Treat a $10 client like they're a $10,000 client and you will be successful

TommyCarey Level X³

April 7, 2018, 1:30 pm

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When someone is purchasing from you, regardless of how much the order is for, you need to treat them just like a $10,000 client. People want to be treated like kings and queens when they make a purchase online, which isn't always a bad thing, because they are willingly giving you money for a product or service you're offering. Over the course of my career, I've sold products and services ranging from $5 all the way up to $15,000 and treated every order like it the absolute best client I've ever had.

If you can treat everyone like a king or queen, regardless of how much they're spending on your website, you will begin to notice positive reviews popping up online from people loving all that you've done for them. They will see their $10 purchase as less significant because it's only a few dollars compared to the vast majority of things selling online. If you are always talking to them and answering everything they ask, they will see your website and customer service as some of the best online, and they will tell everyone about your website and how awesome you really are (hopefully).

Below are a few reasons why you should treat everyone like they're spending thousands for each purchase on your website.

Your client will see you as dedicated
Clients spending a few dollars know they aren't breaking the bank, or making you rich, so they don't always expect you to be extremely responsive when they ask a bunch of questions. If you respond as soon as you can and add in tons of quality content as a response, they will be shocked in a good way and likely come back for more orders when they're in need of your products or services

Some clients will test before they invest
When I was selling loss leaders (products or services I didn't profit on but sold anyway to get people to purchase from me) I would have a $7 backlink service that only placed a few hundred profile links and didn't really do much for a website's rankings. The product description actually said this and also mentioned the package worked best for tier 2 and tier 3 links, but people still purchased and aimed the links at their homepages.

After I sent the reports, I quickly realized the client was only ordering the loss leader $7 package because they were testing out my services. I also noticed that most of the time the websites they submitted for the cheap package wasn't the one that was submitted when they ordered a much larger package over $300. This means they were just testing the service on a random website, which they didn't own, and wanted to see if we would actually do the work and send out a report

Have a small package or product someone can purchase from you in order to test out your company and it will usually turn into a much larger order down the road

Happy clients leave more reviews
If you're treating everyone the same, like they're rock stars, they will be more than likely to leave a positive review about your website and business whenever someone asks for a recommendation. I get recommendation traffic pretty often, and it's because I treat everyone like they're a $10,000 client and not someone who is just giving me money for a product or service.

Every client or customer I have is treated like a rockstar, and this means they tend to love what I give them, and the reviews and recommendations start to flow

Over time, you'll get plenty of these reviews going live on websites and platforms you could only wish to get links from in the beginning of your career, which will boost you even more

In conclusion
Treating all of your customers like they're kings and queens isn't something that you should practice, it's something that you should already be doing because favoritism is a crummy thing to show when it comes to online sales and running a business. Everyone is created equal, so treat them like that, then you'll notice the positivity coming back at you tenfold

Remember to follow me!
https://www.seoclerks.com/user/TommyCarey

Thanks!

Tommy Carey

Comments

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overcast

My experience is a bit different. People who charge low are bound to get freebie clients and clients who are into paying low. So if you want million dollar client. You have to charge respectively. And that seems to be only way for things to improve. You can't expect 10$ client to bring you 10K of work ever.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

That is also what I think regarding the cost of the service that you provide. When the price is low then you cannot expect the big timers to get in because most of the big clients would prefer a big service provider that charges a lot simply because they think that quality is directly connected to the price tag. My take is to be in the middle that your price is not very low but not very high either.

8 years ago

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overcast

And another thing is if the cost is low people tend to treat your service and the output as if it is low. So always a good idea is to be successful with the moderate value. And that goes to show you that being successful is lot harder in that context. I'd say that one has to understand what value they are providing to the people. And then decide how to work best on that approach.

8 years ago

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RiyaJani

It's 100% true! We treat best, They will satisfy from our work & come back for sure

My small business is running with the same strategy.

9 years ago

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kgord

This is a wonderful idea and one that many people should adhere to. Everyone likes to be treated well, and if you can do that for them, they will probably continue to buy from your site.

9 years ago

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UltimateBackups

This is very true, I have purchased a lot of things over time and I always purchase something small from someone first to test their service, quality, support etc.

I then decide if I think the service is worth more money, more orders etc.

It is very important for me to chose a seller who has a great service, great quality and customer service/ response rate.

