In the competitive world of freelancing, success hinges not just on technical skills, but on the ability to build and maintain strong client relationships. Experienced professionals have distilled a set of core principles that transform client interactions from transactional exchanges to strategic partnerships.
The essence of client management goes beyond delivering work—it’s about understanding human dynamics, communication, and creating value. These insights reveal a nuanced approach that prioritizes clear communication, expectation setting, and genuine understanding of a client’s deeper objectives.
Contractual and Legal Foundations:
Key Idea: Emphasize having clear, binding agreements and documentation to protect both parties.
Advice:
Have a legally binding contract so that they can’t weasel out of paying you, and that you’ve set standards for deliverables
Anonymous 1
Set out EVERYTHING in writing in an email before you start any work, including project scope, elements needed from a client, what a client will need from you, KPIs that the client will be measuring your success against for transparency and if you deal with finances, payment terms. You will be so grateful for this email if things deviate from what was discussed initially, further into a project.
Marc Spear (PPC Growth Consultant & Director of Lutraspor Digital)
Make sure you have everything in writing. Always follow up meetings with email summaries so everyone is aware of what has been discussed and can raise any concerns immediately.
Anonymous 2
Goal Setting and Alignment:
Key Idea: Define and align on realistic, measurable goals that meet client expectations and business objectives.
Advice:
Setting goals that align with both the client’s business objectives and the capabilities of their paid search account is essential for building a long-term, sustainable relationship. When defining these goals, it’s crucial to provide an honest, well-considered assessment of potential campaign performance. It’s far easier to have a candid conversation during goal setting than to later explain why a campaign didn’t meet unrealistic expectations.
Know their end goal. Every client is different but they have a certain goal they want to achieve and you re there to help them achieve it. They will be more agreeable once you explain and give suggestions (in any form- pricing, upselling) if you explain that this will be a step forward to achieving the goal.
Filip Silobad (SEO and Google ads professional, expanding his skills in SEO, Google ads and Analytics)
Setting clear expectations during onboarding is crucial for a smooth client relationship and project success. This is done by asking questions about the client’s priorities. Are they focused on increasing sales, improving traffic, ranking for specific keywords, or entering a new market? Once you understand their priorities, tailor your approach to align with their specific goals.
Safia Marmon (Project Lead at Sunbowl Systems)
Communication and Responsiveness:
Key Idea: Maintain open, consistent communication to build trust and avoid misunderstandings.
Advice:
Over-communicate. You likely don’t communicate enough with clients. If you think you should send an email, send the email. If you think the client should know about something, update them on the monthly call. No client will ever tell you that you communicate too much. However, they will tell you that you don’t communicate enough. Be responsive even just to say you got the email but need X days to research their question and get back to them with an answer.
Duane Brown (As CEO of TakeSomeRisk Duane, him and his team help ecom, DTC and retail brands grow through strategy, PPC marketing, and data.)
Listen closely and carefully. And keep listening. When someone is expressing discontent or disappointment, a client will rarely get into the weeds of match types or audience network checkboxes. They want to see that our efforts match their business goals and they don’t always get to see that directly. Listen when they tell you what they want, no matter their demeanour.
Julia Vyse (Digital Direct for iProspect Canada, Western team. I talk to Google so you don’t have to.)
Good client communication is one of the most important ways to service clients and keep everyone in the same direction. Responsive and timely communication may seem simple and obvious, but it’s not a given. Over the past 15 years as an agency owner, I’ve heard over and over from clients that one of the main reasons they left their previous agency was that they took too long to respond to emails!
While I admire those who set boundaries on when and how they respond to clients, that’s not within my comfort zone and not how we operate. I once worked with a copywriter who specified in all their emails that they only checked their email once a day and could take up to 48 hours to respond. That just doesn’t sit right with me. At our agency, responding to emails within 24 hours feels right. If responding to an email requires us to do some research or create a report, we acknowledge receipt of the email and give an estimated timeframe for our response.
Pauline Jakober (Google Ads Consultant for Marketing Teams, Founder at Group Twenty Seven)
Managing Expectations and Performance:
Key Idea: Set boundaries and realistic expectations to foster trust and avoid frustration.
