[thelist] how do you manage/respond?

[Todd Richards]

The relationships I have with my clients are very good.  I have had some "so
so" clients that I still treat them like they are the only ones.  I hope
nobody gets the idea that I bad mouth and treat my clients like dirt -
that's far from the truth.  But because of the relationships that I build
with them, I'm also comfortable enough to say "hey, you have to meet me half
way here."  And in the end, they respect me more for that then blowing smoke
up their ...

So a bigger question, and one that may help us all wrap our head around
things better, is what do you do when it's NOT possible to make them feel
like they're the only client?  What do you do when you can't drop everything
and take care of them, even when they are late getting their stuff to you?
Is that just not an option for you?  Is it because you have subcontractors
that you can call on at those times?

I hate to say no, but I've also learned that NOT saying no can sometimes be
worse for you.  

Todd




>every client we have for our three businesses gets the distinct
>impression that we sit around waiting for them to call or email so we
>can jump on it and amaze them. they know, in their heads, that it's not
>true. but we make them *feel* like they're our only client.

>joel