Q&A WITH SHIVRAJ ABOUT KEEPING CLIENTS AND BUILDING TRUSTFUL RELATIONSHIPS

Please introduce yourself. 

I am a Principal Consultant at Halian with a focus on Key Account Management and Development mainly for the Belgium market. Right now I’m living  in London so my time is split between working from home and in the Soho office.

 

Building customer relationships is something every company must do to succeed. After all, without customer relationships, there are no sales; without sales, there is no business. Would you agree to that?

Absolutely. I think a truly successful business model is one where long-term business partnerships are formed. Focusing on getting to know the client, what their objectives are and how they work is key to being a valued partner – sales will come naturally thereafter.

 

How do you make sure the customer is satisfied? What do you think is the most important factor? 

Ultimately, the client will want to see us deliver when needed. Beyond this, I think it’s important to be open and transparent when communicating and managing expectations. I also believe being flexible as much as possible allows a solution driven approach that a lot of clients appreciate. Maintaining some form of communication regularly is important for me, especially during these times as we can’t always visit them on-site.

 

How do you communicate with your clients following the pandemic/lockdown? What are the challenges when it comes to digital meetings? Were all clients prepared for that? 

Following on from being flexible and adaptive, my communication method varies with each client based on their working style/preference. Emails and phone calls will always be there, but using WhatsApp is my go to! Digital meetings have been good and nice to still be able to ‘see’ your client, but of course, meeting them in person always has that added advantage.

 

How important is it to know the client’s company culture, diversity, vision and values as a Consultant? 

It’s very important to understand the company culture and values as this helps us to be a better business partner by matching potential candidates to the working environment. Also, as a consultant looking for a new project, this is something that they would like to know more about.

 

Do you keep yourself updated on industry trends? 

From a clients’ perspective, they want to know we are able to find the right people when they are looking. To do this, we need to remain up to speed with digital trends and new technologies so we can qualify the right consultants. We take the time to understand client projects and the technologies they work with so we can react to requirements quickly and efficiently.

 

How do you measure your success and progress with delivery to your clients? 

We use our CRM to track KPIs with delivery to each client; identifying areas for improvement – if any. We also regularly have supplier meetings to discuss our ongoing partnership, delivering a platform for both us, and the client, to discuss how collaboration can be improved, but also acknowledge success. For me, the most important aspect of maintaining or expanding on client relationships is to be personable and likeable.

 

Do you have a special mantra/ phrase you work by? 

I wouldn’t say I have a mantra/phrase (I think a lot of them are quite cheesy and generic); but one quote I do like a lot is: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” – Steve Jobs.