Over the past few years of my start-up, I have come across clients who did more to us than giving business. They helped us understand some real lessons that would always be helpful in our entrepreneurial journey. I thought of sharing few of those (more would be shared in coming posts), with the hope that they would help some of you untangle a situation you are in.
Client1 Lesson1:
He was one of our initial clients and we as novice considered him more as a mentor. So every word he said, every action he took for or against us was a lesson to us. The biggest lesson came on the day when everything was at the brink of collapse. We could see the relationship going wrong due to typical hierarchy issues where crucial decisions were delayed based on non-availability of a higher authority. It was a sour ending with exchange of few not-so-good-in-taste mails from either party. Though I won’t go into the details, here is the lesson:
Months after we discontinued with the client, one fine day (infact night), I received a chat from the US Head of the company – “Hi Anamika. How are you doing?”
I was partially in shock and partially delighted as I had never expected anything like this particularly after almost a year of not being in contact. The business girl in me sprang two levels high and started telling myself, “See I knew it that he would come back to us. I think he wants to continue working with us. He will nowhere get such a good team, blah blah blah.”.
And with all this random thoughts and excitement I replied, “Hi Sir. How are you. I am fine.”
He sent a smiley and said, “How is work going?” to which I replied humbly, “All Fine.”
All this while I was waiting with bated breath to hear something that’s good for my business.
I said, “Sir, I thought many times to contact you, but for some reason couldn’t. How are things with you?”
And here came the reply which made me smile and left me with the biggest and humblest lesson:
“Anamika, world is too small. When you feel you want to contact someone, do it. Don’t think twice. I am always there to reciprocate to young people like you. We may not have ended up doing business together. But we can always be in touch and be reachable.”
Lesson: In business, there is nothing like bad relation. There is only bad business. So if you end up not doing business, that doesn’t mean you must end up not carrying on the relationship. I still admire him for what he taught me that day. Even today I have this tendency of considering relationship above business and not carrying grudges in my heart.
Client2 Lesson2:
We were going for a meeting with a prospective client. He was a great competition to one of our existing client and we knew that he would grill us with what we have been doing for him. On a second thought, I think he called us for a meeting just to know what we do for his competition. So here was an old man in 50s full of energy and enthusiasm who had all the time in the world and was ready to share his experience and learning open heartedly with us. In his little room placed inside his big godown, I felt like a class going in full swing as he grilled us with some not-so-straight questions. It turned out that we knew almost everyone in his close circle as the industry to which he belonged has just few major players.
He started saying some really bad things about how his competition always copied his ideas and were nowhere near his company’s size. Being young and not wanting to disappoint a prospective client, we kept nodding to what he said. There were points which were not true but we never disagreed as that’s what we thought is best for the situation.
After few such remarks on his competition, he looked at us and smiled and asked us, “So you do agree to what I am saying.”
Feeling a little discomfort in our seats, we said, “Sir, it’s true that you are doing good work. They (your competition) are producing for the masses and hence may be they are not looking for such level of thoughtfulness behind each of their product line. But yes they are planning to come out with something really conceptual which may give you tough competition.”
He smiled even wider and said, “That’s all I wanted to hear. Stand for your clients no matter who is in front of you. I just wanted to see whether you would please me by saying I am right or would you make statement to justify your client. I am glad.”
Lesson: We never got that client. He already had full-fledged team to work for him. I wonder why he even called us at the first place. But we learned that “stand for your clients”. It may be in fashion to say “Yaar ye client ne pareshan kar rakha hai, us client ka dimaag kharab hai.”, but the best thing is to consider them as part of your team and always stand for them in front of others – no matter if that means losing a prospective client. Believe me, you will reap good.
Client3 Lesson3:
We heard about this new hospital and wanted to pitch them with our services. After being fortunate enough to get a rough briefing from their team, we were preparing a full-fledged presentation with ideas and concepts on what all they can do to make their hospital give competition to the multi-specialty ones around. Most of the ideas which we had given didn’t require our services in any way. They were like suggestions which they could implement and execute from their end without any support from us. But we still gave them to give them an understanding of our thoughtfulness.
One of our team members suggested not to give such ideas as what good would that do to us. But being a pitch presentation, we thought it would add to the whole thing and so we kept most of them. The presentation was one of our best presentations ever and we wooed the 7 member panel with our enthusiasm and ideas which we thought they would have never imagined us to come out with. After clappings and some really good expressions from the senior members in the panel, here came the harsh truth, “Very well done. We are impressed. We will get back to you.”
We realised we had done a mistake. We should have included only those services, for which they would need us. After a year almost, I received a call from one of the senior members saying, “Can you give us the rates for your services?”
Till date, it remains as one of the finest and largest project of ours.
Lesson: Give your best. Best yields best. Smartness isn’t in hiding your capabilities but in revealing them. And even if he were never to become your client, still give a presentation that would woo the audience and leave an impression. Did I mention “high recall value”?
Client4 Lesson4:
This client wanted us to quote him for a project which was scalable and we were doing the calculations since a week. We went to him with a quote which he gave a glance and said, “So will you do everything you proposed under the project at this rate?” We nodded.
“Dear, quote me something that will make you smile and do work for me with all your heart. Kuch negotiation ka chance toh chodo. You have under-quoted me. And I know that you will have a hard time doing things in this rate. Go back, think higher and leave the negotiation bit to me and my team. Don’t do it from your end. Ask for what you deserve, otherwise you will disappoint me with your work.”
This was the first time we were asked to increase our rates.
