Making Your Clients Your Top Priority

When I was younger I learned how to prioritize by working for two different Vice Presidents at a small financial services company. Equal as peers, both my 'bosses' always needed their work to be done first. Each had their own goals and objectives, and they weren't overly happy about having to share one assistant.

In retrospect, it was a great learning experience for me. I made it my mission to understand each Vice President at the deepest level possible. I figured that by understanding what motivated and drove each person, I could become what they needed me to become. I learned that both had very different styles to their work, and different approaches to their clients. One Vice President was very much about looking good, always being prepared and letting his superiors know about his accomplishments. He laminated client testimonials and bound them in a portfolio, which was placed in the reception area.

Reports had to be correct, but gathering statements from happy clients was the most important thing.

The other Vice President, while also wanting to look good for the bosses, was much more interested in hard, technical data. That meant that reports and presentations had to be done in advance of meetings so that last minute changes could be made. Everything was meticulous and packaged so that client meetings were efficient and factual. Less emphasis was put on relationship building and more into knowing what the markets were doing at any given time of the day.

By taking the time to understand what each Vice President was motivated by and what they measured success by, I was able to manage my time, which made everyone happy. I found a lot of satisfaction in doing great work by everyone’s standards. Many years ago while having coffee with the president of the firm, I discovered that I was the topic of any conversations that year, with everyone trying to figure out how I managed to keep both Vice Presidents – as divergent as their styles were – happy.

Now that I have my own clients, it’s important for me that each client feels that they are my ‘most important client.’ I spend time upfront to learn about them, what their expectations are and what we need to deliver for them to consistently feel important and well looked after. Thankfully each client is different and we have been able to successfully prioritize all our projects to deliver success.

Learning how to prioritize is the key, lack of this skill will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and take the fulfillment out of your work.