How to Profile a Client

At first glance, this topic may seem a little repetitive, but you will find that although you have done homework before getting a contract and already know a fair amount about your client, you, however, do not know everything that is pertinent to the job. Once you have the project underway you will be adding to your knowledge of the client. In other words, you will be getting to know them more intimately than before. The information you had at the beginning is what the organization allowed you and the public in general to know. Now you are in a position to increase that knowledge and add to the client profile. This information will take time to accumulate as not all will present itself right at the beginning of the project. It is through your performance that it will surface.

This is not being a spy and learning the inner secrets of the organization. It is being aware of your surroundings and seeing what influences the results of the project. Company profile information should be kept separately from the project information. If you uncover facts or politically charged influences within the company, then these events will need to be addressed in some fashion. This does not mean that you are ratting on others. It simply means that you are concerned for the success of the project and need to have these issues addressed. Do not let anything pass you by, record it in the profile and deal with it head-on.

Setting meetings as issues arise is the better way to bring forward potential risks of a project; setting regular meetings will often get in the way of progress, so only schedule them when there are a number of issues to discuss. If there is only one and it is not major, then try to wait until you have recorded several. If it is an emergency discovery, then yes, schedule a meeting immediately and get the incident solved.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

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