I was recently having a conversation with a fellow service provider who will remained unnamed. However they have the same job that I have.
In this conversation they began a venting campaign against a recent client of theirs, who will also remain unnamed.
At this moment I considered it was a necessary unloading of negative energy and that the conversation would then go into a different direction.
…It did not.
They went from that client to a different client to slash them. Then onto another client. And onto another. The conversation continued.
I eventually came to the conclusion that this person had a distaste for everyone they worked for.
Truthfully I cannot imagine they enjoyed what they did very much. However, for those of you that actually LIKE what you do, here is a news flash. Your clients… are also human.
What I mean by this is that they (like you) are driven by the same set of emotions. They want to succeed. They have people to please. They get scared and nervous. They get anxious. They get stressed and frustrated.
Just like you they have to deal with deadlines and demands and hard-to-work-with colleagues. They work late to pay bills and probably lose a bit of sleep to get their job done.
Although nothing about this piece is earth-shattering, I feel it is important to reflect on this. Perhaps we should stop looking at our clients as “THEM” or “THEY” but instead as part of “US.” Not that you have to love every client you ever work with. But liking most of them certainly helps the work to be a lot more enjoyable.
Best wishes in your client relationship management efforts!
James Patrick
www.jamesmpatrick.com
