HOW TO ADDRESS YOUR CLIENT?

I always find it awkward, when addressing my client for the first time. While everyone seems to think that addressing someone by his or her first name is the norm, I’ve found that assuming that’s how the client wants to be addressed is not always true.

I’ve worked with several clients since I started my business Virtual Colleague, LLC in 2013. When I network or speak to a potential client on the phone, he or she lets me know how they want to be addressed by how they introduce themselves to me.  I always use both of my names and let the client decide how he/she wants to address me.

For example, my company slogan is “partnering with the client”, so if we’re partners we should address each other by our first names. Right? Some of my clients do not feel comfortable doing this, especially because I do not work in their offices, so they feel we have an extended connection. Although they’re very satisfied with the work I do, they don’t feel a close connection or bond. Therefore, they address me as Ms. Plante.

I don’t really care how my clients address me. I am in partnership with them and I let them decide how they want to interact with me and how we address each other. I want them to be comfortable working with me and sharing ideas and information. As long as we connect on a business level, I let them dictate how we communicate (emails, phone calls, Skype, etc.) and how they want to be addressed.

I’ve found that sometimes my clients’ titles call for a more formal tone. For example, some clients prefer to use their professional titles: Doctor, Vice-President, Director, etc. If they ask me to use those titles, it’s usually to distinguish themselves from the others in their fields and usually I’m asked to use these titles, when working with larger companies.

One rule of thumb: I NEVER use nicknames. I believe they can be demeaning and show a lack of respect for the client. On the other hand, if my client’s name is Richard, I let him tell me how he wants to be addressed: Rich, Richie, Dick, or Rick. If he or she asks me to use a more familiar name like the ones I mentioned, then I would do it, but I would still refuse to use a nickname.

Even though I want to work with them, I also have my own business and reputation to think of. If I’m too casual with my clients, they may not see me as a true professional and my business would suffer. In addition, getting too close or familiar on a personal level with my clients would change our business relationship and the lines of communication may start to blur. It’s important to strike a balance between professional courtesy and personal involvement in business.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

 

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How to Do What?

Now that we’re into the New Year, I am re-focusing on my virtual assistant business, Virtual Colleague, LLC, and what I have to offer clients. I’ve already covered article writing, blogging, and press releases in my blogs. Now I’m going to write about creating manuals and instructional materials.

I’ve received a few Christmas gifts that needed assembling. To my surprise, the “instructions” were diagrams or illustrations. If there were any written words, they were usually in Chinese or some other language.

I find that very troubling, because I’m not a visual learner. I learn and retain by reading. I LOVE to read and that’s how I’ve taught myself to do many things. While “visual instructions” may be acceptable; in the workplace, written instructions are mandatory.

An example of this is a guideline on how to format company documents. This may cover margins, fonts, colors, font size, paper size, photos or logos and many other requirements. This would not be easily accomplished by just giving a visual of a document. It would not explain the font or font size and it would create a lot of guess work.

Instruction manuals are helpful, if the user has to perform a series of actions, in a specific order to get a specific result. Even when you google something, you will get a written definition or a bulleted list of steps to perform. There may be a YouTube video, too, but there are always the written steps to achieve the desired result.

Training manuals favor the written form of instruction. Although there may be illustrations with a huge red “X” over them, having something written down is always accessible. Anything written on paper is portable, readily available and doesn’t require a device to access it. Most offices contain binders full of written material about hazardous material and what to do if an accident occurs, company policies and guidelines, and How-to’s or steps to perform certain tasks and projects.

Writing is here to stay, although we have many new options to view that written material. Writing is communication and every time we tweet, email or text, we view something that someone else has written. These writers feel compelled to share their thoughts or feelings with everyone.

I am a certified Freelance Writer in non-fiction. I was torn between fiction and non-fiction and I had to make a choice, when I signed up for this course. I chose non-fiction, because I thought that dealing with the facts would be more interesting and would require research on my part. I was right.

I’ve written several training manuals and I’ve had to learn about the tasks before I could write about them. In some cases, I sat with the employees and watched them work, taking detailed notes about what they did, how they did it and I tried to find an easier way to do it.

Sometimes, I was asked to update existing training manuals. The company may have purchased new software or automated part of the job, so the training manual was outdated. I also worked for an internet software gaming company, where I wrote test scripts, testing the software for “bugs”. I had to write a script that define every icon and click pattern in that game and then, I had to follow that test script and test every aspect of the game. I had to play the game over and over and document inconsistencies or make suggestions about how to improve player satisfaction. That was a hard job – only kidding!

Writing and word order is so important. Ask anyone who’s ever gone to court and had a word misspelled or the meaning reversed by reversing the word order. Slogans, ad copy, blogging, eBooks and documents rely on their creators having excellent grammar, punctuation and writing skills.

Your written words

are

your thoughts and feelings

immortalized for all eternity.

If you know of anyone, who needs a writing project created or updated, please ask them to contact Virtual Colleague, LLC at 401-384-0257 or email me at: JPlante@VirtualColleagueLLC.com.