How to Eat an Elephant

We love our clients. We love the work we do. We love our products and services. We aren't so in love when something doesn't work out as planned. The instinctive response is to look the other way.

Maybe we tell ourselves we aren't good at confrontation, or maybe we aren't sure what to do. We hope the situation will fix itself or just go away. Unfortunately, if it's a real issue, it's really not going away without our help. Putting off dealing with it only makes it worse. We can end up losing clients, feeling out of integrity, maybe even losing our business.

The way to Eat an Elephant? One bite at a time.

Whatever the situation is, you're going to create trust and loyalty if you go straight to your clients and tell them the truth. You might be letting them down in the short run, but in the long run they'll know they can trust you.

This goes for getting products out late due to slower production time, teleclasses missed because you forgot (it happens).

So. Open your mouth and take a bite. Tell them what happened. Do NOT blame your staff, it only makes you look bad. Let them know what they can expect in regard to what happened. Then offer them something of value to make up for your mistake. Take TOTAL responsibility.

Include Follow up Calls in your Client Care Systems.

Have you ever said yes to participating in something, then waited for the call that never came?

Too often I've heard clients tell me they don't do follow up calls because they don't want to pressure someone into doing something. They don't want to hard sell.

So don't.  Don't call as if the potential client is on the other side of a fence. Don't call with a sales pitch. Call with an offer. When we "pitch" something, we're in the act of throwing our product or service. When we make an "offer" our palm is out and they can choose to pick up our gift.

Sit with that a minute. Feel the difference. 

Then, remind them of the earlier conversation where they expressed interest, then let them talk. Listen. If they are still interested, they will let you know. Be curious, ask questions. Breathe. Be in the moment with them, not racing ahead to the sale. After really listening you'll know when it's time to let them know you're now offering the service or product they are interested in. Don't get off the phone without offering something. Even if it's another follow up call.

If you never make this call, you've let them down in the same way you've been let down by other people who failed to call you. Make this step part of everything you do with your clients, or potential clients.

It may be hard the first few times. Some people might ask you to not call back. That's okay. There are billions of people on this planet. You only need a few to say yes.

Consistency. Connection. Communication.

These are the cornerstones of keeping your clients for life. Let's break them down.

Say what you're going to do. Do what you say you're going to do. Consistently. If you can't deliver on your word, and we all know that these times happen, then you've got to Connect, and Communicate. Your clients will not only appreciate being informed, they are far more likely to remain loyal because you've given them a reason to trust you.