A few weeks ago, we had a client in the office. After a long meeting, the entire office was eating lunch and chatting. This client, probably needing some workplace gossip, asked which of our other clients was the hardest to work with. No on in the office gave any names but it did get me thinking about the clients I like working with.

I apologize for the click-bait like title I used but you won’t find who my favorite client is in this post. You’ll have to call me for that and if you are a client, I’m going to tell you that you are my favorite. What you will find below are attributes that I have found to be common with the best clients I have had:

Trust & Transparency:

I have found that trust and transparency go hand in hand, and for me, are the most important qualities to find in a client relationship. Trust takes time to develop. I find that it comes more quickly through the small victories. I show trust by setting the right expectations, meeting my commitments and being open and honest about the way things are going. I feel that I can trust my clients through transparency. I need to hear from them how they feel things are going and because of my analytical mind, I need to see the numbers to show that we are achieving our goals. Some of my clients are guarded and don’t share the information that I need. It makes for a very broken relationship and doesn’t allow me to do my job well and really help them succeed.

Patience and Consistency:

When I first start working with new clients, sometimes they think that I have the magic bullet that will solve all their marketing needs. They see the success we’ve had with other clients and thing they will instantly get that. I wish that was the case. But every client is different. Every business is different. So, marketing must be different. The best clients understand that it takes time to build a great brand and to bring in sales. It also takes consistency. You can’t jump from one strategy to the next every week and expect it to work. I’ve learned from the best clients that patience and consistency pay off in the end.

Risk Takers:

My favorite clients are risk takers. Once we have built the trust, we’ve been patient on strategies and things are working between us, they like to look to me for the next step. They are willing to take some risks to really grow their business. And I love taking the risks with them. Some entrepreneurs get to a place where their business is comfortable and their making money. They don’t like to risk it to grow their business, but I find that is when they need to take the risk. We’ll be smart about it and look through all the options and potential downsides, but once we are both committed, I have seen risks pay off well.

If you aren’t one of our clients yet and you have these attributes, then let’s talk. I would love to work with you. I’m always looking for another favorite client.