Keep Your Best Clients Happy

I have a new client that’s feeding me tons of new work. They’re a marketing company and they need websites built for their clients. WordPress, Canvas, done. They send me regular work, have a professional workflow (Basecamp), contracts, we’re working together in teams (which is fun and exciting) and they pay ridiculously on time.

I also have longtime clients who have minor fixes, pay me my old rate, and are, for the most part, super wonderful people, patient, and thankful.

I’m often torn between what I should tackle first each workday. Both need work done “as soon as possible.” How do I choose? Where’s the tool that I can fill in the factors and it’ll spit out what I should do first? Prioritize my workflow, my projects, my day, my life.

Prioritizing based on future probabilities.

Here’s what’s happening: I’m prioritizing based on current and future probabilities. The best clients are getting me good work and, probably going to get me more of same–if I keep them happy. The old clients are less happy with me when I don’t get the work done as quickly or efficiently or effectively. The old client might ask (if anyone asked him/her), “How can I too become a Best Client?” “What if I paid the going rate?” Maybe they’re happy to pay the going rate to get the same service as the good clients. Some would be, others less so. Maybe it’s time for some old clients to move on, move out, or move up. Or time for me to the same. Maybe I need someone to take care of my old clients and make them into best clients. Maybe my old clients don’t even realize they’re “old” clients at all. Maybe it’s all in my court.