How to effectively manage client projects
Learn how to manage client projects effectively so you can give your clients a flawless experience without any bottlenecks
Whether you’re a freelancer or agency owner, you need to learn how to manage multiple client projects effectively. Not being able to organise multiple projects at once can be detrimental to your business and even ruin your reputation.
In this article, I’ll be sharing with you my top tips for how to keep track of multiple client projects so that you can deliver a flawless service to your clients every time.
1. Have a streamlined onboarding process
A big part of being able to successfully manage client projects is knowing that you are not going to be able to control everything.
No matter how much you try to predetermine the project outcome, 9/10 you will be thrown a curveball that will drastically impact project deliverables moving forward.
There are even times when you send the client the deliverables, they sign-off the content and then at the last minute change their mind! (I’ve had this happen to me too…)
But the one part of the client process that you have the most control over is the onboarding process.
The onboarding process is a little bit of give and take, it requires the client to communicate with you, but generally speaking, you can decide how the onboarding process should go and use your strong communication skills to guide the client in the right direction.
A big mistake I see a lot of budding freelancers and young agency owners make is not having a defined onboarding process before they get their first client, and this is problematic for all of the reasons above.
By doing your research and putting all the pieces in place you need to start off working relationships the right, you will help early-stage growth just by delivering a smooth onboarding process.
But what does a good onboarding process actually look like?
I’m not going to lie, I don’t think any agency has the perfect onboarding process.
Every client you work with will have different needs and project requests, therefore you will have to adapt. But having a baseline process makes it easier to adjust. Here’s how we typically do things here at Megan Taylor Creative:
Contract signing: First things first, get your client to sign a contract that states the scope of the work, things like operating hours, and payment details. It’s worth having your contract drafted up by a legal professional just to be on the safe side
First payment/deposit: I highly recommend getting the first month (if it’s a retainer client) and/or security project so that you are protected financially. Also, it’s a good way to vet clients. Clients that are happy to pay upfront are normally easier to deal with than those who struggle to pay in a timely manner
First strategy call: Have a strategy call with your clients as soon as you can after the contract signing so you can start mapping out the project and also just to answer any remaining questions about they might have
Start project/regular status updates: Once you’re both clear on the project, it’s time to start the work. Make sure to give your clients regular status updates and offer regular catch-up calls. That said, for efficiency, sometimes it’s quicker and simpler to deliver information in an email
2. Use templates
Templates are a MUST if you want to ensure that you deliver every client a high quality experience.
The thing about templates that I think a lot of people miss is that they can be moulded and changed to suit whatever project it is your working on. They’re a guide not a stone.
Make sure that the templates you spend time on the most are templates that will help you deliver your services, and a good onboarding process.
For instance, every agency should have SOP (standard operating procedures) templates. Not only will this help you keep on track of necessary tasks to complete a project, but when the time comes to add new members to your team you can pass these on so they can learn your processes quicker.
Other templates that are helpful for most agencies include:
Brief templates: Especially helpful for creative agencies, briefs are incredibly helpful for ensuring that your work remains aligned with your client’s original goals
Marketing campaign templates: Every agency will need a marketing campaign template that they can use for their own marketing campaigns, and for clients campaigns if they are a digital marketing or creative agency
Team planner template: It’s a good idea even if you don’t have employees or contractors working for you yet to develop a team planner template which you can revise and adjust as needed
Project management timeline template: Every agency will need a project management timeline template that they can use to clearly communicate project length and milestones to clients
3. Use a scheduling tool
A scheduling tool is critical for agencies that offer free discovery call and status meetings for clients.
They are also useful for helping you keep on track of day-to-day marketing tasks.
The classic scheduler that people like to use is Google Calendar because its simple and chances are, most of your clients will have a gmail account so it will be easy to share your calendar with them.
Google Calendar is not only great for scheduling in client appointments, but you can use it to time block. This means that clients can see when you are and aren’t available.
I’d always recommend leaving sometime in the day available for unscheduled client calls as emergency tasks can easily come up, so don’t block it completely.
That said, to actually book appointments it’s often easier to use a tool like Calendly or Appointy which have built-in booking systems.
4.Get a social media scheduler
If you’re a marketing agency of any kind you’ll absolutely want to invest in a social media scheduler.
Managing multiple social media accounts can get confusing fast but having a scheduling tool that’s connected to all of your client’s accounts makes this process a lot easier.
You’ll be able to see what content is going out on what account in one centralised place!
Having a scheduling tool is also great for your clients because they’ll be able to easily review their content pipeline and make any changes if needed (make sure that they know to run changes buy you first!).
If you’re worried about all your client’s being able to see each other’s campaigns, you can usually edit account access as an admin.
5. Get a time tracking tool
One thing that newbie freelancers and agency owners often overlook is the importance of tracking time.
Pretty much every established agency will have a time tracking tool because it helps them not only manage their time, but prepare invoices.
While you don’t have to show your time-sheets to your clients, it’s highly beneficial to be able to refer back to how much time you’ve spent on each project.
Over time, you’ll be able to use time-sheets to understand how long projects take you, which will also allow you to deliver quotes with confidence and a more accurate project timeline.
There are lots of time-tracking tools out there but my favourite is Toggl because it’s free and you can easily categorise clients when you go to start the clock
.