I’m honored to have taken the journey from long-time reader to first-time author for A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites.

The article is based on my theory of adaptive client management (book coming soon?). Please take a look and leave a comment and thank you for stopping by!

I believe that with the array of technology available to creative firms comes the ability to not only be more flexible, but the ability to grow a firm with lower associated and administrative costs. Keeping costs down can translate to client savings if they’re willing to work with you on a virtual level.

It’s important to do everything in your power to meet face-to-face, but there are times where both sides have scheduling or travel restrictions. In those cases, we use alternative methods to share.

Video Comprehensives

I’ve decided to embrace this new presentation vehicle for our clients that are over 200 miles from our location or unable to meet with us in a timely fashion: V-Comps.

Using V-Comps, we can put together a quick introduction and then lead the discussion as we walk through the different reasons behind our design choices.

We do this for three specific reasons:

• The client is not within a commutable distance.
• We can post a copy to the client portal with secure access to give to additional client staff at a later date so that they can review it (or see it again) at their leisure.
• It is more difficult to properly emote in an e-mail.

The Protected PDF

Why not just send jpgs and a little text? Because you need to be protective of the information you send to anyone these days. It’s one thing to have someone try and repeat what you’ve said during a presentation, but it’s another to misquote and misdirect the conversation. Take the initiative and write up a PDF that’s protected so that your words and pictures are sent together to a client for them to review and forward. This will take a lot of the guesswork out of your intentions.

Talk to your client about the preferred alternative method for communication. Make sure they’re comfortable with how you intend to move forward.

In most cases, your client will be quite accepting of replacing costs with an alternative.

The potential for social networking is astounding. And, to be honest, there are people who get it to work for them more than any sales organization or local chapter / club meeting. Often times, however, we’re asked about what works and doesn’t work on the social networking scene and why we use it (we’re LinkedIn and we have personal accounts on other currently popular sites).

What Works

It works when two people actually want to engage in either debate or opportunity. Nothing is more important to me when it regards incoming requests than to verify what the intention of the connection is. Some people go overboard and get downright pushy. The double-edged sword is to stay in touch and accept invitations and share information with people you know, rather than go all out and extend your network to thousands of people you’ve never met.

Why, you ask? Well, in the case of LinkedIn, in particular, the main reason I would tend to use this networking site is to collaborate with a level of trust. I know that I can typically trust the connection being made if it comes from someone I know and have dealt with in the past.

What Doesn’t Work

It is counterproductive to have an open network. It’s also counterproductive to not share if you have a connection that your trusted acquaintance would like to meet. I mean, that’s the point, really.

A social network will feed on the strength and validity of its services. Taking on more water than the boat can handle will only sink your ship.

Get Involved

The question and answer section is often filled with items that don’t pertain to you or your business, but that certainly doesn’t mean you won’t learn something from going through and digesting the content.

Being involved by answering and posing the questions will at the very least give you a free resource to share and bounce ideas off of if you’re ever in a hurry for some quick perspective. Of course, it’s up to you to decide whether or not the answers you get or read are useful. One thing I have noticed, however, and that is the majority of people are there for the same reason: business networking.

If you have a specific case study or experience on networking, use our contact form to get in touch. We’d love to talk to you.