There is not any big secret to being a good client, it is merely common sense. But it is interesting how many people just don’t get it. Personally, I try to be a good client in every interaction, not only because it makes things go smoother, but because I stand to gain in the end. Let me explain.
In every business transaction, I see myself as a client of the other party. I want something from them, be it service from a waiter at a restaurant, repairs done on my car, or payment for a service that I render.
The best thing I could possibly do to make the transaction go smoother is to understand what the provider needs to go their job efficiently. The more I can give them exactly what they need, the more time they can spend giving me what I need, and the better quality product I get in the end. They tend to be happier and enthusiastic and may even go the extra mile to do a little extra.
I worked as a design engineer for several years. As part of my job, I designed loads of custom machined parts as well as specified a large number of purchased components. All of these items had to be purchased by our purchasing staff, who were used to buying much higher quantities of fewer items from a very small set of vendors. Our newer products required that we buy a few items from a much larger set of vendors. This created a lot of work for our buyers.
Knowing that I needed the buyer’s help to get my job done, I spent a good bit of time getting to know the buyers and trying to understand exactly what they needed to do their job. When I wanted something from a new vendor, I made sure I had all the information the buyer needed to add the new vendor, and I even went so far as to create a sheet with the vendor information in the same format and sequence as the buyer needed to enter into our computer system. Because of the large number of parts I needed, I created an Access database to put the parts lists into a format that made it easy for the buyers but still kept our necessary accounting information. The buyers loved it.
In contrast, one of my coworkers did not understand what the buyers needed to do their job, and he spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get the buyers to understand what he needed from his perspective, not from the buyer’s perspective. He would get very frustrated with the buyers and the buyers loathed it when he came into their cubicles.
Because I was willing to understand what the buyers needed, I got absolutely fantastic service from the buyers. If I made a mistake and needed something shipped that day, they were more than happy to drop anything they were doing and help me out. If something didn’t seem right, they would call to confirm. These were extra steps that they didn’t have to take and often did not do for my coworker. Of course, I brought them doughnuts, candy, or whatever else I could to keep them happy as well.
This (long-winded) example translates into how to be a good client of a law firm. The first is to understand as much as possible about the situation beforehand. Read a couple books on the patent process, search the USPTO website for background info, talk to people who have been through the process before you engage a patent attorney/agent. Know or at least try to understand what the attorney/agent needs to do their job and try to give it to them.
In the final analysis, the better prepared the client is, the better the entire interaction will go. More time can be spent solving the client’s problems and less time bringing the client up to speed. From my standpoint as a service provider, the quality of my end product must be excellent, no matter how the client interacts with me.
I charge fixed fees for my work. In some cases, I get clients who are very prepared, understand the issues, and help me get to the heart of the matter quickly. With these clients, I can charge less for a particular project because I know I can be very efficient. I also get clients who need a lot of hand-holding and I need to spend a lot of extra time with them. With the fixed fee pricing, I have to price things accordingly and these clients generally pay a little more. While the quality of the product does not vary much, the bottom line price may vary with the client’s ability to be a good client.
