Client Tip #3: Save ALL correspondence
Scott Manning
September 16, 2002
|
It is absolutely imperative to save all emails and keep notes of any other forms of communications between you and your clients. You never know when something will come up that was taken care of months ago.
A client of mine recently added a new feature to the scope of a project that he had told me to cut out just a month earlier. Development had already started at this point. This new feature was going to cause more work and push the project completion date back by about a week.
After searching through his emails, I found a message where he had originally told me to cut the new item out of the scope. I forwarded him the email and this was his reply:
Email Standards
It's a good idea to set up some email standards with your client from the beginning of the relationship. At the least, make sure they always include the message they are replying to and make sure they use sensible subject lines.
Tracking Phone Calls
Phone calls are a little harder to keep track of than emails and letters, but keeping a notebook on your desk or word document on your computer is a simple solution.
At the least, date each conversation you have. If you really want to be organized, include a title with the date. The title should include some key words that will quickly help you remember what the conversation was about.
For example, a client calls me to discuss adding an "Email this page" link on every page of his site. My notes from the conversation would look something like this:
I typically try to keep a paperless office, but sometimes you just can't prevent it. I would immediately put these notes in a digital format.
The next day, I would write up the new change and have the client sign off for it. If he wonders in three weeks why the final price was $200 more than originally quoted, I can show him not only his signature, but I can quote him the time and day we talked about it.
That's professional, impressive, and powerful.
Tracking Instant Messaging Conversations
At Scottmanning.com, I've actually made it a policy not to discuss any important business issues with clients via instant messaging. It's very hard to keep track of conversations and important decisions should not be made through chatting. Clients also tend to feel that they can IM you at any part of the day (or night) to talk to you about a project. So at the most, I use instant messaging to see if a client is available. All other discussion is done through email and phone calls.
But if you must use instant messaging as a means of communicating with a client, keep a folder full of text files for each conversation. Save the text files with the date at the beginning so your operating system can keep them organized by date (for example: 06-02-02). Again, title each conversation with the topic discussed. This is more difficult with instant messaging since they typically cover a slew of random topics, but try to nail down the main subject of the conversation in as few words as possible. A typical text file name could look like this:
06-02-02_ Email this page Feature.txt
By saving these discussions in text files, you'll be able to search the conversations with your operating system when needed.
Save your butt
Clients are not the enemy, but sometimes they can forget what was previously agreed upon. This happens with anyone working on a complicated project. Keeping a record of every instance of communication will clear up potential confusion and it can also save your butt.
Related articles:
Client Tip # 1: Always have a contract
Client Tip #2: Always get a down payment |
