Cyndee Moore Professional Practices Research Paper 2-2-09 Managing Client Relationships One of the single most important management skills for a self-employed individual is client management. Your people skills can either make you or break you if you are doing the meeting, greeting, and dealing all yourself. Getting to know your clients, understanding their needs, and fulfilling their questions and their concerns should be at the top of your priorities list. Without a good clientele, there will never be a lucrative and successful self-employed future for you. Before you’ve started your own business, you might have already worked for some friends doing freelance work here and there to help build up your portfolio. While this gives you some experience with your relationship management skills, it’s going to be totally different when you start working for people who have never meet you in their lives. The problem here is getting them to trust in you. Getting them to accept that you know what you are doing, that you can do it confidently, and that you can do it right the first time. That might be tougher for some clients more than others. A great way to start that relationship off right is with a good first impression during your first meeting with a client. Preferably, this meeting should be in person rather then on the phone or over the Internet. It’s like having that first date. You’ve got to sell yourself to this person, making sure that all your good qualities are showing and none of the bad. The only difference here is that it’sall business and no pleasure. Next, get to know your client on a personal level. “Small talk is a great way to establish a rapport before you focus on the purpose of your meeting, i.e., the Big Talk.” (Fine, p. 56) When you meet for every meeting, not just the first meeting, spark up some conversation first. Ask them a little bit about themselves like what they like to do for fun. Do they travel a lot or do they have a family or...