Advice:
Under promise, over-perform. Set clear boundaries at the start. Don’t let them take control
Neil Robinson (PPC geek)
Managing expectations on deliverables no matter how big or small – whether it’s replying to emails, sending a document, or organising a meeting. If you can’t meet the time set, let them know as soon as possible, no one likes last-minute surprises.
Darren Jacobs (Sales Director EMEA, Zitcha 18 years experience in paid media covering UK, Singapore and Australia.)
Agreeing on goals that are both challenging and attainable gives you the foundation to effectively optimize the account while providing the client with clear benchmarks to assess your performance as a partner. Realistic goals ensure that you and the client are aligned, minimizing distractions and preventing frustration over targets that were never realistically achievable in the first place.
Tailored Approach and Personalization:
Key Idea: Adapt strategies and communication to match the client’s personality, preferences, and business goals.
Advice:
Learn your client’s personality type and adapt your approach accordingly. I had a new POC at a company who was very numbers-driven and came in aggressively at first. Once we started speaking his language—showing metrics and efficiencies—he became a strong supporter. On the other hand, some clients prioritize creativity and prefer to see innovative testing and ideas. It’s also critical to truly understand their business goals, keep them at the forefront of your strategy, and consistently show how your efforts are helping to achieve those objectives. Tailoring your communication, aligning with their priorities, and connecting results to their goals can make all the difference.
Karina Montenegro (Senior Paid Media Buyer)
Speak in a language they understand. Using acronyms or referring to metrics they might not be familiar with will cause frustration as most clients want to understand, so always explain the whats and the whys.
Chloe Varnfield (PPC Specialist at Atelier Studios)
We mostly work with corporate clients who are marketing directors and managers as well as some business owners. Just like with ad messaging, understanding your audience (i.e. your clients) is important. While some marketing managers appreciate lots of details, the C-Suite most likely does not. This is where experience helps. The more you work with clients, the better you get at reading the room to understand what your clients really want to know—and what they don’t.
Jakober
Problem-Solving and Proactive Solutions:
Key Idea: Address challenges with solutions and maintain a proactive, solution-oriented mindset.
Advice:
I always try to get at the “question behind the question”. What is it they are really looking to know, or problem to answer, but are maybe asking about the wrong thing or in the wrong way? I find often clients will often ask in-depth questions about PPC, but it doesn’t always answer their larger questions. So, patience and the ability to interpret and translate ppc data is an invaluable skill when dealing with clients.
Meagan Snyder (Director, Media & Marketing Strategy in the Ed Tech space)
Make sure clients understand what they want to get out of the campaigns, and that you need to be able to optimise landing pages (as well as your campaign configurations) towards meeting that objective. When clients have a poor landing page that you have no control over, it can completely undermine your efforts, no matter how amazing your campaign set-up is.
Ralph du Plessis (Ralph du Plessis, 25 years experience in search.)
Building Trust and Human Connection:
Key Idea: Foster a partnership based on mutual respect and understanding.
Advice:
The client, at the end, of the day wants to be seen and heard. They might never say that specifically but their actions and behaviours usually point to that they’re looking for a partner, someone that ‘gets it’ and ‘gets them’. The earlier that idea is internalized the easier building a client relationship becomes and stays.
Mike Emiliani (owner of Emiliani Digital)
Always question how to make the client look good to their boss, investors or themselves. What do they want the relationship to achieve in the short, medium and long term.
Amrdeep Athwal (International Keynote speaker, Analytics specialist with 17+ years experience and 12+ years in using data to optimize business and user problems)
Depending on the situation will define how you deal with your client, but the most important thing to remember is that you are both human beings, and the relationship should be respectful. – Anonymous 2
Final Thoughts: Building Meaningful Client Connections
The foundation of successful client relationships is empathy, transparency, and strategic communication. Freelancers who excel don’t just deliver services—they become trusted partners who:
- Understand the client’s deeper business objectives
- Communicate proactively and clearly
- Set realistic expectations
- Adapt communication styles to individual client personalities
- Prioritize the client’s success over short-term gains
Success is ultimately about making clients feel heard, understood, and confident in your ability to help them achieve their goals.
