As a freelancer, maintaining a good relationship with your clients is absolutely crucial. Sometimes you can be very good at your work but if you treat your clients poorly, you will lose valuable projects. Your interaction with clients should be based on mutual understanding and respect. Establishing a lasting freelancer-client relationship will set you up for repeat business. Even if the client does not return he/she may recommend you to other people.

Below are 3 ways to establish lasting freelancer-client relationships:

1. Deliver quality work

The number one rule in establishing a lasting freelancer-client relationship is by delivering quality work that goes beyond the expectations of the client. Clients always appreciate freelancers who are committed to deliver quality and unique content. Don’t oversell yourself and promise clients something that you cannot deliver. Give clients reasonable expectations that you are sure you can achieve and do your best to deliver them on time.

2. Share knowledge

If your clients want services in an area that they are not familiar with, you should be willing to share knowledge. Take advantage of that opportunity to prove to the client that you are expert in that particular field. When undertaking a client’s projects, ensure that you give updates on a regular basis on what you are doing as well as offer additional advice to help the client feel knowledgeable and in the loop.

3. Communicate openly and effectively

The way you communicate with clients can make or break your relationship. As a freelancer, you should make yourself available so that clients can reach you when they need your services. In addition to that, you also need to communicate with your clients on a regular a basis (especially when you are undertaking a project) and update them on your progress and when you are likely to complete the project. You also need to update your clients if you make changes that they are not aware of. When you know you are going to be offline, don’t just ignore, contact your clients to let them know to avoid any misunderstandings.

In a traditional job you only have to worry about a single client but in the world of freelancing where nothing is fixed you need to make sure that you provide a top-notch experience to every client, because that is the only way to get repeat business. If you follow the guidelines given in this post you can give your freelance business a serious boost.