I then decide if the seller is worth my money.

9 times out of 10, I chose someone else's service just because they spoke to me better, helped me with my queries and came up with a good solution and got the work done really well.

Price is not an issue so much if the person providing the service is up to scratch.

Go hard or fall flat!

Nice article Tommy, totally agree!

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

The option of discussion about some clients testing you before they invest is practically how I live and operate.

There no way I'm going to put in huge fund into an investment without having a taste of experience with my prospective partner.

The little fund invested is simply a test trail to find out how much my little investment would be valued before I put in more into such investment.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

My take on this is if I'm getting paid with the right amount then I'll do my best work and deliver it, but if I have a bad offer then I just won't accept it. But there are times when the offer is low but I like the subject or I'm familiar with the subject, in this cases I generally accept the offer and deliver a good article.

9 years ago

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SiamSEO

I don't agree in that you'd need to bow down to your clients, treat them as your superiors and be willing to cater to all their demands, because that will only lead into them bossing you around and paying you very little, but it's important to not make distinction between small and large clients, that's for certain. Stand your ground, but treat everyone equally is the way I do business.

9 years ago

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Barida

I would slightly disagree with you in the sense that it is the unappreciated ones that will always try to take advantage of the love and good behavior we show them. There is need to separate some good clients from the ones that don't show appreciation for the good way that we treat them. Knowing the difference is really necessary as long as I am concerned.

9 years ago

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fishbate

Well i agree, although clients are very important and is a potential. Having a borderline services is a must, you cannot possibly cater all the clients demands that is why you should have a limit for your services. Lastly being professional for your clients even they seem to be harsh is a great way to handle things.

9 years ago

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TommyCarey

You obviously misunderstood what I've written, I never said to bow down to them and let them control everything you're doing. I'm saying that you need to treat people equally because you never know who is a whale but spending like a goldfish just to test you out.

If you were to read through my discussions and try to comprehend them, you'd understand that I know what I'm talking about

9 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

I understood you. I'm not even a $10 client. Often I'm a free client.

I'm one of those people that tries out all of the Free Plans for as long I am allowed to. During the process of trying or testing, if it's a really good product or service, I am more than happy to let others know and send business that way. Sometimes I write out a public review, but I usually just mention it to others who might be interested. Also, during that trial process, if I can make suggestions that might help the seller improve their product or service, I let the seller know.

Even though I may be using the product or service free, my word of mouth advertising is offered on the seller's behalf, free of charge. Advertising costs money. But they're not paying me to tell others. Since I don't have any statistics or didn't collect any data, how do I know how many paying customers or clients that company or entrepreneur now has because of me, the free user who told everybody how great they were?

Also, I freely contributed my two cents to help them make a better product or service. If they implemented my free advice or client feedback and other paying customers or clients were pleased with the changes, then the seller reaped the benefits of having the continued business of satisfied clients or customers. I didn't charge the seller a red cent to make suggestions on how to improve the quality of their product or service. I also didn't go and tell the seller's competitor.

Telling others about your product or service and giving you ideas about how to make your product or service even better? Both are value-adds to the seller. The seller may have given something away free or charged a lower price or fee, but they also got something in return.

Why? All because the manner of transacting business between buyer and seller was done with mutual and professional courtesy and respect.

Treating a $10 client like they're a $10,000 client can go a very long way!

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

What I would chip in here for you is the concept of consumer or client king theory. This states that the existence of your services 100% depends on it being patronized and once you fall out with your clients, there is no way you are making any sales not to talk about making profit.

So therefore having that, it's very important to accord good respect to your clients because they are the reason why any service or product that you are offering is actually existing for. They are needed for your progress and expansion.

9 years ago

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Kakashi2020

I completely agree with you on not bowing down to any client. Also knowing the distinction of between a big and a normal client should be the first thing the writer should identify, after which the writer should weigh his decision to accept or reject or to propose a counter offer.

9 years ago

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overcast

I agree too. I don't think 10 dollar clients ever convert into 10K. I have lot of experience on fiverr regarding that. i have never cracked 200 dollar client either. You can guess people are not going to pay 10K at all. So that assumption of treating everyone same is not going to work out for sure.

