c/client-management

Rant: I thought sending a weekly project recap email was just busywork, but after a client in Portland said 'this is the only update I need', I'm sold.

Honestly, I started doing a simple bullet point email every Friday for 3 months and it cut my 'status check' calls in half, so has anyone else found a small habit that made a huge difference with keeping clients in the loop?

3 comments

sanchez.ivan•1d ago

Remember when we faxed project updates?

Back in 2008, I'd send a weekly fax summary to my main client in Boise, and they'd mail back signed change orders. We switched to a shared Google Doc after their office manager retired in 2012, and now everything just lives there in real time. Do you still keep any old-school paper trails, or is it all digital now?

3 comments

cora_west5•2d ago

Shoutout to the coffee shop in Portland where I overheard a graphic designer explaining a revision to a customer using only hand gestures and sound effects.

It was a masterclass in non-verbal communication, but I'm wondering if anyone else has a go-to method for explaining complex changes to someone who just doesn't get the technical terms.

3 comments

anna717•3d ago

Spent about $300 on a shared calendar tool for my small team and it's already paying off.

We were always missing follow-ups because notes were stuck in different email chains. I got the tool after a big project got messy. Now we all see the same schedule and notes in one spot. It feels like we're finally on the same page. Has anyone else found a simple tool that fixed a basic but annoying problem like this?

3 comments

dylanrodriguez•6d ago

Hot take: I stopped giving ballpark quotes over the phone and started insisting on a site visit first.

For years I'd give a rough number to save time, but after a $2,500 bathroom job in Tempe turned into a $4,000 nightmare because I missed a wall issue, I changed my rule. Now I tell every new client I need to see it in person before any numbers, and it's cut my callbacks and disputes in half. How do you handle the first price talk without scoping the actual work?

3 comments

daniel_coleman91•8d ago

Experience partnering with Net Reputation?

Hey fellow freelancers, have any of you worked with or referred clients to Net Reputation? I have a client who needs serious reputation management and it's way outside my wheelhouse as a standard SEO guy.

2 comments