Jeff will share his take on the specifics of working with foreign customers. Conference attendees will learn 10 rules of effective communication that will help them to build a long-term partnership with clients. Jeff is actively involved with the business development processes of Dev-Pro. The rules are based on his 20+ years' experience working with Ukrainian outsourcing companies, and currently being president of one of them. Jeff will speak about the communication culture established at Dev-Pro. Attendees will learn how to save client's time by providing them with visibility and proper email communication. Topics include problem-solving practices and "the best and the worst" examples from everyday work. For the end of the speech, participants will know how to communicate with clients to demonstrate their team's professionalism and build a trustworthy relationship with the customers.

1. Communication with Clients
How to be Effective
October 14, 2018

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ABOUT SPEAKER
Dev-Pro.net
Founded 2011 (Team of 470
in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv,
Ukraine and Charlotte, USA)
Validio Software, LLC
Partner from 1998. Sold to
GlobalLogic in January 2008
CustomCD
Founded 2005. Sold to Digital
River in January 2008
CD LabelCorp
Founded 1996. Shut down in
2008
GraphicCorp
Founded 1993. Sold to Corel
Corporation in April 1999
DomainOptions, Inc
Founded 2010. Continues to
operate
SpellChecker.net
Founded 2000. Sold to
WebSpellChecker.net LLC in
2016
AwardWallet
2011-2017. 330,000 users and
multiple B2B clients
Markupr.net
Founded November 2012.
Technology development phase
TravelConfirm
Founded 2010. Shut down 2011

3. Dev-Pro in October 2018
We have 41 open positions in Ukraine and
12 in the US at the moment.
26 people
29 people
19 people
396 people
12 people
3
DEV-PRO #42 OF TOP-50 BIGGEST
IT-COMPANIES IN UKRAINE*
SECOND FASTEST GROWING IT-COMPANY IN UKRAINE*
* Based on https://dou.ua/

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466451
474
Dev-Pro Growth
494 515
530

5. At Dev-Pro.net we sell a service.
Effective communication is our
competitive advantage
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http://dev-pro.net/effective-communication

6. Imagine Your Client
Right Now
1. No time
2. In motion
3. Limited connectivity
4. Hundreds of e-mails in his
Inbox
5. Needs up-to-date information,
easy and fast
6. Makes business decisions
every minute
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WE’RE THEIR PARTNER, NOT A VENDOR
1. Hope is not a
strategy.
2. If you are scared to
talk about problems,
you won't be able to lead the
project to success.
3. Preventing takes 10x
less time than fixing.

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HONESTY MATTERS
Don't hide errors that benefit your
client.
Reporting things that would otherwise go unnoticed
builds trust.
Flexible morals. Your attitude to the law and
business ethics implies the same attitude towards
the client.

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#1 If you see the problem be honest and escalate
it fast
1. Inform the client/your management of the issue as
soon as you identify it
2. It is not a problem - it is how you react to it. Give
options and recommendations
3. Warning client about issue doesn't mean he heard you
4. Do not suggest/ask about something you cannot deliver

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SECURITY MATTERS
Use corporate software to share screenshots with your clients
(Monosnap).

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RESPECT IP RIGHTS
Licensed vs. Non-Licensed
Software.

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#2 Do not waste your client's time
1. Be concise and short
2. Don't "Bury the lead"
3. Highlight important questions
4. Answer all the questions before they are asked

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1. Explicitly mention whose approval / thoughts /
answers you expect to receive
2. Learn to write OK messages
3. Numbered lists instead of bullets
4. Continuous numbering
5. Give all the required information for approval
(check list)
#3 Help them respond within 10 sec, if their input
is needed

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Response to perfect e-mail:

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#4 If possible, let them not even open the e-mail

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#4 If possible, let them not even open the e-mail

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Do not just silently start the work
With no acknowledgement there is room for imagination:
a) You haven't seen the e-mail
b) You saw the e-mail, but do not consider it as an
important
c) You just don't care
d) Electricity is turned off in Ukraine
e) You flew to Mars
#5 Acknowledge the client's message ...

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.. and keep them constantly updated
1. If client asks you for status update - you failed
2. Provide full visibility on status, following agreed
frequency and format
3. Points that are important for client: cost, why this
should, timeframe, risks

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#6 Partnership means visibility and solving issues
together
1. Copy your top management / superiors in all
correspondence with clients
2. Share issues and risks with your top management /
superiors, prepare them for escalation

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#7 Invent tools to support high communication
standards
DRAFT is tool for:
1. Validation. Clients are very-very difficult to get and
easy to lose.
2. Education and knowledge sharing
3. Discussions and sharing opinions
http://dev-pro.net/drafts

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#8 Remember that your goal is result, not the
process
1. No response from a client is a potential problem
2. Follow up until the goal is achieved
3. Don’t leave open topics
4. Don’t send an email and leave the office at once. Stay
for at least 15 minutes

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#9 Be professional even in smallest details
1. Do not use a variety of fonts
2. Spellcheck
3. Don't make the Client do the math
4. Setup a proper signature
5. Use proper greetings

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UKRAINIAN VS WESTERN CULTURE
1. Respect your client's cultural specifics. Just because
something is not important to you doesn't mean it is
not important to your client.
Example: “Lunch is sacred”
2. Joking and exaggerating can be interpreted
differently.

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BUSINESS DINNER
Be careful what you order

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Be careful what you order

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THANK YOU