9 years ago

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Barida

It is quite true that when we treat our clients like kings and queens, we get to have better positive reviews and that is the best way to become better in the world of freelancing. Also, understanding that without the help of those clients, we shouldn't be doing the very best of what we desire to do should spur us on to make the very best of every opportunity we get to work with those clients.

9 years ago

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fishbate

I agree, clients deserve to be treated special. I think if i where a client i wanted to be treated important and attended nicely. That is the very reason why you should treat clients accordingly. Every client is a potential, and have to be treated equally. A happy client creates great opportunity for your business growth.

9 years ago

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Martinsx1

The essence of any bus is meant for the business clients because without them, there is no need to expect any form of growth in such business ventures as it's when the business services are ordered that the business grows and this can only be encouraged when the customers are treated well to get them patronizing such business offers.

9 years ago

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DenisP

Whether in business or in personal life, I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of karma. I feel that whatever you invest into life is guaranteed to return to you, and with interest on top of the initial investment. You don't even have to be religious to believe in the practical applications of karma. If you are kind to each and every customer, and treat them in a way that makes them feel special, you're investing in good business karma. You'll gain a reputation as a respectful and kind person, and those are the sorts of characteristics that will separate you from those people out there just trying to leech as much money as possible. Good things come to those who do good, and being good to your customers means they will come back to you as well.

9 years ago

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jpyy

Another trick in the bag is giving away free stuff - and, of course, when doing it - do it with a smile. It's because, as with the 10 dollar stuff, you can get good reviews. Anyway, has anyone tried this method? What were the results?

9 years ago

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DarthHazard

Treating your customers with respect and treating them well is extremely important, no matter how much they are paying you. But it's also important to not go over the top too much. For example, if your customer is paying you $10 for a service then it's important that you don't go over the top because you need to dedicate time to other customers as well. Plus, if they buy from you again, they might expect even more and a much better service than last time!

9 years ago

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EfficientNinja

This is very true regardless of what business you run. I once had an experience when I was shopping online for a computer mouse. I thought that they treat everyone the same way because when I the owner or the operator knew that I was only shopping for one piece of mouse and not in bulk, he/she simply lost interest in continuing our transaction. That annoyed me and that was the last time I contacted their online store.

9 years ago

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Steve5

I think it's helpful to treat clients fairly. Not necessarily like big clients. But as people worthy of our time. You'll have to decide on when to do this yourself. Just remember that the client you're talking is a person and you might just earn their trust.

9 years ago

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treecko142

In any business, it's important to treat all your clients equally in terms of when communicating with them, because even if they spend differently, their concerns and complaints or praises as a customer all count significantly towards how other people will react to your business, which can either help you gain more clients or fail to do so.

9 years ago

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EfficientNinja

It's like racking up positive or 5-star reviews on a product on Amazon.

Once you see that others had experienced a great service or satisfied with the product, all future prospect customers will all see those reviews and they will almost always instantly buy it. And the chain of happy customer reviews and feedback will follow.

If only all business owners are like this, the world would be a happier place.

9 years ago

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treecko142

Yeah, I think some business owners don't understand that your previous customers can be the best forms of advertisement to gain more additional customers.

9 years ago

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EfficientNinja

Agreed. And you don't have to pay anything for this kind of advertisement. You just serve them well and you reap the rewards of them having to spread some good news about your business.

I'll definitely remember this and treat all my customers/clients equally and in the best ways possible.

9 years ago

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treecko142

On the other hand, you also have to be firm and draw the line when customers are being overly rude since it also projects the image that you are serious in providing services but only if there is mutual respect and you have principles that you follow.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

In my experience with business, I see clients as different from each other. I am more inclined to consider their idiosyncrasy than the amount of business that they give me. A small client who buys $10 cannot be compared with someone who buys $10,000 because with the mathematics that will be applied, you can afford to lose many $10 customers but it would be a big blow to lose that $10,000 customer. In that sense, I will give priority always to the $10,000 customers. That is the reason why we have that term valued clients which means those big clients that give us big business.

9 years ago

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aeon

Well, for the beginner like me, I think this gonna be a good a advice, to treat them equally, much better to start on that way, to get a good reputation, but with my patience, I don't think If I'm able to become consistent with that.

9 years ago

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Derpx9

Hi,

True Opinion.
If Every Seller Thinks Like You
Im Sure It Will Be More Efficient.

9 years ago

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CareCreations

Well said!

