It’s your job to balance the line between defending your team
and the project and
making your clients happy.
While your internal team may have a better view of what happens
behind the curtain, your clients ultimately feel the effects of
good project management—whether they realize it or not.
This chapter offers 11 tips on how to successfully manage projects, create strong client relationships, and set the stage for your team to do their best work:
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Project managers often get so caught up in the project details
that any semblance of their personality gets stuck in a project
plan or spreadsheet.
Using your time with clients to find common interests will help
you (and your project team). Plus, building a rapport from the
beginning of a project will only help you to communicate what
may be perceived as sensitive information in the future.
Be sure to acknowledge that your client has a life outside of
the project—not only at home, but in the office, too. Clients
are often tasked with several responsibilities outside of your
project. It’s important to keep that in mind and have empathy
for your client—and respect for his or her time.
Once your project is rolling and certain business details are
out of the way, always make time to be a human. That’s right:
Don’t be afraid of small talk. Learn more about your clients. Do
they have kids? A dog? Enjoy music or sports? It’s amazing how
quickly you can connect with someone and generate friendly
conversation based on a common interest.
By getting involved with people, not just the paperwork, you’ll be the one person with both a full breadth of knowledge on the project and a direct, engaging relationship with the client and decision-makers.
It can never be said enough: Good communication is critical to
any project. The best time to establish solid communication
methods is early on. While you’re doing project research, get to
know how your client’s organization communicates. Use that
research to inform and determine how you will shape your project
communication plan.
Be sure to use your standby practices of meeting notes,
documentation, and status reports as a foundation, but cater
them to what will work best for your clients. By taking the time
upfront to
create a tailored communication plan
with the client, you’ll build a solid foundation for the project
and avoid miscommunication later.
Lastly, after you’ve determined a good way for your teams to communicate, make sure you’re also the person on the team who keeps project conversations flowing. With just a few of these tips, you’ll build lasting client relationships and amazing projects.
At work we rely heavily on email and instant messaging. It’s
convenient, quick, and to the point, but there’s a catch. You
can lose any sense of humor or reflection of your true
personality if you only depend on written communication to
interact with your team and clients.
Pick up the phone at least once a week to touch base with your
clients. A 15-minute status report call by phone or even video
chat can really provide a wealth of information. (Use our
project status report template
to guide the calls.)
Be sure to listen to what your clients are saying and how
they’re saying it. Pick up on their tone and react on the fly.
As soon as they hear that you’re listening and care, they’ll
feel your dedication and be more willing to share information
with you. We all know that information is power, particularly in
project management.
Tip: Keep in mind that, while talking on the phone helps build rapport, it’s important to ALWAYS document key conversations with thorough meeting notes. Be sure to include the meeting date, time, attendees, relevant discussion notes, and action items with deadlines.
It’s very easy to go through the motions as the project manager:
schedule the meeting, get conversation started, take notes, and
document and share information in writing and by phone. What’s
missing in that list of “motions”? Listening.
Take notes based on what’s been said and what’s implied. Better
listening shows your client you are truly engaged in the
project, share project goals, and honestly want what’s best for
the project.
Tips for better listening
You should never be afraid to ask clients questions that will
help the project—even if you’re short on time. If you’re limited
due to the time constraints of a meeting, feel free to circle
back to the topic in writing. Asking thoughtful and meaningful
questions will allow you to steer your project in the right
direction and better understand your clients’ goals, timelines,
and risk factors.
If you’re not getting answers, be frank with your client, and
tell them they’re holding up a potential decision—or success—on
the project.
Keep in mind that timing is key. Take cues from the room, and know when it’s appropriate to ask a question or revisit one. Being a relentless (and clueless) question-asker will kill the mood—and even a relationship. For instance, if you’re mid-conversation and ask a question that changes the direction of what’s being discussed, you may end up missing out on what your client was about to tell you. Be patient. The client will share what’s appropriate in the context of a conversation. Wait your turn, and you’ll get the info you need—and more.
Transparency can really help when it comes to managing client
relationships. Your client is paying you or your company to
complete a project. Why shouldn’t they know everything about
your process and how you make project-related decisions?
Nothing is a secret when it comes to project work. Is something a challenge for your team? Discuss it with your client. They may bring a perspective to the situation that will help you solve an issue. Involving your client in the decision-making process builds consensus on ideas before you’ve even presented them.
At the beginning of your project, explain your process at a high
level. Run through a project plan line-by-line and actually
explain what things mean. If your client is interested, explain
what your team does at each turn of the project. This will help
your client understand timelines and dependencies, which can
potentially lead to faster, better decision-making.
When your team presents a deliverable, take time to educate your
client about it. Just showing a deliverable is never good enough
because it can lead to uninformed decision-making. Here’s a
step-by-step process for presenting client deliverables:
This format not only helps your clients understand the work completed—it also helps them to make decisions based on what’s important to the project.
Easy drag and drop features with templates for faster scheduling. Plan a project in minutes, collaborate easily as a team, and switch to calendar and list views in a single click.
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As the project manager, it’s your responsibility to ask why a
client requests something, and if needed, tactfully demonstrate
why you think it’s a poor decision using objective research and
examples. Do it in an informed, friendly way, and you’ll likely
have a better conversation about it.
Here’s the thing about poor client decisions: You can do
everything in your power to help your clients avoid them and yet
still fail. It happens. You need to know when it’s wiser to give
up and not drag out an argument that will ultimately kill all
goodwill and create an awkward project environment.
It’s fine to tell your client the decision goes against best practices or your judgment but that you’ll respect their wishes and keep working to complete the project. When it comes down to it, clients pay your team to execute a project for them, and their decisions stand.
If you’re working with clients, you must speak their language.
Being able to speak in a way that relates to the client’s
business sense and culture is crucial to successfully managing a
project. If you immerse yourself in your client’s way of
working, you’ll understand their business and decision-making
process much better.
On the flip side, your clients will probably share the same
difficulty in getting to know you and your work. So make
yourself accessible. Be sure to explain your work when you start
your project, and never hesitate to define what something
means.
Tip: Start a project dictionary. When reviewing client documentation, pull out acronyms and terms that are often used, define them, and put them in an easily accessible document for your team to reference.
You should always be able to bring project conversations back to
how it will impact the business or if it meets the stated goals
of the project. Keep that one in your back pocket, because it’ll
always earn you respect—particularly if you’re always in
alignment with those goals.
Be a professional
It’s simple. Gain a client’s trust by showing them you mean business. Here are some basics:
Have a sense of humor? Use it in your work. There’s nothing
wrong with opening a status report or email with a quick joke or
reference to a current event—as long as you know your clients’
limits.
Remember, you set the tone for the project—with your clients as
well as with your project team. If your management style is fun
and organized, you should get the same back from your teams, and
your clients might appreciate some levity now and then.
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