Rules to being Software Consultants - Dealing with Clients

Do you prioritize your existing clients over prospective ones?

Your existing clients will always be the first thing on your mind. Any work relating to existing clients will be done before looking into anything else, including prospective client work.

In order to gain a good reputation in the industry, it is vital to make existing clients happy. If you are seen as being more interested in getting new clients than satisfying old ones, not only will you not receive return business, but you may have lost credibility in the industry and the chance of referrals from their contacts.

A good way to think of it is "is the ball in their court?". This means that your client is never waiting for you to do something, and that if there is a bottleneck; it is not on your end.

A good saying pertaining to keeping your existing clients happy is: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".

Do you always follow up your clients?

If you have followed the previous rule and the ball is always in their court, you need to make sure that they keep playing.

The best way to do this is to make sure you follow up all communications that require a reply, whenever you feel that a bottleneck is forming.

The best ways to follow up a client can be found in Rules to Better Email

Do you give potential consulting work emails the next highest priority after existing clients?

It is extremely important to demonstrate to potential clients a high level of quality service and attention to their needs; this is why, at SSW, whenever we receive an email from a potential client in relation to possible consulting work, we make sure they receive an answer within 5 minutes of us receiving it. We do this for 2 reasons:

• To show we are keen and give an indication of the level of service they will receive
• To stop them "shopping around"

They will quickly recognize that they will not receive that kind of service anywhere else!

Do you know the difference between a brief proposal and a specification review?

There is often a bit of confusion about what constitutes a proposal and what constitutes a specification review.

Brief proposal - free:

• Information about your company
• A basic overview of what you'll do for them
• The next steps

Specification Review - billed:

• A technical document listing in detail what technologies will be used and how
• Most likely includes initial release plans and ballparks

See Rules to Successful Sales Account Management

Do you get paid for estimates?

A lot of time in a consultancy can be taken up by producing estimates for clients so they can see a ballpark of what they will be spending. Because this time is not billed, it is easy to end up with rushed and inaccurate estimates, leading to problems later in the project.

A better way to go about it is to spend a little more time, and really get down in detail to what needs to be done. This is called a Specification review and is billable.

See Rules to Successful Sales Account Management.

For new prospects, do you always meet them to show them an estimate?

The findings of the Spec Review (the Initial Release Plan) will be presented at a meeting with the key decision makers of the project for review and acceptance, generally in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. It is important that all the required people are in a room together to review the Initial Release Plan.

See Rules to Better Project Management

For existing clients, do you always call them before sending a quote?

If you have an existing client, who is already impressed with your work, you don't need to go to the trouble of meeting then to show them an estimate. However, you will at least call them. When you're competing for someone's business, what could be worse than losing the work simply because the client either didn't receive your email, or was too busy to read it? For this reason, always call the client before you send a quote. This way, they know you are about to send them something so will look out for it.

Figure: Always call the client to let them know that you are about to send a quote across, then send an "As per our conversation" email.

Do you correctly triage additional item requests?

You will typically receive emails and bug reports from the client during the release. You will not work on any extra features except what is in the release plan. Move only important emails into the current release. See Rules to Happy Clients

Do you know the difference between Fixed Price and Hourly?

There are two ways a consultant can bill out to clients:

• Fixed Price
• Hourly

Hourly is the standard mode of operation wherein we do work at a standard rate and bill for however many hours we do. In this mode, an estimate is just that, an educated guess of how much work will be needed.

In some cases, clients require a fixed price. In this case we add a premium to the estimate (in our case 20%) and fix the price at that point. This means that the client pays a premium for the fact that we take on any risk of blowouts. It is important that the scope can not be allowed to vary for a fixed price release, and in the interest of this, we always do fixed price releases at the SSW offices, and not on site.

Do you know the difference between ad-hoc work and project managed work?

SSW performs development work under different management arrangements depending on the what the client requires.

Ad Hoc Work

Work in an ad-hoc basis allows tasks to be done as they are requested without any formal approval process. This is a simple approach but provides little in the way of management or accountability. This may be suitable for small, ongoing work such as application maintenance with longstanding clients.