I fully agree with what you are saying about treating your customers like royalty.

Good post!

8 years ago

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elgerente

There's a reason why the service is worth $10 and not $10,000. If you treat such client as if he ordered for $10K then you won't be working profitably. The client knows what he will receive and he knows the price. If you believe you should provide extra 1h massage and send him a $25 amazon gift card.... I'll skip your advise.

In the past 5.5 years after completing over maybe 7000 orders just on Seoclerks, I personally treat the clients as I would treat any other person. Because if you spend your precious time on special undeserved and/or irrational treatment, this is what you will get - a stubborn client who doesn't understand English and doesn't know what he's getting and what he should provide even though I did my absolute very best. Not to mention the Instructions are there for a reason but hey, these client show you the middle finger. "You wrote Instructions which I should follow ? Naah, F your Instructions, I will skip them and provide reply with insufficient details". And do you know what will happen later if I just proceed ? A rejection or a negative review. In the case I'm describing below, the only thing I got is time wasted and blood pressure risen. The clients should not have the option to reject a cancellation request, it's sent for a reason.

Treat yourself like the prince you are or suffer the consequences from persons like this one which are in great number on every marketplace where cheap prices are present.

9 years ago

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TommyCarey

You'll definitely run into plenty of people who will be less than great clients for a few bucks, but the jobs that are this cheap aren't going to be very extensive and don't take more than 10 minutes to complete.

If you treat such client as if he ordered for $10K then you won't be working profitably.

How would you not be working profitably? You said you treat everyone the same, and that's my point, you should nevertreat someone as less of a person simply because they paid you a lower amount compared to your top customers.

To date, I've had 563 clients buy a cheap package from me and upgrade to $500+ a month packages just because of how I treated them and I actually did the work. It didn't take me any more than an hour to complete their cheap package for $10 while treating them like a $10,000 client, and they quickly signed up for my services.

You've sold a lot of services here, congrats! But maybe you run into problem clients like the one above because you treat people differently based on how much money they give you... Yes, problem clients are unavoidable in this industry, I've had my fair share throughout my journey, but that doesn't mean I should treat everyone like they're going to file a dispute or chargeback lol.

Also, you said you won't follow my advice, but you're already doing it?

I personally treat the clients as I would treat any other person

Seems like a contradiction and possibly a language barrier...

9 years ago

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elgerente

Random person says "good day" to you. You reply with "good day to you too". No special treatment just because that person may be of use to you in the future.... or purchase your $500+ month package as you say. In case of an issue, a support will be provided. But that's it. We obviously sell different kind of services. Treating them like they're a $10K client means spending much more time which makes the order not profitable. And no, in my case I won't receive a huge order after that one is finished.
And you make a mistake about 1 thing: "you should never treat someone as less of a person simply because they paid you a lower amount". I never do, everyone gets the same polite treatment. But I surely won't treat someone as if he made a $10K order. No one does that. If it's profitable for your type of service, good for you. If you weren't getting those $500-order I doubt you'll be spending time on the initial orders. In the end, it all depends how much time you spend on those initial orders. I spend a lot. Every glitch / pack of unnecessary questions whose answer already lies in the Description / irrational complains... makes the small order completely not profitable for me, already at a loss.

Keep your strategy, just trying to tell you it's not applicable everywhere. I know people who don't even respond to messages to Inbox because "clients" literally rape them with questions. You will receive [something] for [this] price. The price doesn't include 15 minutes of additional time answering (mostly) unnecessary questions. And in the end they won't even order.

9 years ago

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overcast

From what I have seen so far. Some clients do behave in troublesome manner. And we can't treat all clients the same way. Because some are just too much desperate to be rich. And they treat virtual workers like slave and have other views about using such help online. So we can't put all people in same mold and do things. That point I agree with you.

9 years ago

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treecko142

Businesses should be respectful to its clients and treat each customer equally, but there should still be a set boundary in which it is justified to be a little more firm and say no to troublesome clients.

9 years ago

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overcast

Yep. The thing is nobody wants to talk about troublesome clients. Due to the prices with fiveer and 10$ type of the projects online with sites. I think this has given more people chance to extort the designers and coders on low level. You can do SEO projects for low cost but not the coding and design. It's pity nobody wants to talk on this troublesome client topic.

9 years ago

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