(an excerpt from Chapter 3 in Becoming an OBM)

Your job as the OBMis also to protect your client from certain decisions that your client should not be wasting his or her time on. This is especially important with operational and systems-based decisions.

Let’s say your client wants to set up a new blog-based website. First, bring them a summary of options and ideas for them to consider and ask for their approval on the parameters of the project. While you are creating the blog, do NOT NOT go to them with every little question that you have (“Where do you want your RSS feed link? Did you want me to add your picture here? Should I change this description to match your main website?”).

Instead, go ahead and set up the new blog based on your experience and then have your client look at a draft version and request any changes. Again, it is better to present them with a solution to review (a completed draft version of the blog) than to ask them what to do at every step along the way.

This is ESPECIAIALLY important for clients who actually enjoy systems and administrative tasks. If given the chance, these clients can very easily become involved in these things to the point of distraction. These clients may want to know more about the details than other clients would, but don’t be afraid to lovingly “slap their wrist” if they try to become too involved. It is not the best use of their time to get too involved on the backend and you may need to remind them of that.

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(an excerpt from Chapter 3 in Becoming an OBM)

On a day-to-day basis there are many decisions to be made in any online based business: When do we want to send out this promotion? Who is going to fix the typo on our website? Where can we find someone to edit my book? How should I respond to this upset customer? What should our next new product offering be?

Without an OBM, the majority of these decisions fall squarely on the shoulders of business owners. As such, anytime there is a question, their team members will turn to them for the answer. Because most business owners are incredibly busy, this process results in delays and it can also feel like a hassle to haveto deal with every little thing.

That’s why our clients want someone who is willing and able to make decisions on their behalf, and not wait to run everything past them first. This doesn’t mean that you will be making ALL decisions for your client, however you can certainly help with a lot of the tactical and operational decisions that come up on a day-to-day basis.

How do you know when you should check with your client before making a decision?

Generally, any decisions about money or strategy should be run by your client. On the other hand, your client will probably be relieved once you take over some of the administrative, operational and customer service decisions. When you first start working with a new client, you will run a lot of things by them, as you get to know each other and build a level of trust that will give you more freedom in making decisions down the road.

You may also want to set some standards and procedures around this. For example, I once worked with a client whose policy was that her team could make a decision on refunds that would be less than $100, but anything over $100 had to be brought to her attention. A “Decision Making Standards” guide can be something that you create for your client, and add to over time as reference for future decisions.

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(an excerpt from Chapter 3 in Becoming an OBM)

Part 2 of  being a thought partner is having confidence in yourself, your knowledge and your skill set. “Getting lippy,” with our clients, as I like to call it, does require a bit of sass on your part (heheh)! Some of us have to dig pretty deep to find this confidence; it’s a very personal thing. The dictionary defines confidence as, “belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities.”

As an OBM, that means that you believe in the value that you have to offer to your client’s business. You aren’t afraid to speak up and share your ideas, thoughts and experiences with your clients, or more importantly, you ARE afraid and do it anyways.

In my experience, confidence means that you are willing to contribute without letting the fear or worry of “am I offering value?” get in the way. Or put another way, you are willing to fall flat on your face, get up, shake it off and move on.

The thing is, that will rarely happen.

You see, clients are EAGER to hear from you. They want (and crave!) someone who is willing to engage, brainstorm and share ideas; someone who isn’t afraid to challenge them at times, and even say “you are off your rocker here!”; someone who will speak up and tell them what they think (good, bad or otherwise). It is rare that I’ve heard of someone engaging with their clients at this level and getting put down for it. On the contrary, the clients are usually thrilled to have this kind of input as it is so rare for them.

This doesn’t mean that you have to have all the answers (none of us do!). What it does mean is that you are willing to engage, with the intention that 1 + 1 = 3, and that together with your client you can come up with so much more than either of you could ever do alone. THAT is the heart of the OBM relationship.

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(an excerpt from Chapter 3 in Becoming an OBM)

We all know the value and importance of talking to others about business strategies and ideas. This is the reason people join mastermind groups, hire coaches and create business partnerships. Being a business owner can be a lonely job and I believe it is essential to have others with whom you can collaborate in order to create a successful and fulfilling business.

Clients want someone to be a sounding board, to brainstorm with them, share ideas and consider options; someone who isn’t afraid to speak up. When we talk to business owners, they describe this as their number one wish, “I would love to find someone who will brainstorm with me and help me figure things out.” I call it a wish because most business owners have a really hard time finding someone who will do this with them, and have had to “do without” – which means a HUGE opportunity for you!

What is required to be a thought partner? A couple of things; you need both experience + confidence in order to be able to effectively speak up with your clients.

Experience comes from having done ‘it’ before and knowing what’s involved with a particular strategy or idea. You can share with your client, “I did X with another client and what happened was Y, so we may want to consider that here.” or “I know X tried that once and it really worked, have you also considered doing Y?” The more specific experience we have, the more intelligently and effectively we can contribute to conversations with our clients.

Ask yourself – what kind of experience do you have that could be of value to share with clients? This isn’t about knowing it all, rather it’s about recognizing what you do know and being willing speak up. Also, what kind of experience do you wish that you had, and how can you create that experience

Stay tuned for next week’s post where we discuss part 2 – confidence!

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