Although I think we do an excellent job of maintaining strong working relationships here at Nielson Design, I would like to cover four simple ways we all might improve our working relationships.
Without further ado:
- Develop a Foundation of Trust First
- Define Deliverables
- Keep in Contact and Listen
- Under Promise and Over Deliver
Before you can begin working with someone, you have to trust them as a person and as a business entity. From the personal side this means you have to show your integrity by example — you can do this by responding to email, making good on promises, and being transparent about your intentions, and expectations. As a business, share your portfolio, be clear about your capabilities and limitations, and offer references freely. You can only do so much to show your credibility without a third party vouching for you. Clarifying these prior to beginning work will save everyone time and energy.
Be clear about what real things you will deliver, and what you expect to receive from the get go. It should go without saying that you should be explicit about the work to be done, and the remuneration expected prior to agreeing to work. This will make everyone feel more comfortable as the exact value of the exchange can be seen prior to agreement.
Even if you do not have a deliverable ready, it’s good to give an update and let the other party know where you stand. It can be as simple as “Hey So and So, We haven’t talked in a few days so I wanted to let you know we’re hard at work on your project and we will have an update soon (or …we’re waiting to hear about your work on our project and we would love an update soon). In the mean time, feel free to share anything new we should know about. Sincerely, Ben” I love getting friendly personal email — when you receive so much spam and junk in your inbox to get a message from a human being is nice.
When you tell someone that you can accomplish a project in 2 weeks, and get quality results but you deliver exceptional results in one week they will be very excited and likely go on to tell friends and family. Exceptional experiences are what inspire passionate referrals, so you should go out of your way to make people feel like they are getting extra value. This is of course more relevant if you are the person providing the work, service, or product. Even if you are on the receiving end, you could provide more reference material than expected, or otherwise make things more convenient than the other party expected and everyone will be happier in the end.
These simple steps will pay huge dividends. Got some tips or techniques of your own? We would love to hear in the comments.