The ad-hoc work approach will not generally be used for project work where the client wants accountability on project elements such as time, scope, quality and cost. An exception exists where SSW provides resources to work under a non-SSW project manager who has responsibility for the project.

Managed Work

The alternative is to work with a project panager, specification and release plan. In this approach, a method of project management is applied to provide control on the elements of time, scope, quality and cost.

This method is recommended for any work which is substantial and where the client wants a greater degree of control.

The managed approach is SSW's prefer method of work.

Do you know how to be pushy when you need to be?

As a consultant, it is important to realise that all of your time is valuable.

In the situation where you are at a client site and your time is being billed, don't be conciensious and quiet. You need to make sure that there are no bottlenecks slowing you down. Make sure you have everything you need and, if you need to ask a question, keep asking until you get an answer.

Client will always prefer a slight irritation at the time rather than an inflated invoice with no result later on.

Are you persistent when you think something will be done?

You need to be persistent. You will make sure that you don't let good ideas go because you get ONE no, you will put it on a list and bring it up with your boss a few times.

This is a very important concept, just because you get answered no, it does not mean that it is a bad idea, or that it will not benefit the company. You may get the answer 'No' for reasons that you do not know about, such as financial difficulties, or it is to busy at the moment to worry about. You will make these ideas into a list, and remember to bring them up with the boss at a more appropriate time. If you are not satisfied with the result, talk to your boss about your idea, so you understand why they made the decision they did. It is important however to realize that not all ideas are good ideas and you will have to accept that when you get it wrong.

Do you always quote price + GST (Tax)?

Is your price:

• $100 per hour + GST (the $100 being the net amount)
• $110 per hour (the $110 being the total amount)

We say the first one. When providing quotes to prospects/clients, it is always better to display the net value + 10% GST rather than the total.

The reasons for this are:

• It avoids any confusion as to whether GST is included.
• This net amount is the REAL cost to the customer, as they get the tax back (in Australia).
• The net value is lower and appears more attractive to the client.
• The 10% GST charged to the client is not income for your company. In Australia, we collect this 10% on behalf of the Australian Taxation Office.
• The client will receive back this 10% GST from the Australian Tax Office when they do their quarterly BAS/GST Return.

The total fixed price total is $AUD 66,000 - please find quote attached.

Bad Example

The total fixed price total is $AUD 60,000 + GST (10%). Please find quote attached.

Good Example

Note : SSW and other Australian companies do not charge GST to external clients outside of Australia.

Do you know how to turn requests for free work into billable work?

Often clients will call up asking for a short task to be performed. You need to know how to let them know that the time will be charged.

If it was a quick 5 mins I would do it straight away... however I need to do a little investigation... first impression is that it might take me a couple of hours... if that is OK then I would need you to authorize me to go ahead.
Let me know...

Good example

Do you avoid invoicing issues where possible and resolve them quickly when they come up?

The least pleasant part of the consulting industry is dealing with clients who don't want to pay for your services.

It's important that the client is *always made aware* from the beginning what they will and will not be charged for. That way, they will not never receive an invoice they are not expecting and so will be happy to pay them.

If an issue does come up, make sure you come to an agreement quickly and don't let the issue fester as it can lead to a lack of customer satisfaction and people can start digging their heels in, leading to a lot of time wasted on working out whether the client will pay or not.

If someone else needs to be consulted for approval (e.g. the boss) get them on the phone straight away, rather than speaking to them later and then having to organize yet another meeting with the client.

Figure: Use the conference button

Meetings - The way meetings will work

Office meetings often are ineffective, because:

• There is a lot of discussion but no resulting "action items"
• Time is wasted digressing to unrelated topics
• People forget the meeting is on and do not attend
• People turn up late with no notice

To ensure your meetings are productive and successful, you will:

• Create a meeting agenda prior to the meeting. Give each attendee a copy. If the discussion strays from the topic, the agenda will help you keep it on track.
• Send an appointment to all meeting attendees to ensure the meeting appears on their calendar.
• If you are going to be late, contact the organizer or the person in charge of the meeting to let them know that you are running late and what time you will be arriving.
• To improve future meetings, at the end of the meeting, do a quick debrief to see how long the meeitng took, if anything was covered that didn't need to be, etc.

