7 Easy Tips for Managing Multiple Projects (and Keeping Clients Happy)
Imagine having a full queue of client projects for the rest of the year. Sounds like a dream come true, right?
Juggling multiple clients at the same time is a heavy responsibility. Unless you have the resources, staying organized while managing multiple projects for clients at once can be a challenge.
Without an effective system in place for keeping track of tasks and projects, you risk losing your clients and tainting your business’ reputation. Your money, time, and emotional stress could be on the line too.
The good news is, it can be done. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Set clear expectations when handling multiple client projects
Always set the right expectations with a new client when organizing multiple projects. You want to establish trust and loyalty with your client from day one, and the quickest way to destroy that is to fail to meet the very expectations you’ve set out for them.
Asking your client or stakeholder a few simple questions can ensure everyone’s on the same page. Make sure you understand how your client’s business goals inform project priorities, how flexible timelines are, and what the client expects from you.
2. Organize multiple projects by client
A quick and easy tip for better organization is to make a timeline for each client project. This gives you a full overview of your daily, weekly, and monthly workload. Tasks, milestones, files, and discussions can then be organized and separated from other client projects.
In TeamGantt, you can use Portfolio view to organize client projects into folders and monitor work as it progresses.
3. Mark or tag projects and files by client
The last thing you want is to send that project brief to the wrong client. An easy way to avoid this is to categorize projects by client and attach project files to the right client project.
In TeamGantt, you can stay organized by tagging projects with the client’s name and using different task colors for each client.
4. Track time spent on each client project
Time tracking is a great way to determine how much work is being done for each client project.
Time tracking enables you to:
- Better predict turnaround times
- Bill your clients more accurately
- Identify inefficiencies and resource gaps
TeamGantt’s advanced features include time tracking so you can track time spent on client projects and bill your clients accurately. Want to see how it works? Sign up for a free trial of our Pro plan!
5. Schedule client meetings, tasks, and milestones in your calendar
A common cause for disaster is never keeping track of what’s due to your clients. To prevent this from happening, always schedule client meetings, tasks, and milestones in your calendar. This keeps everything in check so nothing important slips through the cracks.
TeamGantt enables you to sync your projects to your favorite calendar app. You can use this handy feature to stay on top of what’s due and what’s up next.
6. Plan and prioritize the next day’s project tasks
One productivity tip that can help you stay organized is setting aside 15-30 minutes at the end of each day to plan out the following day’s agenda. By putting all of your next-day tasks in writing, you have direction in terms of what needs to be done.
In TeamGantt, you can pull a ready list of the next day’s tasks from your MyTasks page. Then it’s simply a matter of setting priorities. We recommend scheduling time to knock out your most important tasks earlier in the day and focusing on lower-impact tasks later in the day.
7. Learn to say no to additional client work
Would rejecting additional client work mean losing opportunities? Yes, but it also means allowing you and your team to focus your time, effort, and energies on producing the best work for your existing clients.
These questions can help you determine when it’s time to say no to a client:
- Would the project require skills or expertise you don’t currently have?
- Does the client or the industry have little or no opportunity for growth?
- Is the client unwilling to spend what you’d typically charge for the work they’re looking for?
- Have other vendors or agencies had negative experiences dealing with the potential client?
- Does your personal chemistry with the client just feel off?
Managing multiple projects is easy with TeamGantt
Want to know the easiest way to put a smile on a client’s face? Use TeamGantt to handle all your projects! With TeamGantt, you can create organized project plans in minutes—and track progress in real time—so managing multiple client projects is a breeze.
Lay a clear path to success with a visual plan that’s easy to understand, and keep everyone in sync with flexible workflows and team collaboration.
