Long Relationships Are Kept Not Only by Skill, but by How You Proceed
For the self-employed, relationships with clients are the very foundation of income. It goes without saying that skill and quality are the premise, but what often separates relationships that continue for a long time is whether the way of proceeding with the work fits or does not fit — such as the speed of communication and how arrangements are shown.
Even when you feel something does not fit, there is no need to decide the other party's personality. If you take it as a difference in the habits of how to proceed, the parts you can adjust on your own side come into view. In this article, the elements of the signs are used as a rough classification for reading those habits.
The Elements of the Signs Divide Broadly into Four Tendencies
The signs are divided into the four elements of fire, earth, air, and water. Fire is Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, read in connection with a tendency to start things quickly. Earth is Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, a tendency to value arrangements and a track record. Air is Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, considered a tendency to value the process of exchanging information and consulting. Water is Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, read as a tendency to value a sense of trust with the other party and how feelings connect.
This is not for classifying the other party and deciding what they are like. It is material to use within the range of getting a first sense when thinking about how to proceed with a new client. It goes without saying that the actual state of the other party takes priority.
Differences in How to Proceed Tend to Appear in Communication
The place where differences in element are most likely to appear is in communication and confirmation. With a party whose fire tendency is strong, a form that shows the conclusion first and settles the details later can fit. With a party whose earth tendency is strong, a form that shows delivery dates and conditions in writing early leads to peace of mind. With a party whose air tendency is strong, frequently sharing the progress along the way is effective. With a party whose water tendency is strong, when there is a sudden change, it becomes important to convey the reason and your consideration in words.
What matters is to change how you proceed a little for each party. Responding to everyone with the same wording and the same intervals is easier, but adjusting to how the other party receives things reduces your own effort as a result, because when mix-ups decrease, redoing confirmations also decreases.
When a Relationship Wavers, Speak by Facts, Not by Habits
The longer you work together, the more unavoidable the occasions where a relationship wavers become — delays in delivery dates, changes in conditions, and the like. At such a time, bringing up the other party's sign or personality has the opposite effect. In a discussion, the principle is to handle only the facts of what happened and the arrangements from here on.
For example, in equipment maintenance work taken on by one person, if the arrival of parts is delayed and the work schedule shifts, whatever element the other party is, conveying early the reason for the delay, the alternative schedule, and the scope of impact comes first. On top of that, you adjust the politeness and detail of how you convey it to the other party's tendency. If you keep this order, you can avoid using a sign reading as an excuse in the relationship.
You Also Need a Way to Draw a Line with Clients Who Do Not Fit
You do not need to keep every client for a long time. There are relationships where, if you continue — conditions do not fit, communication is an extreme burden — your own business stops turning. In that case, rather than whether to cut the relationship, there is a form of thinking that starts from how to draw the line: narrowing the scope you accept, deciding the hours for responding, and so on.
An element reading is not for using the reason something does not fit to blame the other party. It is material for discerning how far you can adjust on your own side, and from where it becomes unreasonable. Continuing unreasonable adjustments is different from keeping a relationship for a long time.
Habits of Dealing Are Something You Verify Through Records
Tendencies by sign are, in the end, a first hypothesis. As you actually work together for a long time, you come to see, for each party, the hours when communication concentrates, the form of consultation that is easy to decide, and the patterns of change they are not good with. Briefly recording those is the work of turning a hypothesis into the track record of your own business dealings.
A horoscope is not for predicting the other party; it is a hint for viewing the other party after once removing your own assumptions. You adjust how you proceed while checking it against your records. That steady accumulation becomes the foundation for keeping the client relationships of solo work going for a long time.
When a new client increases, it is also recommended to watch the first few exchanges with particular care. In this period, you can verify whether your hypothesis about the other party's tendency is right and whether your way of proceeding fits. Small mix-ups are easier to fix while the relationship is still shallow. Putting how you proceed in order in the first cycle leads to reducing the effort of the long relationship that follows.