Lesson: May be as a start-up, you want to get a client and a project so badly that you may under-quote. But think of the stage when you won’t be able to deliver quality work because you don’t have resources to fulfil your requirements. Leave the negotiation bit to the client, don’t do it stringently at your end.
Client5 Lesson5:
This is the latest in our kitty. One of our clients, also a rodinhooder, blogged about our work on this platform. The reason is we did something for him without being asked but being proactive towards his brand. It paid off. We didn’t earn in bucks (for that particular project), but we definitely earned in words that were worth a million.
Lesson: Read the story here and you will find the lesson.
Lessons are like gems. You just need to look for them and they will help you shine.
Keep hunting for your own lessons!
asha chaudhry
anamika…..
i saw the headline in my inbox and i just knew it was you!!!
it’s amazing to watch you evolve and mature as a writer!
look at this line – “In business, there is nothing like bad relation. There is only bad business.” – i guess it says how mature a professional you are as well. even though you will always be the giggly ashajee girl to me, i’m so so proud of you when i read lines like this!!
“Give your best. Best yields best. Smartness isn’t in hiding your capabilities but in revealing them.”
this reminded me of a pitch we made in 1998 to a jewellery client (now very very well known!). we got the pitch opportunity owing to some friendship with one of our directors. word was the a/c had already gone to triton (i think). the servicing guy (based in mumbai) was very disheartened. but we had done a huge shoot for the pitch in pune and i carried everything (in those days we still pasted a/ws!!!) and was not going to let anything dampen my spirits.
as i climbed the old staircase to the office near opera house (mumbai) – i wondered whether we had wasted all that money just to “put in our best”. as i made the creative presentation i could see the mktg guy (client) taken by surprise. we had taken a completely different route (emotional – with different stories to tell) than the other agencies.
for a min i glanced across the large glass window and saw the trition dudes in their pretty ties with the PRINTED POSTERS merely announcing the launch of the golden medillion we were pitching for!!!! THERE WAS NO EMOTION INVOLVED in the msg. THERE WAS NO STORY. it was just a drab announcement with a great product shot!!!
and here i was sitting with ad campaigns and posters and storyboards and the works! my young servicing guy looked crushed (just like his tie) but i just smiled. the client realised he had a preconceived notion about us (a smaller agency) and just wanted us to make the presentation for a formality – just out of friendship – not realising we were capable of doing something awesome!
i had learnt a valuable lesson that day as well. and have always tried to give my best at every pitch…!
thank you for this one anamka. as usual – you have given all of us something to chew on today 🙂
Anamika Joshi
Thanks a lot asha for such wonderful words…. And it’s true that more than winning a client, it’s the success in breaking the notions and proving yourself that feels like truly winning. And I am so sure you must have been a terrific person when u pitched…each word of your comment stands as a proof… I would have loved to work with someone like you 🙂
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Rahul 🙂
Prateek Knight
Excellent, really liked reading this post Anamika. May I ask what your start up does
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Prateek.. I run a brand communication agency in partnership. – https://www.facebook.com/nailbites 🙂
Preity Thomas
Very well written! Valuable lessons. Will be sharing it with my team.
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Preity… Glad!
Praveen Prabhu
Great piece of writing. Loved the”stand for your clients”, i do it myself. All the whines, vanity, insanity, whims are passe when one recalls that it is the client who pays to put food on the plate.
I have had a crazy ride in my short career & look forward to lots of them.
Cheers!
Nishant Agrawal
Wonderful
Point #4 is particularly relevant. Being newcomers, we often underestimate ourselves, and quote low to get work. I remember getting my first consulting offer. I was quite excited, and quoted $X, if the client wanted to retain all rights to the code, and $Y if I could use the code in any way I wanted after the project was done. The client brought down the price by 10%; I said Okay, and we went with $Y. I thought I had quoted the right price simply because the client had negotiated before accepting.
When I was done with this work, the client wanted to give me further work. I turned him down, saying that I wasn’t taking up consulting work anymore. Over a dozen emails back and forth, and he finally offered me 5 times the price, and a revenue share of 15%!
What you charge isn’t really what you’re worth. It’s what your work is worth to your client.
Kudos. Keep writing. It’s great to read such heartfelt and honest articles.
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Praveen.. “Stand for your clients” is my favourite too 🙂
Anamika Joshi
“What you charge isn’t really what you’re worth. It’s what your work is worth to your client.” – wonderful take Nishant!
Thanks for such wonderful words!
Lakshdeep Rajput
This is a wonderful post Anamika. Being in the service industry I could relate to every bit of it. It completely reflects the start up experience .
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Lakshadeep 🙂
Jaykishan Prithiani
Nice post Anamika. I agree on “Stand for your clients”, I had faced similar situation in past.
Amish
wonderful lessons to learn anamika….indeed a good read.
Amish
nice line nishant…..what you charge ……
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Jaykishan.. 🙂 Stand for your clients is a learning which I would always treasure myself!
Anamika Joshi
Thanks Amish.. I am glad you liked 🙂
Piyush Pandey
Hi Anamika,Thanks for sharing such a nice lessons.
I am also a new entrepreneur and facing such type thing in ever-day life and struggling to get the things going
Thanks once again
Pranjal Jain
Dear Anamika,
Really well written! We learn so much from our clients- only if we are ready to listen!
This made me introspect on all the occasions I have had a 1 to 1 meeting with my clients (parents ) for intelligenceplus and now when I think about it- there was so much said between the lines.
Thanks.
Kashish Shambhwani
wonderful post anamika 🙂
Keep it up.
Cheers 🙂
Anamika Joshi
Thanks a lot Kashish !!