Figure: Bad example - meeting with No Agenda

Figure: Good example - meeting with Agenda

Meetings - Are you hospitable in client meetings at your office?

When a client arrives, your job is to make them feel comfortable and impress them with your professionalism. It is important that clients have a consistent experience in their contact with your company.

• Leaving the client standing at the reception while finishing what you were doing
• Offering them tea, coffee or biscuits (not everyone likes tea/coffee)

Figure: Bad example

• Be dressed appropriately
• Greet them warmly
• Have a firm handshake
• Make eye contact and smile
• Direct them to wait in the boardroom (so they can see all the marketing materials on the walls)
• Notify the project manager/developer who are included in the meeting
• Ask someone to bring couple of glasses of water into the meeting (as everyone drinks water)
• Everyone will:
  • Shows some enthusiasm when meeting with the client
  • Hands over, and collect, business cards

Figure: Good Example - You did some research before the meeting

Meetings - Are you clear about billable time in meetings?

Meetings are an area some clients think will be free, so always mention it.

As stated in SSW's Terms and Conditions:

In an hourly work agreement, the initial meeting with the customer will be conducted by SSW at no cost. Subsequent meetings are considered as specification time and will be charged at the agreed rate. The minimum time chargeable for on-site work is 2 (two) hours per person per visit. The minimum time chargeable for off-site work is 15 (fifteen) minutes per person per request.

In some occasions it may be necessary to compromise by charging for the developer's time but not the project manager's.

Meetings - Do you go to meetings prepared?

Before you attend a meeting you must come prepared with details about the client; meaning no unnecessary questions. By unnecessary, I mean you will already have the answers to these questions. Extensive research is impressive to clients.

So you are talking to a client about their ice cream chain?

How many outlets do you have?
Where is the main outlet?

Figure: Bad examples - you will already know the answers to these questions by use of research tools such as the Internet

I noticed you have x amount of outlets, are you planning to open up more, when and where?
Which of your products contribute most to your gross profit?
How do most of your customers hear about you?
Do you have a customer loyalty program? Is it working?
Where are some of the biggest challenges / opportunities for you at the moment / in the future?

Figure: Good Examples

By asking questions, you show interest as well as initiating conversation - remember to get the customer talking.

Look for points of pain and build on them - if there's no pain it's hard to fix the problem properly.

Meetings - Do you ask clients the two important questions at the beginning of each meeting?

It is essential to clarify the purpose and time of meetings.
When you commence each meeting you will ask the following two questions:

1. What are the points you want to cover in this meeting?
2. How long will this meeting be?

By asking these two questions you define both the client's and your expectations from the meeting; eliminating one of the factors which contribute to time-wastage.

Meetings - Do you exchange names in meetings?

It is important to build a relationship of mutual respect with clients. A natural and simple way of doing this is through exchange of names. You introduce yourself and give them a card and in response they introduce themselves (giving details, including name and position, which you MUST ALWAYS remember).

Meetings - Do you listen more than you talk?

For meetings with clients, aim for a ratio of 70% to 30% - that is, 70% of the time the customer will be talking. Remember the purpose of the meeting is to meet the client's needs. You can still convey your message to your clients by adding to what they have to say, rather than presenting a prepared speech to them.

It's important to ask probing questions and then listen to the answers.

Client: We had a problem in China
You: What was the problem?

Figure: Good Example

Do you know the first thing to do when you come off client work?

Here are the first things you will do EVERY time you come off client work:

1. Get a reference from the last client
   • It is a good way to check the client is happy
   • If your company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, these references can lead to competencies such as Custom Development Solutions and ISV/Software Solution
   • An example of what to say to the client is: "We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and I would like to submit a short description of the project to Microsoft, you will receive an email from Microsoft asking you to approve the reference. How does that sound?"
   • We would also love a testimonial to add to our website. Would you be happy to give a testimonial for the work we've done for you? Can you please email it to me?

