connection Archives - My Team Connects

8 Ways To Make Your Clients Love You

August 1, 2016 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

.Wouldn’t you just swell up in pride when a client delights in you and says, “We appreciate You” or “Good to have you onboard!” These are not polite diplomacy remarks. These are real comments, given by some genuine clients, for being awesome.

Now look at these compliments – How would you feel if you get one of these – ?

Because you are a star!!! Thanks for your work on this. 🙂
Look forward to some more excellent work from you 🙂
You were a soldier in this.

These are just some of the compliments from my clients. Don’t assume it may take a long time for you to make your clients love you. For me, I have delighted clients from the first project on! I have been freelancing only about a year and in this (very) short span of time, I have managed to create a great rapport with all my clients.

Follow these simple tips if you want to get more and better freelance jobs.

Tip #1. Be Passionate

About your work.

Maybe you got into the freelance business out of necessity. I know I did. I wanted to be a full-time parent and it was only after I started writing, I discovered my passion for it.

Pro Tip: Work with all your heart and all your mind, and it will show in your work.

If you have any kind of mind block for your assignment, your client, or maybe you are simply bored — as a ripple effect, all of these aspects will trickle down to your work and that is never a good thing.

Your clients want to work with people who are like them. And if they are passionate about their business, and you are not – it simply would not work.

If you are compelled to freelance but are not “feeling” anything for it, try to be grateful for the many benefits freelancing offers – the flexibility and the freedom is great compared to the million others who have to work inside tiny cubicles, all day, all week.

Tip #2. Treasure Your Clients

So maybe you are passionate about your work and you have great clients to work with. It’s when you start taking them for granted, things start to fall apart. You start missing deadlines or you fail to update them about your impromptu mid-week break. These are simple things that can spell DOOM for your freelance writing career. Don’t do these things to lose your client.

When you treasure your clients, you care about their business. You care how much your work will affect their business. You wouldn’t be in it for the money. That will show your clients what a treasure you are to keep!

Pro Tip: Never Take your Clients For Granted

Tip #3. Be Accountable

When you accept to work on a certain project or assignment, make sure you are 100% committed. If, for any reason, you cannot deliver your best or deliver anything at all – you need to keep your clients in the loop about it. If you work on hourly basis, don’t cheat on your productivity. If you say yes to a client, then be sure to deliver and do it quick.

Pro Tip: Be honest about what you can and cannot do.

Tip #4. Be Quick to Deliver

For clients, time is money. The faster you deliver, the sooner it will help your clients. When your clients give you a deadline and you deliver before time, you earn a ton of brownie points! You get more work because the client appreciates your delivery timelines. When you work with this attitude, your productivity hits the fan and you get more and better freelance jobs.

Pro Tip: Deliver before the deadline.

Tip #5. Deliver the Best

Exercise caution when you want to be quick to deliver. Do it only when you really can. Of course, doing it regularly has its perks, but delivering half-baked assignments will probably get you fired. Quick or not, persuade your soul to deliver only the best work, each time, every time.

Tip #6. Be Dependable

When you only deliver the best each time, and within stipulated timelines, your clients learn to depend on you. Say Yes every time they come to you with an assignment. Even if it means for you to burn the midnight oil, burn it! …and deliver so they keep coming back for you.

Pro Tip: Work extra hours, only if you can.

Tip #7. Be Proactive

When you have completed a deliverable, be sure to be enthusiastic and ask your client if they have more work to give you. You don’t have to wait around for your client, you can take the first step. This will show your client that you are proactive and ready for more work.

Pro Tip: Ask for more work.

Tip #8. Build Relationship

Care to know their birthdays, their children’s birthdays, anniversaries. Be tuned to what your client is feeling. Share some of your personal stories. When there is a real and a genuine connection, your client will never forget you. You will be the first person they think of when things need to get done.

Pro Tip: Get on a video call at least once a month.

Do you have some sure fire ways to make clients love you? Share how you do it in the comments below.

Elizabeth Alex is a freelance content writer for hire. Follow her on her website, Honestliz.com, Facebook and Twitter.

All You Need to Know About Copywriting that Connects

July 17, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

If you forget all the other babble about copywriting, and remember this one thing…you're going to be we wildly successful. You'll blow your competition out of the water and you'll never struggle to find customers.

Ironically, this copywriting mindset goes deeper than words and phrases that sell.

Words are the tools. Words are important. But this copywriting mindset is the seed from which all those words grow.

All you need to know about copywriting is "Hospitality."

Hospitality elevates your customers' experience doing business with you. It goes beyond your products and services and transforms how your customers feel when they encounter them.

You can spend your life focusing on your services and products and forget completely how to discern what your customers are feeling about your business.

