Making my queen bed, I was struck by how many ways there are to accessorize a mattress. Usually, our mothers teach us their method, and their mothers before them show the proper way, and it sticks for life. If you enter the military, you learn a more disciplined method, and those corners are crisp forever. Years ago when I made a bed with my mom, she insisted the pretty side of the sheet had to be underneath so you could sleep between the two patterns.
Then, there’s the matter of the bed spread, comforter with duvet, and how far down to fold these top layers. Finally, how many pillows are included on your bed? Any extra for reading? Any shams, bolsters or other decorative accents? Thread count?
Imagine making a bed with your client. Oy. Here’s how it may pan out:
** The first several times there’s tentative balance as you attempt to find common ground. There are probably a few laughs, too.
** Then, there may be a discussion about how your client learned to make the bed and why that way may be faster.
** Perhaps you need to stand back and watch a demonstration on how to make military corners because your client was in boot camp and insists on crispness.
** For sure, there’s tug and pull when you realize your client has pulled the entire blanket to his side. You have nothing to work with; not even a flap. How do you politely ask for some input blanket?
** Finally, the coverlet goes on, and the client wants to fold it down half way so 10 pillows in varying sizes, colors, and fabrics can be piled near the headboard to make the final product totally ridiculous — it’s no longer a bed. And, you just stand back with arms crossed and head nodding while muttering, “Do not pick this battle; he’s footing the bill.”
At the end of the day, making a bed with someone new is all about finding common ground, striking a balance, learning, and compromise.
Before you head into that bed-making experience with an unknown client, here are a few reminders to keep in mind during fact finding to ascertain what’s hot:
- Tell me about your experience making a bed.
- Get all the stories you can to create a rich history and bring that client to life.
- Find out the rules, the etiquette, the boundaries, and how the corners are folded; keep those in mind throughout the relationship.
- What milestones helped create the best- looking, award-winning bed ever?
- What technique contributed to efficiencies in process, economies of scale, and cost savings?
- What best practice was developed along the way to contribute to the bottom line?
Here’s one final thought…when answers become overwhelming and all you can do is make nonsense soup from too many ingredients, that’s the sign it’s time to move along to the next bed with a new partner.
Resonate? (Not expecting too many comments on this one; I was trying to find a gentle way to say … I think you’re smart enough to figure it out!)
Well, I may mistake your meaning, but your metaphor makes total sense to me. Especially in the digital world, compatibility can’t be assumed; and sometimes you end up in knots.
Laughing. You got it! No mistakes, Mary. How about knots and fits? Thanks for commenting; you defied my expectation.
Also, I was very impressed with how many ways you found to accessorize a bed! 🙂
Let’s be very clear!!! That’s how some people make a bed!! Not I, although I admire anyone who arranges 10 pillows on their bed every day.
I know this was a pretty rhetorical blog, yet I can’t help but comment. This was a great article and I got a lot of insight out of it! It is always such a helpful process to delve deep into your clients desires for the job (or bed spread :p ) before starting, Common ground rocks. Thanks for posting!
-Shannon
https://www.bizchangerz.com
Thanks, Shannon! Still laughing (today), not last week! Client service has become more tricky in this era of blended offerings. Add to it that many clients do not understand PR or marketing and we have an extraordinary bed-making situation to tie us into fits and knots (to use Mary’s thought from above!). Here’s a secret…I wanted to write something entirely differently about this under-the-covers experience…wasn’t safe! Glad you got something out of this!
Such a creative way to talk about this, Jayme. And those are great questions to ask, a few I didn’t think to ask, like the “tell me your experience” one. I think I tend to feel like we’re starting with a blank slate when often people have either hired someone else to make the bed before me, or have done it themselves several times.
Now for the knowing wink aside… yup, resonates.
That’s a great point…”people have hired someone else to make the bed before me.” And often those experiences sour it for you and me. That’s why having a discussion how we’re gonna make the bed is best before we climb in…oops, I never said that in the blog post, did I?
