Clients and vendors, vendors and clients.
I’ve been on both sides numerous times.
When you’re working as a church, ministry, or non-profit organization, you often find yourself hiring vendors to get things done as you’re not big enough to afford a full-time staff to take care of multimedia. This is why many creative agencies and freelancers–design, IT, web, etc … get these types of clients. The same could be said for small businesses, too, as they cannot afford a full-time staff dedicated to websites, graphic design and so on.
There is often a tension between the two, as “the dance of clients and vendors” occurs.
Clients
As the client, you know what you want, you communicate what you want and wait for the vendor to deliver. If you’ve picked the right place, you’ll not only get what you wanted, but they may even throw in some extra cleaver ideas–like icing on the cake.
Vendors
As a vendor, you hear what the client wants, you communicate what is best and you hope the client is happy with what you deliver. If you have communicated well, you will not only make your client happy, but they will also trust you and rely on your expertise.
Minimizing
Having experienced both sides of the spectrum, this is what I’ve found to minimize the tension between the two:
As a vendor …
Serving the client is the most valuable service you can offer.
As a client …
Listening is as important as speaking.
Tension can be a good thing, but should be an occasional thing, not something that happens regularly.
What’s your experience been like?
[Image via Steve Weaver via Compfight cc]
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