Ghosting isn’t something that happens only in dating. It also occurs in online work, and you can be sure that it’s just as confusing, frustrating and disappointing. Even if everything seems to be going well, your client’s responses and feedback may suddenly stop coming in without explanation and you’re left hanging.

While undesirable, it’s actually a common scenario for remote professionals like virtual assistants. It’s easy enough to recover when only a small portion of the work has been done. But what if the whole project has been completed and the invoice is waiting to be paid?

The best way to address this situation is to avoid it altogether. Here are several ways how you can stop employers from pulling a disappearing act.

Choose clients carefully from the beginning

It’s tempting to do business with all of the people who come to you for help. However, this also increases your chances of getting duds who will only waste your time and effort.

Learn to disqualify your prospects by asking about their history in working with agencies or experts. If they have a bad reputation in the industry, there’s clearly something wrong so there’s no point in pursuing a working relationship with them even if they do offer a large amount of money.

Improve the client onboarding process

Make sure your client is aware of what you need to be productive. Then, understand how they define success and take note of their expectations. You may need to help them establish more realistic goals too, especially if they’re setting the bar too high for anyone to keep up.

Find out about their preferred modes of communication as well. Some may prefer to keep in touch via email, while others might like to be messaged on Skype. Also, you may want to know what they don’t want so you’ll be aware of what to avoid.

Strengthen client relationships

Treat your employer as an equal by always phrasing things in a way that puts both of you on the same page. This entails avoiding any language that can be misunderstood or misinterpreted. Steer clear of any email subject lines that may be misleading as well.

Keep them engaged by automating email communication. Next, provide opportunities for your clients to engage with your brand, respond to an idea or contribute to a conversation thread. You don’t want to send too many emails at once though as you might scare them off instead.

Use no-oriented questions

Ensure that your employer’s full attention is on you by leading them with no-oriented questions. An example is, “Is (project) no longer important to you?” or “Haven’t heard from you—were the reports not helpful?”

Doing this frames the question in a way that makes clients feel obligated to respond. Likewise, you can quickly build trust with them as you show that you are thinking of their best interests and don’t want to waste their time with small talk.

Just remember to use this method sparingly though as you might come across as passive-aggressive if you rely on it too often.

Secure a response for every email

Using the no-oriented technique discussed above, you increase the chances of the client opening your email but you have to prompt them to respond too. It’s suggested that you always end your messages on a positive note like, “I’d like to know more about this. I’m available on these dates to talk about it, if you want.”

On another note, you may have thought that you must never apologise or appear weak in communicating with your clients but it’s actually worth taking a different approach too. Demonstrating empathy helps establish trust and is easily done with a sprinkling of phrases like “I’m afraid” and “I’m sorry”.

Check their satisfaction levels

When you keep your employer happy with the quality of your work, they’re less likely to look for another remote worker while dropping you like a hot potato. Measure their satisfaction regularly, like after every weekly report you send.

Asking about client satisfaction doesn’t have to be a complicated process, although you don’t want to take a too direct approach either. Consider questions such as, “What do you think about this kind of design?”, or “Do you prefer this style than the one before?” rather than “Are you happy with the service so far?”.

Stay updated on their challenges

If you notice that your client is having a hard time with a certain aspect of their business, see where you can help. Matters related to an ever-changing industry landscape can be resolved by studying the latest trends and determining how your employer can keep up.

Staying up-to-date with your client’s field of work will increase your own knowledge too. You can learn about new tools that can speed up the workflow and aid you in your growth as a professional. You can branch out to other areas of work and have more options to move up the career ladder.

Busting Ghosts

Above all, make it hard for clients to replace you. This doesn’t mean you must control access to their data and important resources. Rather, make them see your value through your responsiveness, service and work quality.

We at Remote Workmate can protect you from being ghosted too. Should you be qualified to work with us, we’ll endorse you only to a client whom we have screened as well. We check whether an employer and their vacancy are legit or not so you can rest assured.

Do you feel that your client is about to ghost you? Don’t fret; there are methods to prevent this from happening—or at least decrease its chances of occurring.