Like most people reading this, I work in the search marketing industry. However, the people who pay me don't; they are invariably business owners who for the most part don't get search marketing, social media, face-in or linked-book - did you see what I did there? Most of these poor souls are totally confused and confusion can lead to suspicion which in turn can lead to poor or broken relationships.

To make matters worse our industry is plagued with people offering low-cost solutions, promising but seldom delivering results. This sometimes means your potential new client has already been stung and is perhaps concerned you're just another scamster. However, the right approach in the early stages of a search marketing project can lead to a long and mutually beneficial relationship, and for me the right approach is to use simple language and set realistic expectations.

Here's a recent example of the initial contact I had with a potential new client. The guy is a professional, an architect, and a person with above-average intelligence. He runs a very successful architectural practice and alongside this has other business interests, the reason for the enquiry, for which he needed a new website. As an almost throwaway statement he advised that the new website would need to be on the first page of Google in the UK, USA and Canada and this would be required quickly as the website that currently provides the business leads was being decommissioned.

I'm sure most practising search marketers speak to people with requirements similar to this on a daily basis. To suggest this potential client is being naive is an understatement but they are not being unreasonable at this stage, they are simply saying they need a website, the website has to deliver business leads, and they expect those leads to come from search engines.

Your next steps are crucial if you are going to secure this client's business for the long haul ahead.

For me the only viable approach is to spend some time with the client to get them to a place where they have an appreciation of the required work. I'm not suggesting they need to study the SEOmoz Beginners Guide to SEO or become search marketers themselves, although some small business owners do take this route, but in my view they do need to at least 'get it'.

Of course there's always a danger you paint a picture so bleak the client runs for cover and gives up on the project! In all but a few cases this would almost certainly be an overreaction so it's your job to tell it like it is, whilst at the same time assuring them they're in safe hands. Now I know some might baulk at this and suggest the client doesn't need to know anything, and in any case they've come to you for a solution, not for you to bring them down and rain on their parade. But I think there's a happy medium and a client who understands the challenges of search marketing, even at a basic level, will be a better client in the long run and the relationship you build with them will be stronger.

So where to start?

Prior to a meeting I like to point our clients at a neat little resource we put together that explains SEO in a simple and novel way. It avoids jargon, only takes a few minutes to read and sets the scene ready for our face to face or telephone consultation. This is also an opportunity to figure out how receptive your client is to a little education. If they didn't take the time to read a simple primer, just how serious are they about making their website a business asset?

So, assuming you've got buy in it's now time to paint the general picture, and this is where OSE comes in. Because OSE is such a great visual tool I find it paints a clear picture of where their site sits and where its weaknesses might be. Whether you're sitting with your client or using a screen-share session, and I find screen share sessions very powerful, firing up OSE and comparing your client's site to their competitors gives them a great high-level overview when delivered in language you know they understand. OSE illustrates really well the key metrics and most business people we talk to relate to the information on the overview screen.

Leading on from this another great tool for scene setting is SEMRush. Most business people know about and are interested in their competitors and this tool provides a wealth of high level info about the people your client wants to beat in the SERPs. Showing them the words and phrases their competitors rank for, the phrases they are (probably) bidding on with paid search and all the general site info Rush throws up can reinforce the information you showed them from OSE.

Now some might argue there's a danger of information overload but I've found the combination of tools and resources listed above are just enough to paint the big picture and give the client enough to feel informed and empowered. Also, they usually appreciate the transparency and this can help to build trust. They can see the outline of the task ahead, they have an appreciation of why sites rank and they understand why you want to take their site in a particular direction.

Ultimately we all approach potential new clients differently and the information we share with them varies based on what we're comfortable with and the client's ability and desire to absorb information, after all we can't force them to share our passions. In my experience the best clients are those we've taken on a journey, those who've been prepared to invest a little time understanding what we do. This approach helps to avoid those awkward situations where an unexpected roadblock limits the effectiveness of some work you did, or worse, a situation where a client wasn't told what to expect from their investment and their assumptions were unrealistic.