Inspiring!!! It boost my morale as a Wedding Planner… Thank you so much!
On 03-16-10 AbbeyK says:
I work in Interior Design, but my guess is the red flags are similar.
Most, I have missed the first time around, but have learned to listen to.
Once client asked if I increased my rates after appearing on This Old House. (And why couldn’t I have?)
Another told me she wanted me to make a living, but didn’t want to pay for a yacht (ha! I get seasick even looking at water and I can spend my money how I want to, thank you very much).
Ones who try to negotiate on price. (I won’t) or the deposit amount requested.
Ones who have questions about my non payment clause in my contract.
Couples who disagree or fight during the fist meeting.
Husbands who show up 30 minutes or 45 minutes late to the first meeting without a phone call to the wife or an apology– certainly late due to bad traffic or being stuck in surgery (I have a lot of Dcotor clients) is understandable. Just make the call.
Children who are incredibly misbehaved (I used to be an elementary school teacher so the ones who cannot even pretend to be polite in front of a stranger….well it’s a red flag).
People who I think are just too controlling and won’t let me do anything.
I also have to like the people and like the house.
But mostly it’s a gut feeling at this point. I like when people have a chance to ask questions about my contract because it allows us to get things on the table upfront. It’s not that they ask a question– that’s always welcome. It’s how they ask it and how they respond to the follow up questions.
It’s a personal business and there’s a lot of risk involved so I have learned (the hard way) to ask a lot of questions.