I just recently learned how important it is to draw the line between having a client and a personal friend. What I mean is, not letting someone that is a client become such a close friend that they know everything that you are doing for your business.

I have a client who builds websites, but needed a graphic designer. So me, being a designer and having a background in website developing (although I’m not particularly good at it, nor really enjoy it) melded together pretty well - he gets the clients, I design it all up and make the website pretty and usable, then he codes it, etc. But the problem is he went to high school with me and we are about the same age, so we became friends pretty quick. But I made a mistake… I was letting him know about all my other clients, and was using the time I was spending on my other client’s jobs as an excuse for putting his work off a day or two.

Bad Idea.

So anyway, near the bottom of the article it mentions making your clients feel like your only client. And I think that is something that I have learned from this particular experience. He didn’t feel like my only client. I don’t think it matters if the client knows you have other clients (of course… the pizza guy example shows that), but they need to feel like numero uno, your focus, the person you are worried about, etc.

Just my experience so far anyway.

Probably, at least for the short-term. But it will be exponentially more (a) effective, and (b) enjoyable when it comes form a genuine interest in the client and the work, rather than a pure quest for revenue.

And, that is true not only of this strategy, but of all professional endeavors and efforts. So, I completely agree with your awesome conclusion. Thanks, again, for your fantastic comment!

But I would say the most important issue here is not to do “cool things.. to make clients feel like they are your only client”. This assumes you are just pretending to care care about them. This can work sometimes, but I don’t think it is lasting.

It’s much easier to develop a habit where you _actually_ care about your client. If you do, then it’s easy to remember his family situation, or his communication style. And it’s not about “cool things you do”, because these things become natural.

I believe it’s not so much about a learned technique to remember family names or order preferences which makes the pizza guy outstanding: There is scientific evidence that facts are easier to remember if they are attached to emotions. So I would say, he _actually_ cares about his customers (which is a rare and valued thing).
That’s why every freelancer should try to build up a personal relationship with his clients. People like it when they feel they are liked. And most can tell quickly whether you only pretend to like them or not.

Conclusion: work only for people you like. It’s easier to turn them into long-term clients, and work is more fun.

Wow. You’ve achieved two great feats.
1) You’ve greatly helped my career progress from another one of your amazing articles
2) Made me hungry. Well, I admit, that’s not a feat, but you know what I mean.

My tip is to keep everything as personal as it possibly can be. As soon as you loose touch, you begin to separate. Also, keep your workplace tidy. It not only helps you but also helps your client trust in your and your professionalism.

Now, to order that pizza.