A Happy 2007 to every one of you!
Posted Tuesday, January 5th, 2007
And to commemorate the occasion, here’s one of my favorite quotes:
New Years is every person’s birthday.
(Charles Lamb)
I like this thought because it says every January is a new beginning.
The slate is clean – now what will you write on it?
The best place to start finding out exactly where you need to make business improvements is by talking to your clients about the strengths and shortcomings you evidenced LAST YEAR.
UGH – does that sound intimidating and off-putting? Probably… but I suggest you gather up your courage and make 2007 the year you ask directly:
“How am I doing?”
It’s hard to bring up, but it’s so worth doing. I am a big proponent of client reviews… so I walk the walk. Right up to my client’s door! In fact, I just conducted a performance review at a client’s in New Jersey. They said they loved me, (they really used the L word!), that the three years we had been working together were productive and profitable for the firm. (Great!)
But, hmm, now that I brought this up, well, um, there was a little thing that bugged them, JUST TWICE this last year.
It was this: On two occasions, I used their copy machine to make a couple of the hand outs for the workshops and they felt that I should have done that on my time (and dime).
You just can’t predict what a client might find troublesome.
But thank goodness they brought it out in the open. Now I knew it; they got it off their mind; AND I would get an opportunity to improve.
Right then and there, I accepted the feedback and thanked them for offering it and for being so specific and candid. I went on to extend a discount off their upcoming regional training session in sincere appreciation, and asked the management to continue to be so transparent in 2007.
Now we could talk about futures. Theirs and mine. With them.
Sure reviews like this one can be intimidating.
Some people say it’s a fear of bringing the hatchet up closer to their neck. They feel exposed.
But know this:
Courage wins business.
(Coach Nick)
Bringing up something sensitive like your performance on behalf of clients may indeed bring to light something you hadn’t wanted to see, but more often then not it will single you out as a mighty impressive winner; someone who cares about client consequences. Asking about your effect on a person’s business is a demonstration of the truest of partnerships. You will be remembered as someone who was both courageous and concerned.
Don’t you appreciate when a retail store manager or a hotel concierge asks about your satisfaction with their establishment? Don’t you feel paid attention to – like what you think matters? It’s exactly the same with your corporate clients.
Listen we all know that there’s no substitute for growing revenues than existing client relationships. But the key here is not only the frequency of client contact, but the DEPTH of it. To make client relationships work, you need to know if old issues exist; if your rapport has been hurt by a slight you weren’t even aware of.
A study conducted for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs had some amazing statistics: 96% of unhappy customers never complain. 91% of those will never buy again from you. The average unhappy customer will tell 9 people about his dissatisfaction with your product or service. And 13% of THOSE will tell another 20 people the whole sad story!
Don’t let this happen to you!
In my next blog, I am going to tell you exactly how to conduct a Client Review. But for now I wanted to strongly encourage you to schedule them in your calendar through out the month of January.
Remember what Charles Lamb said – New Years is every person’s birthday!
You’ll get to talk about the past and the future with your clients, develop the relationship further, strengthen your position at the firm, maybe meet new members of the team, ward off threats of competition, gain client confidence, discover new opportunities there, learn about personnel shifts before they happen, solicit referrals, STAY IN THE CENTER OF THE CLIENT’S CIRCLE.
For all these reasons and more, I urge you to summon up your courage and schedule a client review meeting or two RIGHT NOW – and then learn how to conduct them by calling me at 1-877-52-COACH.
Or you can wait until mid January to read the actual process I publish for conducting a successful client review.
HOLIDAY UPDATE
Do you remember the challenge I threw out at Christmas time (way back in 2006) – to come up with great ways to ‘gift’ clients? Well two smart people gave me a couple of winning ideas. In appreciation, I am sending them both autographed copies of the Coach’s sales manual, Championship Selling.
Thanks for playing our game, Mose and Susan!
- Mose Hazo, an entrepreneur who does sales consulting, wrote in this:
Hey Coach,
Try this idea which can go a long way in winning people to you while really doing some good. Ask your client if they have a favorite charity or cause. If so, then make a donation to that charity with a confirmation to the client that you did this just for them. The gesture goes a long way and will not become a major issue with HR policies.
Best, Mose
- Susan Harvey a successful real estate agent at ReMax Horizons Group in Colorado had this to say:
Hi Coach Nick,
You'll be surprised to hear that I always read your email newsletter and enjoy hearing how your business is taking off. My favorite "gift of the month" is a subscription to a local magazine called Colorado Homes and Lifestyles: http://www.coloradohomesmag.com/colorado/index.html.
Being a Realtor, this is a great way to remind customers and more importantly, people who provide referrals, of my services on a monthly basis. The annual subscription is $18.95 which is cheaper than buying a customer lunch!
Keep the blogs coming, Susan Harvey
View Coach Nick's Previous Blogs |
