As a general contractor, taking on a residential or commercial project often means you are responsible for a lot more than just ensuring success for a client. It also means that you have the responsibility to manage communication effectively to ensure that your client relationship goes just as smoothly as the job. Here are some tips from our experience that we’ve found helpful when it comes to managing communications and client relations.
Explain the process
Communication is key. This has never been more true than when you will be in someone's personal home space or business for weeks to months at a time knocking out walls and pulling up floors. Clients should know what to expect from your process at every stage to ensure the expectations are set and that there are no surprises. Even if there are setbacks - which as contractors we know there often are - we still can help the process by being transparent with any updates
Don’t be afraid to press the hot button
Just like there are different types of client temperaments and personalities, contractors all have different areas that we’re more comfortable with. However, no matter the subject, being proactive with uncomfortable or pressure-sensitive aspects of a project like a price, timelines, issues, etc. is one of the best ways to strengthen your client relationship and make for a healthier project. Getting these types of subjects on the table at any stage of the project - especially the beginning - will make sure the hard parts have already been addressed.
Ask questions
We all want to feel like we’re being heard and understood, and that is no different when coming from clients. Using some of the more proactive tips we’ve mentioned can mitigate a lot of confusion, but still showing interest and intuitiveness to situations or updates that a client may not understand will help get to the heart of any things that are on their mind.
Learn from your mistakes
Different contractors have different social strengths, just like they do skill sets. The important thing is learning from social pitfalls with clients and adapting our process and approach accordingly to mitigate client conflict while maximizing the relationship. We believe in this approach at Refined Renovations and collaborating with other vendors in the Houston Area to serve Houstonians. Connect with us on our vendor page today to see how we can continue to make a healthy and productive general contracting community.
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