:: adgruntie :: Good client?

+ An article titled 50 ways to leave your client lists some ways to identify a good client.

Here's what great clients look like:

* They want to learn from you. They ask questions, listen attentively, and take your suggestions. They believe in your expertise and are willing to work with you to achieve a goal.

* They have a point of view and express it openly. They let you know where they're "coming from" and why, and clue you in on their thoughts. If there are cultural or political hot buttons looming, they alert you and gladly tell you where they stand.

* They don't look for a way to upstage you. They see you as part of the team and build you up in front of colleagues.

* They don't have power-play needs. They're confident in themselves and in you. They hired you, trust you to produce the work they contracted for, and support you wholeheartedly.

* They seek and are open to new and different perspectives. They realize the power of many diverse ideas and how the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts. They value the diversity of thought that you bring to the table.

* They don't see the work engagement as either career-making or career-breaking. They realize that one project doesn't a career make, and they aren't on pins and needles watching every move you make.

* They've already figured out the value proposition for using your services. They don't continually require that you validate your worth. They recognize that you can help them become more successful by letting you do the work you've been contracted to do, in partnership with them.

* They accept that you don't have all of the answers. They recognize that while you have insight and experience, the collective wisdom of the two of you or you and a client project team is valuable.

* They respect your knowledge, skills, and experience. They appreciate your total background, which complements theirs. They share information, include you in meetings in which you get input for meassuring success, and test their ideas about current organizational issues with you regularly.

* They don't hold you hostage over your fees. They accept your honesty, agree to pay you what was contracted for, and don't take a nickel-and-dime microscope to every invoice you submit.

* They don't begrudge the fact that you have to charge for your services. They recognize that you're in business too, understand that you have expenses and have to make a living, and aren't envious of "all that money" you're making.