I meet a lot of new clients every year. My first job is to convince them that Emphasize Design is the Calgary website design company they should hire to create their online marketing campaigns. With nearly ten years in the business and tons of good stuff in our portfolio to show off, I’m proud to say this is not usually that hard.
Once we have decided to work together, it’s time to deliver on our promises. I know that Emphasize will always provide the very best product, but that requires more than just talent. I like to think that we’re easy to work with at Emphasize, and those relationship-building skills are what helps us design great websites and develop comprehensive marketing plans alongside our clients.
Here are my top five ways to have a collaborative and creative business relationship:
1. Pride Yourself on Good Communication
Words are powerful, but delicate. Choose the wrong phrasing, and you can send a negative message without even realizing that you’re doing it. By keeping your language positive, you encourage open conversation and collaboration.
- You’ve heard of the “compliment sandwich” concept, or something like it. If I need to offer constructive criticism, I begin and end by saying something positive. That makes the criticism in the middle easier to take.
- I am also very careful of my choice of words, and do my best to only use productive phrasing with tak-oriented “action” verbs.
Communication goes two ways, as well. It also means being a good listener. Active listeners participate by asking pertinent questions, taking notes and making sure they understand what is being said. I challenge myself to fully engage myself in business conversations, and always create a recap of what was said to firmly implant the proceedings into my memory to effectively move towards completing the next goal.
2. Be a Team Player
We love all the people we work with at Emphasize, but most are not fortunate enough to get to choose who they work with. Sometimes coworkers can be tough to get along with. In these sorts of situations, stay positive. A good attitude is contagious. And once you have people in a better mood it’s much easier to find common ground.
A team player mindset can also be beneficial when there are major changes to carry out. Let’s say there’s a shuffle or a takeover that results in you and your colleagues having to take on more work without any compensation. Whining about it doesn’t help anything, and really does make it worse for everyone. Keep in mind during these sorts of situations that you are not the only one who is struggling, and that a positive attitude is sometimes all it takes to galvanize a team together that has been disrupted by business changes.
3. Have Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is all about being able to recognize emotions in yourself and others, and label them properly. It also involves being able to use emotions towards tasks, like finishing a particular project. Signs of lacking emotional intelligence may include holding a grudge, acting in a rash manner, failure to admire mistakes, and high anxiety. All of these don’t make for a very enjoyable person to work with. Thankfully, emotional intelligence can be learned, and there are lots of resources available to do so.
4. Keep Pushing Forward
Those who succeed in business are people who are undeterred by setbacks. It’s easy to let minor failures, such as not meeting quarterly targets, make you think that there’s a major problem. But making mistakes can be the best way towards growth – if you take advantage of the opportunity properly. I like to think of a challenge as a chance to learn about what it is exactly that is working, and what is not, and then see what I can do to solve the problem.
5. Be Receptive to Feedback
It can be hard to not take it personally when your work is criticized; especially when it’s something you put your heart and soul into. I always do my best to push down the inevitable defensive reaction and open my mind to what is being said. I truly believe that constructive feedback is what has kept my career propelling upwards. Think of it this way. If the person telling you how you could improve didn’t truly care about your success, they wouldn’t be talking to you in the first place. A critique is actually a gift that if accepted with grace can keep giving endlessly.
Emphasize Design of Calgary For Online Marketing Services
We at Emphasize have been in operation for almost ten years. We offer website design, content development, and comprehensive online marketing packages to help grow your Calgary business.
