FAQ – Working backwards

I love working backwards. I think it’s the way forward…

For at least a decade I’ve been working backwards. It came about because of a conversation with my wife, who teaches dressmaking and pattern cutting.

She said to me, “The important thing isn’t what you teach, it’s about what your students learn. If they’re struggling, if they’re not getting it, then you have to change how you’re teaching it. My role isn’t to teach people, but to help them to learn.”

This turned my decorating work on its head. And it’s done the same for my video and photography work. Instead of thinking about what I need to do to prepare for a job, what I need to do in the job, and how to complete it, I now work the other way around…

Think about it this way: You’re not decorating a client’s sitting room, you’re helping them to get the feeling of a beautifully relaxing room. You’re doing it by making them feel you care about them throughout the entire process.

So how do you work backwards from that result of a delighted customer? What will it take to make them so happy they want you to come back to do more, and recommend you to anyone they can? What do they need?

1 Help them choose the colour that feels right

Maybe they’re not experienced with choosing colours? You can help them by thinking about where and how the light will fall throughout the year. And by asking what furniture, decorations and lighting will be in the room.

2 Guide them to choose the right finishes

Do they want gloss or muted eggshell? What feeling are they after?

3 They choose how much preparation is needed

Is it a few hours or several days of prep? Give the client the option of upgrading every single surface or just filling in a few cracks and keying woodwork. They might not even know what can be achieved with fully refurbing prep work – many of my customers didn’t.

4 Making it as stress-free as possible

From the basics of letting them know in advance that you’re going to arrive on time, or you’re running ten minutes late. Keeping noise and dust to a minimum. Not blasting out Megadeth on your Bluetooth speaker if they prefer Mozart.

5 Working out the relationship

This can take time, or sometimes you just know. Some clients prefer to have almost zero interaction, almost as if you’re not there. Others will want to brew you a cuppa every few hours and have a quick chat. What will make them happy, whilst still ensuring you get the work done?

6 Being really clear about payment terms

A certain percentage to book the work in. A certain percentage to pay for materials. A certain percentage after a third or a half of the project if it’s a long job. Then a really clear end invoice. Like most of us, clients love clarity and hate surprises, especially about money.

Okay, perhaps this approach isn’t for you? Maybe you want to work how you want to work. It’s all on your terms. You’ll turn up when you want. You’ll play whatever radio station you want. You’ll choose the paints because you know best. Fine, work like that. Your choice. But is that what will get you more of the work you want?

The more you make it about getting the result the client wants, in the way they want it, the more likely you are to be asked back, and to be recommended to other people.

When I stopped decorating, rather abruptly by breaking my back, I had a waiting list a year long and I’d not had to take on a new customer for 18 months. How? I did my absolute best to work out what the customer wanted and how they wanted me to work.

I asked lots of questions. I gave them all my experience and advice on the first meeting. And I kept tweaking how I worked, to make them happy. Not surprisingly, I kept being asked back, just as I do now for video production and photography. Because it’s not about me, it’s about them. I worked backwards from their ideal results.

Working backwards from any goal is a great strategy for success. And when you’re working backwards from other people’s goals, they’re more likely to feel they’ve succeeded, and you’ve helped them.