Communicating With Your Buyer

You’re providing a service to someone, and in return, they give you money. Just like when you order a pizza, you expect to get the pizza you ordered and in a timely manner. If the pizza joint is going to be late, then they will (hopefully) give you a call and tell you it’s going to be two hours before it arrives because of that blizzard that’s going on outside. You need to do the same for your buyer. Also, communicate in a way that is preferable to both the buyer and you. Do you want the pizza guys to send you a letter in the mail saying they messed up your order?

E-Mail

When you first get the job, ask questions. E-Mail is great because you can write up a list of questions and get a set of answers back when the buyer has the time. Throughout the job, ask questions. You have to stay on track with what the buyer wants. If you produce a piece of writing that is completely off track with what the buyer wants, they won’t be able to use it. Then, they have to talk to you and tell you exactly what they want and pay you more to do it right. Or they may just fire you.

Keep a constant dialogue with your employer. With E-Mail, you have a record to go back to when you need to see the project details (you weren’t dumb enough to delete them, were you?). In fact, you should keep a special folder in your account so that when you get an E-Mail from an employer, you can go right to that folder and reference it against the other letters you’ve received. That simple tactic also comes in handy if they question your hours on oDesk to try to short your pay. If you received an E-Mail with specific instructions you have followed, then you have a record of what he or she said. Ideally, you don’t want to get into that situation in the first place, so it’s best to do everything you can to avoid it.

Instant Messengers

A great way to talk real-time and be able to discuss a specific topic is to get onto an instant messenger (Google, Yahoo, AIM, or others) and talk with your employer one-on-one. If you’re working with a team, then you can talk to them as well to make sure you’re not re-inventing the wheel every step of the way. It helps out both parties when you’ve got a way to make sure that no one is in the dark. Like with your E-Mails, log your conversations on IM with your buyers for future reference. Keep them all in a special folder specific to each buyer so you know where to find them.

The WorkDiary

Make sure you’re filling out your diary every day for every spot of time. When you fail to do that, the buyer can challenge what you have been doing during that time and therefore, you don’t get paid. The guarantee system for oDesk specifies that you must fill out your diary for hourly work. While you’re doing it, you might as well make it worthwhile to read. Go ahead and be specific about what you were doing during different times. It’s bad manners to select all of the clips from your diary and write, “working” or something to that effect. Well, what were you working ON? The buyer is paying you to work and keep them updated. It’s part of your job.

Telephones

If you want to talk to a buyer over the telephone and you don’t mind, it’s a faster way of communicating for slow typists. Another option is to use an IM client to voice-chat. It’s cheaper (for most free), you know when they’re not busy, and you can do that while working a little easier than holding a phone with your shoulder. Unless you’re tech-savvy, it’s harder to record voice conversations, so it’s a good idea to take notes while you’re talking so you don’t forget any important details. In fact, you can use your little notebook that you’ve been carrying everywhere with you to write them down in one place.

Making it Work Together

Use all of the resources available to you to talk to your buyer. While you’re on the clock talking to them, don’t shoot the bull. Keep it short and to the point. If you’re off the clock, have a little fun and build up a good relationship so that they will be sure to remember you the next time they have a project coming up. They will be thinking, “Hey, that guy worked well, was organized, kept in contact, and was pretty nice on top of it all.” It will help you in the long run because they may refer you to someone else in the hopes of staying in your good graces the next time they need work done.

And remember this mantra: Good work equals more jobs equals more money.

ShareThis