Time. In today’s business world time seems to be the one thing we never have enough of. Too much to do, too little time.

Clients are running businesses between meetings, eating on the run (if at all), and trying to balance the myriad of tasks it takes to just keep the wheels in motion. While it might be convenient to think that this website build, or digital marketing initiative is their only piece of work (or even their highest priority), that just isn’t the case.

One of the most crucial aspects of being a good partner to them is to not waste their time.

“The best service you can provide a client is the peace of mind that they can be confident that you will get the job done successfully.”

Not wasting time can take many forms. Some are obvious, others require a higher level of due diligence.

Be on time:  Whether you are having a meeting or a call, try to always be on time. This means dialing-in in-advance to conference calls, and ensuring that the technology you plan to use is ready to go.

Come to meetings prepared: Make sure that you know what you need to achieve in a meeting and end early if you are finished. Nothing is better in a day jam-packed with meetings than to have a meeting end a bit early and to be given the ‘gift of time.’ Your clients will appreciate this more than you know.

Make assumptions versus open-ended questions: When you have a question to ask a client it is best to anticipate their answer or to suggest your thoughts on the best approach. That way a client can say yes that’s what I want, or no do it like this instead, but you are not expecting them to do all the thinking. If you know your client as well as you should, you will often guess correctly saving the client valuable time and brain cycles. When time is crunched and decisions need to be made rapidly this is supremely helpful to both sides.

Be reliable: Your client is busy juggling their day-to-day business. Don’t force them to use brain cycles worrying that the project is being managed properly. The best service you can provide a client is the peace of mind that they can be confident that you will get the job done successfully.

Ike is the partner you can turn you back on and trust to do the job right. This is how we’ve become indispensable to our clients. Saving our clients time is just how we roll, and why it is one of our Rules of Client Service.