You know how I love metaphors, Jayme! ;o)
The incompatibility of vision is especially difficult for those of us in creative fields like WordPress website or Facebook Landing Page design, and whose names will be ON the finished product or all the world to see! The truth is, when the customer knows what he wants his site [bed] to look like, and you think it’s just a mess, well…that’s just a tough spot to be in. The hope is to move him along to see your vision, but that’s not always possible.
This metaphor can go in all sorts of interesting directions…haha!
HaHa. Everyone missed your extra tweets about this post, Michelle. I see I got your mind racing…heh. Now, if I had Lifefyre, those tweets would be captured for all to see! I think you ought to take this concept and put it into a series!!
“Er…I really like you…and would love to spend more time with you…but can you buy the bed, wash the sheets and, well, take care of everything whilst I sit and drink coffee”. That’s what I would hear :=)
Uhmm, Jon? I think you need new clients!!! Or, are you speaking about your partner in crime?
I’ve been making websites and other online stuff since forever. No, really! Forever.
I think it wasn’t until 2000 that I had worked out most of the kinks. The creative collaboration process. It begins by educating the client in a crash course on whatever they want us to help them accomplish. A logo, for example. Before I’ll talk to you about your logo, we have to talk about what is a logo. Until the client can distinguish between a good logo and a bad logo, we don’t move forward.
You have my complete and unrestrained sympathy, Jayme. I had years and years of the client getting in the way of good design and their own success.
Bottom line, I don’t do erotic massages and happy endings. I can recommend a few places – if that’s what they want. [laughing]
If I’m hired to design, produce, or direct, I’m all about making the best possible design… on budget, on time, and according to the necessities dictated by the intended business objectives described in the Design Request Statement.
I am loving these comments! I write something off the hook and all you guys are digging the metaphorical and going right for the gusto…just like I knew you would…each of us in the client service business has to grapple with what you said, Stan! And, see, I learned more about what you do; beyond just being prolifically entertaining!
I’ve found that some clients want to add 15 super-frilly pillows to the bed when 4 simple ones would do. (Of course, I should talk, I just counted the pillows on my bed: 9. Actually use: 3)
NO WAY!!!! This post actually made you get up and walk to your sleeping quarters to count the pillows on your bed??? Now that’s a flippin’ metric!! Awesome, Marianne!
I guess now wouldn’t be a good time to tell you that I live in a 1 bedroom condo and I can see my bed from my home office/dining area?
No, Marianne. NO, it wouldn’t. Sigh. It was fun thinking that, though. I’m still counting that as a rock hot metric.
I’m posting this comment for Leon, Aussie curmudgeon friend — (is he propositioning me?) — whose comment was disallowed by Disqus 3x (I have a censor filter, Leon, just sayin’), so I’m helping a poor guy out…
LEON SAYS:
What a great metaphor.
Congratulations! But oh……the temptation to take it further is almost
irresistible. Like how to behave when you finally find yourself in bed with the
client? But I’ll be good. I wont go there.
After 30+ years of consulting
experience, I guess that the one thing I’d say is this. The clients that I’ve
had most success with are those who perceive that my major concern is to help
make a bed that they were comfortable in, even if it meant that that they’d
have to change the way they lay in it.
And I’ll resist the temptation to
take that analogy any further.
Make sure you have fun Jayme; both
in and out of bed. I was going to finish with “I thought you’d never
ask.” But that would be crass,
Avagoodweegend.
Regards
Leon
https://staffperformancesecrets.com/
Goodness; @Disqus is acting up…sorry peeps!
I’m a guy. We either make the bed or we don’t. Usually we don’t. For us, a better analogy might be toilet paper: over the top or under? And clearly over the top is the correct option. And you don’t accessorize toilet paper. Yeah, that’s how we men roll.
And, oh how you complain when Scott tissue is on the roll. Trust me on that.