2. The next thing to do is to call your last few clients. You will always be in contact with them at least every 6 months
   • Before the call always prepare.
     • Refresh your memory about the company, project and contact before calling (have a look at their website, have a look at their competitors etc.)
     • Check the upcoming events (Check the calendar on the Home Page to see what's coming up)
     • Know the topic of the upcoming user group
     • Draft out some suggestions in an email (don't send yet)
   • Decide on what value-add opportunities you are going to offer them. Some examples:
     • A relevant and useful URL of an article
     • Mention something relevant to their project from a User Group presentation you saw
     • Maybe you can also invite them to a free Tech Breakfast
     • Maybe an upcoming User Group would be useful. It's a good place to have free training, and to build contacts and socialize (lots of IT managers and developers). Email the User Group link
     • Ask them about their website. See if any work needs to be done - Mention the need for maintenance
   • Call and chat to them about the work you did with them. Ask how everything's going, and if the application was successful
     • If yes - great, see what else you can do.
     • If not - then find out why (was it a technical issue, or the app not meeting the business needs) and offer to improve it. You can offer them a free consultation with one of our account managers.
     • Take some notes on what they liked about the solution.
   • Always ask if they know of some other projects we could help them with, or if they know of anybody that may need some software development gurus.
   • Send a follow up email
     • Send an "as per our conversation". Include some of your notes, a thank you for the time, and CC a project manager. If they were interested in a consultation, then ask the project manager to follow up
     • Document the call date, and email subject line & results in the Notes field for the client in your corporate database

Do you fix problems when alerted to them?

When someone brings to your attention that they are not happy with something, do you address the problem and not ignore it? For example, if your boss tells you they are unhappy that you do not have a release plan for the development you are working on, you will create a release plan right away. Do not ignore the problem as it will only escalate, fix it now!

This is especially important if someone has followed you up. Try to get back to them as soon as possible with a response as it shows you care about what they care about.

Do you always state your understanding or what you have already done to investigate a problem?

When you seek advice or help from another, firstly, you need to establish with them:

• Your understanding and,
• Methods you have previously attempted in order to resolve the problem

How do you xxxx?

Figure: Bad Example - By not stating what you have previously attempted to resolve the problem, the person you are seeking advice from may be wasting time if they suggest methods you have already done.

I have searched Google but no luck... How do you xxxx?

Figure: Good Example - The person you are seeking advice from will not suggest for you to do the same methods again and will look for other ways to resolve the issue.

Another rule that closely links to this can be found in RulestoBetterInstantMessenger.aspx

Do you reliably deliver your tasks?

Some tasks are either time-critical or you give a promise to do them promptly. It's very important that these tasks are given a high priority.

If you're not going to be able to deliver a task on-time, you should let the appropriate people know right away.

Do you enter detailed and accurate time sheets?

It is essential that a company keeps a record of how much time its employees are spending on billable and non-billable work. This helps at invoicing time, and to make sure the clients see exactly where their time and money is being spent. One of the primary responsibilities as a developer is to complete timesheets. See Rules to better timesheets for more.

Do you always pencil in the next date on your last day at the client?

A common mistake for developers is to say "See you later, call me sometime next month".

On your last day of consulting with a client you will always book in the next date. Be aware of the main blockage people get, which is the client saying "How about I check by calendar and get back to you?". And often this never happens.

• saying that you are only penciling it in and it can be cancelled, and
• bringing some urgency (by saying your calendar fills up quick)

So try something like "My calendar fills up really quick, how about I pencil you in.... How about we say 2 weeks time? Don't forget you can cancel it anytime."

Figure: Plan ahead at the end of your day eg. "How about we pencil in my next visit, say 2 weeks time?"

Do you plan the night before what you are doing the next day?

It's often easy to lose track of what you're doing, especially if you have a busy day full of meetings and rushing around, it can often be easy to sign off and not think about tomorrow until you have to. But what if you're not coming in to the office the next day? You might be booked in to work at a client site first thing in the morning.

For this reason, it's a good idea to end each day by having a quick glance at your calendar. If you're especially busy, it can also be a good idea to have a paper printout of your week so you can look at your appointments in the car or on the move.

Do you let your client know when you work overtime and it is not charged?

At times we have to work overtime on a project and the client is not charged for the total hours worked. When this occurs it is important to let the client know. If a client does not know, how can they be grateful? A happy client is achieved in small bite sized steps. Informing the client of overtime that is not charged is just one of those small steps.