Think of a successful and personable business person in your community. They may change what they offer and even work within different niches in their primary field. Yet their hospitality factor probably remains constant.

Business people who know the secret to connecting show hospitality before their customer ever walks through the door or engages their services. They exude hospitality in their local communities and to their employees. They are well-known and well- liked. You don't need to be a customer to see it. Genuine hospitality is part of the fabric of the company.

Hospitality connects you with your customers and clients by showing that you care about them. And your copy — the words your prospect and online community reads — can easily reflect hospitality if you remember this:

Copywriting should anticipate the customer's needs and desires, just as a good waiter brings you the condiments with the dinner; and like a great hostess knows your name and seating preferences when you enter the restaurant.

Know what your ideal customers want before they want it. That's it.

That's hospitality in a nutshell and that's all you need to know to get your copy to engage action.

Would you ever invite friends for dinner in your home, yet neglect to prepare for their arrival? No one does that! A hospitable host would set the table, buy flowers and wine, plan a menu…you know, show your guests that you were expecting them!

Your copy must reflect the impression you want your customers to take with them after doing business with you. Your copy is like the revolving door that welcomes them in while anticipating how they'll feel when they leave.

Copy that works reveals a genuine offer to help solve a problem, and the confidence that you will deliver it with courtesy, friendliness, invention, curiosity and attention to the customer's cues.

That's hospitality.

Copywriting that exudes hospitality is what I strive for. Research is part of the deal here at MyTeamConnects. That means your ideal customer is well-understood; we can already predict what they require.

If there's a conversation your ideal customers are having online, MyTeamConnects will find it and learn their language. Contact me when you want to draw the right crowd — and make them feel that they're in good hands when they find YOU.

Capturing Hospitality in Your Copy:

Bring the reader in. Great headlines guide readers to the first part of your text. Every chunk of your writing from there nudges the reader further along. The idea is to get the reader to read the whole thing. Just like sitting down to a great meal, you want him to stay for dessert!

Connect with the reader through an emotion. You know in an instant whether your guest is feeling calm, excited, distracted, or in a hurry to get in and get out. The same is true for your reader. Speak to the reader "as if" that emotion exists…because for your ideal customer, it most certainly does!

Use the words they use. Salespeople know this well. By just repeating a phrase, comment or gesture of their customer, they raise the customer's comfort level and help them get closer to a purchase. The salesperson selling a car to a mom with four kids under the age of ten will have a very different conversation than the one he'd have selling the same car to an executive of a large company. Even the tone of voice would mirror the customer's, just as we similarly adjust our gestures and positions while engaging with people we enjoy. (She touches her hair, you touch your hair. She leans in, you lean in. You know how that works.) Make a point to notice this in everyday life and then practice repeating a phrase your customer uses in your copy. (By the way, I listen very carefully when my customers speak, and I often use their words in the copy I write for them, too. It makes a difference.)

Offer clear explanations and choices. Think of a menu. Use bullet points and short descriptions. Too much information, and you'll lose your customer. Studies have shown that a few choices is better than offering too many. Keep It Super Simple (KISS) and be ready to expand on your explanation if asked or clicked. Online copywriting often includes links to more information.

Make your point and stick with it. Don't jump around from theme to theme. Pick one idea or keyword you're going for and support that concept with each idea you present. Just like a diner would be confused if the waiter brought french fries to an Indian meal, your reader appreciates one train of thought. Save all those extra thoughts for another day. By the way, efficient copywriters keep a folder of ideas for future content. Someone asked me recently if I could think of enough things to write about his industry. While I haven't written about this particular industry yet, I confidently assured him that I will never run out of ideas. Writing seems to generate more ideas the more you do it. It's the editing that's difficult, but so important!

Neaten up your closing. Clear the table; remove the plates and dirty silverware. Bring the reader back to a simple and clean finish. In fact some copywriting experts even suggest that when you are finished, take that closing sentence and move it up to the top. It should not only fit well there, it might even make a better opening line than the one you started with!

The copywriting that connects with your reader has these elements of hospitality — and many more! Simply anticipate your reader's needs and serve up a solution they've been craving.

Copywriting that really speaks to your customers also satisfies them. It should make them want to come back for more (and bring their friends next time!) because it resonates on a level as sincere and basic as food and conversation.

Hospitality is the ingredient we all crave. Why should the restaurant industry have a corner on it?

With that, dear reader, I leave you hospitably and in good hands, I hope. Please come back…the door is always open.

Do you have something to add? I'd love it if you left a comment below!

Avoid Communication Breakdown; Find Cracks In Your Small Biz Culture

March 9, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Communication breakdown on any level can identified and patched beforeyour business culture suffers major structural damage. It helps to know what you are looking for.