Hi Jayme!
I have a very unique view here from my 14 years of B2B sales. As a small business owner with limited entertainment, travel and sales expense at your disposal your post here is on the money. But if your company or employer has the money…..While I refused to play the game which really hit my income stream to a degree in general even with sarbannes-oxley in force, most sales people and account managers bribe their clients. They buy them stuff. Pay for dinners…I even know sales people who paid for strip clubs and hookers to get big $$ accounts, floor seats for Laker games etc. Sarbannes-Oxley put a hit on gifts. My last employer I couldn’t spend more than $10 on a ‘gift’ but could spend anything on dinners, lunches etc. I got in trouble for giving 6 people at Tyco Healthcare $25 starbucks cards for Xmas. I told my boss ‘Really? They will give me a $2 million contract and risk their high paying Engineering jobs for a $25 bribe? Wow this job is easy’
I know sales people who took clients on Ski Trips, weekend getaways, out partying in ways that would put you in jail if caught. The reason Drug Companies spend so much on advertising now is they used to do this for Doctors. Title Insurers for homes had to bribe Realtors and Bankers in the same way. Good news is this level of bribery has dropped a lot but it is still there.
And the sad thing is if you are in this game and your competition plays by those rules (private companies have zero rules on spending) what do you do to make your bed? Do you know how many men who work at big industrial plants that have few women workers (think Oil Refineries, Missile Factories etc) when I would ask where should we go to lunch said ‘Hooters’. To which I would say you are kidding right? We can go to a steakhouse and you choose Hooters? My credit card doesn’t work at Hooters. LOL And to my credit never did any of my many many lunches end up there, or strip clubs, etc
And it hurt my commissions because sometimes that was expected. Sad but true.
The stories you tell; all true and such a sad telling about the state of business. When you wonder how we got to this place, people ought to read your comment — entitlement? That is a key word which ought to be defined. Everyone has that sense, right? Clients by sales people; a senior staffer to a junior staffer; military veteran over a new enlisted recruit, etc. I always enjoy what you say; as someone said yesterday somewhere you were — “you cover a lot of ground.” I believe it was over @dannybrown:disqus house. Pleasure to see you here; now git on over to GoDaddy and open up your WordPress account!!
You hit it with the entitlement. And glad to come by!
I know Sales people fired for abusing expense accounts so I was always very cautious. When i took over the Mobile (now Exxon Mobile) refinery in Los Angeles in 1999 the guy handing it off took me around to the key people. This one guy said ‘Did you tell Howie about the Laker tickets deal?’ basically the company had 2 seats 4th row center. I could go if I had a client to take. We never gave them away. Well this guy expected 2 tickets and the sales rep’s credit card so he could go to the game and dinner with his wife. I didn’t do this and he didn’t like me.
Yes, I have seen it all. Fortunately, at @LanierUpshaw:disqus we have individual expense accounts and trust me it’s not a lot of money. Therefore I have to be very judicious in how I use it during the year because once it’s gone, it’s gone. Most of it goes to supporting their ‘pet’ causes like a little league sponsorship; a table at the SPCA event; etc. The other checks and balances for me is since I’m being reimbursed, my wife (the CFO) sees every expenditure. No dear, that’s not a ‘strip’ club; it was an artistic event…………….
I did get ‘extortited’ for $1,000 once to support a business owner’s grandson’s AAU baseball team.
Speaking of making your bed; when I was in the Army and basic training, the first time we had to make our ‘bunks’ the drill sergeant ripped my mattress off and threw it on the floor. After dropping down and giving ’25’ I had to try again; I’m thinking he didn’t like the way I made the bed. It was similar to @soulati:disqus picture up top; I can’t imagine why he didn’t like that…………..
It ‘a good point … “People have assumed someone else to make the bed before me.” And often these experiences acid to you and me. That’s why the discussion of how we’re going to do before bed is better to get a. .. Oops, I never said that the blog did I do?