Do you make sure you get brownie points?

People are not mind readers (unless they are telepathic!), so when you get good feedback from a client, make sure you get the recognition for it. There is nothing wrong with getting brownie points for the work you have done and making sure the boss at the client site and your manager know about it.

To: John Smith - CEO Qwerty Organization CC: Adam Cogan - SSW Manager From: Sophie Belle - SSW Developer Subject: .NET Development Work for Qwerty Organization by SSW John, FYI - see next email. As you can see, I am loved :) Regards, Sophie Belle www.ssw.com.au To: Sophie Belle - SSW Developer From: Amanda Panda - Programmer / Analyst Qwerty Organization Subject: .NET Development Work for Qwerty Organization by SSW Sophie, Thanks for the latest release. It is fantastic! Thank you for all your hard work and commitment to helping implement this solution. Regards, Amanda Panda Programmer / Analyst Qwerty Organization

Figure: Developers, when you get good feedback from anyone at the client's company, forward their comments onto the boss at the client's company and CC your manager.

Speaking - Do you speak in a positive language to clients?

A sentence can be phrased in many ways. It is important to use positive language when speaking to clients. Instead of saying "I will NOT do X until you do Y", you can say "When you do Y, I will be happy to do X".

Bad example: We will need your agreement on the mockup, and as soon as you are happy with it, we will develop it to the agreed mockup. We will not be able to change the mockup once made and you are happy with it.

Good example: We will develop the report once you are happy with and have signed off the mockup.

Do you build the client relationship by completing "Client Love" each week?

Being a good developer is not enough. There are multiple factors that can affect whether a project proceeds in a positive or a negative way. One factor that can have a significant impact on a project is the relationship between the developer and the client.

A great way of taking a small step each week is to do something on a more personal basis for the client.

Each week give some love to your client. "Client Love", as I have seen, varies a lot. Here are some things I have seen:

• The developer notices that the topic of the upcoming SSW Tech Breakfast is appropriate and rings the client to offer them a free ticket.
• The developer sends them a SMS on the weekend saying... "I was just thinking about your project and I think this might be a good idea?
• The developer works back and gives a call on the way home to tell them what they did extra in their own time.
• The developer sends an IM with a link to a web article that would interest them.
• The developer buys the client their favourite coffee.
• The developer talks and listens to the client about non work related things. People generally love talking about themselves and appreciate it when someone listens; most people don't take the time to listen. Here are some examples I have seen:
  • How was your weekend?
  • What are you doing this weekend?
  • General talking about their family / remembering the names of their family members.
  • General talking about their hobbies.

The tasks don't have to cost anything. Free tasks are more thoughtful and show the client you are thinking about them.

Tasks will be completed whilst on client work. Once client work is completed, the developer will move onto the Post Client Work rule.

Extra Reading: For some, the above comes naturally. For the rest of us, we highly recommend the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" written by Dale Carnegie. It is an easy read, the principles are easy to implement and will not only change your client relationships but enhance all the relationships in your life for the better.

See Rules to Successful Sales Account Management

Do you get your clients on your IM?

Having your clients on your instant messenger helps in maintaining a good relationship with the clients. And occasionally they may ask you for a quick help, or to perform some quick tasks that you can turn them into billable works.

Do you leave messages when your phone call is unanswered?

If you call a client or team member, and for some reasons he/she do not attend your call, then you MUST leave messages to ensure a response.

Your messages must contain your name (firstname and lastname), purpose of calling, and your contact number. Below are a good messages example:

Hi Ms. Emma, this is Alvin Shen from SSW. I am calling to follow up our meeting yesterday about your company website. Please return my call on 9953 3000. Thank you.

Confirm the voice message with an email.

There are several advantages leaving messages when your call are unanswered:

• He/she may know who calls and be able to return your call.
• If your messages is urgent, he/she may return your call straight away (even though he/she is VERY busy).

Do you fix problems fast?

A problem, like a wound, gets worse the longer it remains untreated, so fix problems fast. Problems come in endless contexts but here's how we deal with some specific examples:

1. Fix bugs first
2. Make client complaints a positive experience