As the owner of any small business knows, excellent communication is crucial to your success. There are no corporate handbooks to rely on (unless you create them) and no one to pass the buck to. As your small business grows, the need for good communication increases. In fact, the small business owner’s lack of communication skills may even arrest his company’s growth.

The owner of a company I once worked for had an interesting way of communicating. Well respected in the industry for inventing an important piece of equipment, this older gentleman had grown his 20-year-old company to over 200 employees; the company had gone public, and its tools were the industry standard in its niche. The company was profitable and very successful.

But I constantly marveled at this man’s personal communication style. My office was close to his, and his voice carried; I would hear things like “You aren’t listening to a word I’m saying.” and “You don’t understand anything.”

No coincidence then that many of us employees did not have a clear job description. Looking back, it occurs to me that many of us were self-starters and adaptable to ongoing new conditions and shifting projects; in fact, you didn’t last long unless you had those qualities. And I’m sure it helped to be agreeable with the owner, especially in the company’s formative stages!

But during the years I was with the company there existed a palpable frustration among the executives and the board that the company was not growing and competing as well as it could have. You didn’t need to sit on the board to know this; the feeling permeated the mood of daily business from the top down.

Every small business has a unique culture, which begins with communication from the founder. Do you ever consider how effective your communication style is and how it molds your business?

When you find that you have miscommunicated some information to your customer or your team, the result is usually a scramble to make things right again. I would guess that it takes more time and effort to patch up the fallout of miscommunication than it would have taken to prepare effective communication in the first place.

“I don’t remember you telling me that.”
“Where is that written down?”
“I did not know that was important to you.”

If you’ve heard these words from others, then your message wasn’t clear. Unfortunately small business owners must accept that fact and take responsibility for the communication breakdown. The good news is that once we figure out where people get stuck, communication breakdown is easy to fix.

You may relate to these common reasons for lines getting crossed in small business communication:

• We simply don’t know what we don’t know. The problem at hand is new and we lack the process or tools to deal with it.

• We are not precise when relaying information. The basic guidelines are there, but the details are missing.

• We are not clear in our intentions or motives. The “how, when, and what” are important, but sometimes to be clear you must communicate the “why.” The reasons behind directions or descriptions are often the meat of the matter. “The Reason Why” fills in the spaces between the cold hard facts and illustrates the the foundation of the problem. It also shows that you have a sound basis for your recommendations because you’ve been there before.

• We omit important chunks of information because we assume our customer or team already knows what we know.

• We simply forget, or…

• We’re in too big a hurry to explain everything or document it.

• Sometimes we even withhold information, possibly stemming from some trepidation about ruffling someone’s feathers. We bite our tongues, thinking that a one-time occurrence will not be repeated. We may even downplay new information because we are covering for a previous failure to communicate something essential! Swallowing pertinent information to avoid confrontation is a downward spiral that will only come back to haunt you.

Even subtle messages can be misconstrued. Almost all business relationships have a built-in personal element; the connections we make with people make work enjoyable. But if you are the small business owner, pay attention to the messages you are sending. Miscommunication caused by “too-casual” business connections may also be the culprit that throws a wrench into your company’s operations and standards.

Company culture is the root of your company’s brand; it’s the company’s “inside” brand and it has everything to do with how communication flows between your company team members; and with customers, vendors and wholesalers. There are opportunities everywhere to improve!

Miscommunication Creates Work (Clear Communication, Part 2)

March 1, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Good work, though…Productive work.

Pay attention to the messages you are sending. Subtle messages can be misconstrued and the resulting miscommunication throws a wrench into your business operations. But you can turn this around and make it work for you.

Yesterday I wrote about the interesting small business conundrum:

Being flexible and able to creatively adapt to your customer’s wishes WHILE…
Serving your customer with clear-cut products and services that you do best.

Part of the fun of owning a small biz is that you can do both. You can adapt when needed or change course if you want to, with no corporate operations-driven standards to which you must adhere. You can also hone your strengths, serving your customer with unparalleled excellence in your niche.

The ability to excel at both is a double-edged sword. And as it rears its head, communication usually breaks down. However miscommunication, though it causes inconvenience, signals and opportunity for new growth.

In the case with my daughter (in the previous post), my wish not to have a mess in my car was interpreted by her suspicion that I simply didn't want her to finish her coffee for health reasons. It was a funny miscommunication between mom and daughter.

But there are other times when miscommunication seriously ruffles feathers. We've all been there.

Small business people tend to rely less on established systems, and more on case-by-case intuition. While that personal touch is at times a wonderful thing, it requires more attention and better communication.

While you are busy being flexible, your clients may become confused as to what your core services really are.

The stuff you know you can deliver on gets pushed to the back when you spend time trying to go over the top. Meanwhile you might miscommunicate your good intentions or your core competencies.

