Every once in a while I think it is important to rise above the noise and focus on something more profound than our own thoughts. That is why I bring you A RIPPLE of Inspiration. Interesting thoughts, quotes or points to ponder.
Ripple On!
Steve Harper
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Carlon Haas is not only a gifted and talented marketer but someone I am proud to call my good friend. Carlon has a fantastic BLOG called the No Excuses Marketing & Copyingwriting Blog. His BLOG is one on my favorite reads!
I am proud to have Carlon as our Guest Blogger!
Ripple On!
Steve Harper
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The Key to Retaining Clients
June of 2004 was a bad month for me. It started when I lost my biggest client. And then it just got worse. Due to a change in international tax law, my top 2 clients (internati0onal companies) wanted to reduce what they paid me 25%. That wasn’t going to work, so we parted company. And then to top it all off, a serious prospect decided at the last minute to scrap the project.
If this doesn’t sound too bad to you, let me add that the big client I lost accounted for 75% of my business income.
The money faucet was at a trickle. I had no new leads. No new ideas. And the only contact database I had was full of old one-off jobs that I did when I wasn’t putting most of my time in for my biggest client that was now history.
I sat at my desk and stared at the screen waiting for an enlightenment experience that just wasn’t happening. My mind raced with different ideas, different directions, and possibilities. All of which led to analysis paralysis.
And in the midst of this clutter in my head, I heard a giggle. It wiggled and twisted in my ear until I could hardly stand it anymore.
And there were words with this giggle…
“Oh, Sarah. I know it’s hard trying to take care of a sick dog.”
A SICK DOG! The “giggle” belonged to my wife, and I would be damned if I would let her talk about dogs while I was in the middle of a crisis.
I turned to give her a piece of my mind. But I was stopped dead in my tracks with…
…the signal. (A single vertical index finger placed upon her lips.)
The signal means “I’m talking to a client.”
You see, my wife is a successful translation professional. And she was having no such crisis. Her business had never been better. In fact, she was having a banner month.
So, I waited for her to get off the phone.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“What was what?”
“All that talk about Sarah’s dog.”
“What about it?”
“Sarah is a client. What does Sarah’s dog have to do with business?”
Then she peered right into my eyes.
“Sarah’s dog has everything to do with business.”
And that was that.
And as much as I hate to admit it, she was right. She knows the key to retaining clients that many independent professionals often lose sight of.
And that key is…
…getting personal with your clients.
I don’t mean you should go off air your dirty laundry to your clients. But what I am saying is that in business it is the personal relationship you form with your clients that can mean all the difference.
And while my wife is one of the top professionals in her field, it might be the fact that she knows and cares about her client’s dog that keeps them coming back to her…
…maybe even as much as the level of her performance.
To Your Success,
Carlon Haas
Thank you to my readers that sent some really great comments about my last post! I always appreciate corresponding with my readers and hearing their insightful commentary.
I promised that I would focus this edition on how you go about building your resource network? Building your resource network is more than just knowing "a 'guy' that's an attorney" or a "nice woman" you met last week at a business function that is "a great business coach." In order for someone to qualify to be part of your resource network it must be someone that you know personally, have used in the past and someone you would trust with your reputation. That's what we are talking about here....reputation. Every time you put your reference or referral out there you are literally putting your own good name forward.
So how do you go about building your resource network. Step one is easy....DECIDE TO HAVE ONE! That seems obvious but most people don't take a strategic approach to building their network. They just have people they know and like and consider them part of their network. That's okay for most people but if you truly want to amaze and impress the people in need, have a resource network. People that truly become a resource to the ones you offer their name up to. If you plan to use your resource network to help others, you must have a strategy.
Once you have decided that you want to have a resource network, step two determines who you want to have in your resource network. Think "service" when you strategize here. What are some of the services that most people need, both personally and professionally?
