Consulting Lessons Learned 4: Client emails at night
Here is a typical consulting situation: You worked all night on an analysis for the client. It’s 3am in the morning when you finish it and you can’t wait to send the results to the client to finally get that item off your ToDo list.
Secretly you might also hope for some recognition for your hard work. So, you write that email to the client at 3am in the morning… Wait!
Here is a rule of thumb you should always follow: Don’t write emails to your client in the middle of the night unless (1) he/she expects you too or (2) he/she is also working at that time. Most clients working “normal office hours” will feel challenged by your behavior. Your behavior won’t necessarily be seen as “going the extra mile”, but often rather as “crazy and unhealthy working behavior which cannot lead to good results”. Instead do the following: Draft the email to the client and click on send in the morning before going to breakfast.
You won’t lose anything, even if your client has not a problem with you sending emails in the middle of the night.
