One time, I had a client contact change and I kept hearing from this new client contact, “You’re my first consultant. I don’t know how to work with you.” I bent over backwards with this client contact to help her and still kept getting that same feedback. So I tried harder. But it was still the same. That was when I realized I wasn’t the problem and months later I fired that client. Not because I didn’t enjoy the community and most of the work I was doing. It was because the client contact didn’t know how to work with me and it was making working with this client miserable.

Having a client contact say that I’m hard to work with is beyond rare. Unlike a lot of consultants, I do my best to bend towards how the client contact works as much as humanly possible, as long as it doesn’t interfere too much with how I work. (My ability to get work done is obviously very important.) I have a lot of empathy for client contacts who are in difficult positions and end up being a bit of a therapist for most of them at some point. I honestly try hard to be everything my client needs, even when it’s not exactly in the job description.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t need some things as well. And with that in mind, I thought I’d give some tips for those working with their first consultant. Not for those who are like my previous client contact. This is for those who want to make that relationship better and do some great work together.

Make it easy to get what the consultant needs

I had a client contact who I LOVED working with, but every time I needed a picture, I had to ask for it because I had no access to any galleries. It wasn’t their fault. The systems set up in the client organization were just not great, so pictures were just left everywhere instead of a central place. And that meant that every time I needed a picture, I had to have my client contact find it, and I had to hope that person had the time to do that since it took so much more time than it would have if the pictures were in a central place. Let’s just say that wasn’t fun and definitely added to the time I spent on this client.

Meanwhile, if a client readily has the resources available and searchable, it lessens my workload. I can get things done quickly without having to ask for help and be dependent on someone else’s availability. I could also find the exact kind of image that would mesh well with the post. It makes my workflow easier. Then I can pass off the post in a much more timely manner to be approved and make the workflow easier on my client contact. It’s a win-win when I can easily access what I need.

Be available

My worst client contacts are always people who are at the top of their organization. They simply do not have the time to do what I need. When a question I don’t know the answer to comes in from a fan, they can’t chase down that answer. And when I need approvals, they almost always slow down that process by not getting me things in time. It’s not their fault. They simply cannot prioritize what I need and be available to me.

I’d like to think that if I’m your first consultant that you are not at the top of the company, but this kind of thing can happen. And if it does, the best thing you can do is pass off direct client contact duties to someone more junior in your organization so I can get the answers to the questions I have as quickly as possible. It should be someone who can prioritize me as a social media consultant and not someone who will constantly be in meetings with little to no time to do the day-to-day work.

And this doesn’t mean that a higher up can’t be a part of the social media content creation process. It just means that they can’t be the person who has to constantly make time for me. A higher up should really be focused on the big picture tasks and not helping me find out whether someone is registered for an upcoming program.

Listen

Most social media consultants pour the heart and soul into what they do. They occupy this odd space where they are the advocates for the community with the client and the advocates for the client with the community. It’s kind of a double-edged sword, and you have to find that perfect balance so everyone gets what they want. And someone is always going to leave pissed. Just the nature of the job that you have to take some of that.

And in addition to all of that, we have spent a lot of time learning our craft and perfecting it. It’s not as easy as just posting to Facebook, despite what a lot of non-social media types like to say. It’s a lot of knowledge of writing, storytelling, photography, graphic design, videography, marketing, etc. coming together in each post. The fun thing is that a great social media consultant wants to share that knowledge. We talk to each other but something we just learned or we just have to tell everyone we know about an app that makes our lives easier. This need to share is almost a compulsion.

All of this is why it’s so disappointing when a client doesn’t want to listen and instead sees their position as a place to dictate. We can easily spot what is going to annoy your audience. We can craft a post that will appeal to them while fulfilling client goals. And we know what social media simply cannot do. When our hands are tied, it’s beyond frustrating.

It doesn’t have to be difficult to work with a consultant. It can be fun and include lots of learning on both ends. All you have to do is respect each other and allow for the work to blossom.

What is your tip for someone working with a consultant for the first time?