I’m not saying you can’t go above and beyond occasionally. There are three very good reasons for doing so:

In doing so, we push our business into new territory and begin to envision expansion into those areas.

Adding services or new products challenges a small organization to better streamline the operations of its core business.

Small measured steps in a new direction gratify you both personally and professionally.

Your customer usually appreciates the extra effort or indulgence.

One way to assure clarity (both for yourself and your customers) is to establish guidelines for the really critical parts of your operations, while allowing flexibility in other areas. That way you won't have to think on your feet about the stuff that's really important to you. Go ahead and write it down; consider posting an FAQ page. Share it up front with the people who need to know. Make sure everyone knows where you stand, both internally and those you serve.

Then when it comes to less important details or new projects outside of your usual scope, you'll have created the freedom to explore them. When you have the basics under control, you can judge when it’s appropriate to tackle something new and different.

That's the kind of flexibility that allows you to grow, deliver on your core value propostion…

and stay sane at the same time!

Let's bring that analogy back into the coffee/car example. Pretend your teenager is your customer. If "No Spill Ride" is your core value proposition, then you would provide certain cup sizes inside the car – not those huge latte cups that are more like soup bowls than coffee mugs. A rule regarding cup size is simple to communicate and to follow.

However, if your agenda involves educating your passenger about the dangers of becoming hooked on caffeine, that's another issue entirely. Now you’re in fuzzy territory. You want her to be healthy, but at the same time, you’d like to share the enjoyment of a coffee drink with her in the morning (in an appropriate cup). Your concern is not about spilling the coffee; this is extra.

Clearly, communicating about cup-size is easy. Helping your daughter learn her limits with caffeine, while still enjoying it with her on occasion, takes a bit more work to establish. But what a sweet little treat – enjoying coffee and convo on the way to school!

Adaptability carries with it those warm perks and fosters goodwill; absolutely! But it makes no sense to sacrifice the core value that your customer depnds on. As long as you understand your own strengths, and know where you are getting off the beaten path, your small business can grow.

Miscommunication has its upside. If you find communication falling through at certain points or events, if you are frustrated by expectations from yourself or your customers; that's a sure signal that it's time to develop a policy or system that you can repeat and duplicate.

Look at it as an opportunity to clarify your message and move forward.

Clear Communication Is Key To Small Business Growth

February 29, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Good communication helps you connect with your customers; that’s a given. But communication also helps your business to evolve into a reliable entity. Is your communication “off the hook?” Or are you really making a connection?

A funny thing happened on the way to school last week that displayed perfectly how important it is to connect with people with clarity.

First, let me just say that I think my 13-year-old is probably too young to be drinking coffee (and she knows it), but she loves a half milk/half coffee concoction to start her day. Being a coffee lover myself, I get it; so we indulge together every now and then.

A couple of days ago she had one of those huge cups (the kind you hold in two hands) filled with coffee in the car. I was thinking it was going to spill so I told her to dump some out before she got in the car.

Her intuition told her — what she heard was — that I objected to her caffeine intake.

And right there, I was hit smack dab by how simple messages are so easily misconstrued when approached from two completely different realities.

I was thinking about the coffee spilling. She was worrying that I would give her a sermon about nutrition. I wasn’t communicating clearly. No harm done; we came to a quick understanding. But I got to thinking about business communication…

Do you ever infer some “other” meaning behind another’s words, either written or spoken? Do you ever project a message that doesn’t even come close to landing your intended result? Do you ever try to read minds based on YOUR past experiences, and not your customers’?

It happens with customers, with clients, with business associates and with friends and family about whom we care deeply. In most cases you work it out, but there are times when you can seriously wound a good relationship, or a valuable business liaison.

Clarity is a crucial part of a good connection. (Lucky for me, my business is email and copywriting; as a fellow email marketer recently said, “It’s just email…we’re not saving lives here.” Thank goodness.)

But even though communication and marketing is my thing, anyone can botch a message. Between you and me, I’m personally working on my delivery at all levels because growing a business requires well-communicated standards — through many channels.

Ironically, the very ability and desire to be adaptable can actually hold you back as a small business owner. A reluctance to communicate a clear procedure (or price, or delivery milestone, or vacation schedule) could prevent you from solidifying certain processes that would potentially help you and your clients to thrive.

What a missed opportunity to move forward!

Poor communication may also suck the fun out situations where you can afford to let go a bit. As in the example above, my kid’s enjoyment of her coffee was interrupted by a vague wariness of doing “something wrong.” Not my intention at all.

Whether in business or in “life,” clear and consistent communication helps you connect with others. It allows you to accomplish what’s important, and to be flexible when it’s necessary.

What about you? Do you find it easy to say what you mean in your customer communication? Are you ever surprised by the way people interpret your message?