Put Your Clients First

Who is your client? As a contractor I am hired by a recruiting firm, who supplies me to a service integrator, who is delivering a project to their client. Confused? You bet, there are four different entities involved in the transaction.

Fortunately, it is easy to determine my client. My client is the entity who pays my invoice. Here is an example, Big Consulting Company hires me to help deliver a new ERP system to Giant Oil Company. My client is Big Consulting Company because they pay my invoice.

This is a problem when your client's needs conflict with the delivery of the project. Take staffing for example. Do you hire the best you can find, or the cheapest? The Big Consulting Company has to make margin to survive. Sometimes your staffing and budget constraints are in direct conflict with delivering a high quality product. With a contract in hand, the choice is clear. You must act in the best interest of your client.

Identify your client and then put them first.