How to build trust with your client
1- Let Your Client See Your Kitchen: When was the last time you’ve seen a restaurant’s kitchen? We can all guess why it’s not common practice to let restaurant patrons see the backend of a restaurant. What if there’s food on the floor, or a cook forgot to wear a hat or hairnet?
But imagine walking into a kitchen and seeing that it was spotless. You would most likely trust the quality of their food, Right?
Being maximally transparent also keeps you on your toes, operating at the highest-quality capacity possible at all times, knowing that your customers can walk in at any time.
Screen-share with your clients. Show off your development tools and new hardware (if they’re interested).
Use a software or a tool that lets clients view the tasks and milestones related to their projects.
Be as transparent as you possibly can with your operations. It builds trust with clients by showing them that you’re upfront about the work you do and that you take pride in your behind- the-scenes production process.
2- Show That You Care About Their Expenses: Establish a relationship where your clients see that you’re being a custodian of their expenses. Show them that you care about spending too much of their money.
Even if you stand to lose a bit of billable hours yourself, be vocal about something you think isn’t worth the development costs. If they request a feature that you know won’t move them forward with their goal, or might even be detrimental to it, tell them why and also recommend better options (even if the option is to scrap the feature).
Sacrificing billable hours for the benefit of your client’s project will go a long way to building trust. This will not only lead to a better product that you can proudly display in your company’s portfolio, but also says a lot about how much you care about the client’s success, which is a compelling reason to continue working with you.
3- Learn About Their Business: You want your clients to view your work relationship like a partnership. By knowing as much as possible about their business, you stand a better chance of creating a better product for them.
The more you know about their business, the more they’ll feel that you’re a part of it, and the more likely they’ll be encouraged to continue working with you.
You can ask them to walk you through a typical day in their office. Ask them if there are any particular pain points that they think you can solve.
If possible, try out their company’s products or services to see how they work and to experience how it is being their customer.
Being knowledgeable about your client’s business will give them confidence in the products you build for them.
4- Substitute "I" for "We": Another way to make your client feel that you’re part of their business is by using "We" instead of "I". It’s a simple substitution of a pronoun that displays your vested interest in their project.
5- Be Honest At All Times: If you play games, you’ll get caught. Don’t pad hours when you feel you’re working extra efficiently, and take away hours when you feel you aren’t at the top of your game. Be accurate when tracking your billable hours.
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