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BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Starting Good Business Relationships
"When I hear one of my clients say “Today was a tough day” I always follow up with this
question, "How can I help?"
Really think about this question “How can I help” So what does this have to do with
customer relationship, sales and marketing?
Now before we get into understand this we have to change our mindset. The change is
every customer is really a Client. The title “Client” demand respect in today’s business
world. Thesaurus.com defines the word Client “One who buys goods or services.”
A customer is defined in the say way. However, let me ask you this. How does it feel
when someone refers to you as a Client? It places importance. Where if you are a customer
there really is no feeling of importance. I know it’s all comes down to semantics’ but
changing your mindset will project to the Client that they are important to you and your
business and is the first building block of any relationship.
The first step in any business relationship is to start a relationship. The biggest problem
with most business owners today is that they do not start a client relationship. They just
make a sale and go on to the next money source forgetting about the client and the
relationship which was just started. See this relationship is very important. Why? Because
statistics show that it can be as much as ten times easier to market and sell something to
someone that has bought from you before, than selling something to a stranger.
So why is the Client important? Because the people that have bought from you now trust
you more, as a result they will deal with you again and again. The more they trust you, the
more open the relationship will evolve over time.
So the next step here is to build trust and the best way to do this is say “Thank You”.
I mean more than that automated 'thank you' at the cash register. I mean a personal thank
you, something that shows your Client that you do appreciate them. One of the first ways
you can do this is by sending your Client a thank you letter after they have purchases from
you.
Well, there you have it, this simple one page letter that thanks your Client and encourages
them to come back and opens the door for future business.
Will sending a letter to your Client really work? Sure it will. After all, when was the last time
you received a thank you letter for spending money? I have only received a very few thank
you letters and I remember all of them vividly. Send one to your customers and they'll
remember it and you too. Try this, it works!
So what does the question “How can I help” have to do with Client relationship? Did you
think about it? Offering help shows that client that you care about there business or even
them. The client may decline your help but the client will always remember you making the
offer to help. This builds trust and build the relationship.
Customer Relationship and Retention
The client relationships must be the heart of every business. All of us know what ROI
(Return on investment) is all about. Now let’s discuss how CRR (Customer Relationship
and Retention) works.
One of the largest challenges to overcome for off or online businesses is sell, sell, sell,
sell, sell, and sell mentality. The other thing I see and hear is poor closing techniques with
little or no follow up and no long term relationship retention established after the sale is
closed. This is a failure point with most online businesses when they fail to recognize the
value of a Client.
Every Client has a value to you and your business. What is the one thing now that you could
start, stop, or change that would have a dramatic impact your client relationships retention?
This is an excellent question and I hope you would take a moment and really consider your
answer. Yes sometimes it takes a great deal of effort and an extraordinary amount of energy
to close “a big deal” but what happens after the deal is closed. How do you turn this new
relationship into a long term Client?
First, never forget, it may take even more effort and energy, to keep the business after you
win it. It takes courage to get the business and creativity and imagination to retain it. Now
let’s set you mind to never forget this word SUCCESS and all that means. To be success,
success is to be grand, impressive, outstanding, excellent, remarkable, and even unforgettable.
Many business owners have not set there mindset in terms of SUCCESS. They walk around
doing a great imitation but they don’t walk the walk and talk the talk. It doesn’t take much to
leap from the ordinary to the extraordinary, but it does take effort. It’s all about leaving a
great first impression, not merely a good one. It’s about delighting your clients, not just
satisfying them, and being unforgettable.
It is about rising above the entire crowd, not being lost in it. It’s about speaking SUCCESS
and breathing it. Here are some ideas for you on how have a SUCCESS mindset for
Client Relationship Retention.
Great success questions.
There are two types of success questions, both open and closed. Let’s raise the bar
on that kind of thinking. While questions can be open and closed, they can also soft
and bold. The soft questions are surface questions like “How’s it going, how’s business,”
and “Any other any problems I can help you with today?” A bold question always leaves
its mark for example. “What would have to happen for you to consider join our team?”
Another really inspired question is, “How do you measure success when evaluating a
new business?” David Frost, one of the best interviews in history, once said “you can
tell the quality of a question by the quality of the response.” Are you asking quality
questions? If not, why not?
Energize your success with a positive attitude.
People with positive attitudes live longer, enjoy life more, and tend to be more likable,
from their clients perspective. We choose to affect or infect the people we meet every
day.
Leave your personal problems behind and forget about them. What has happened in
your past is not nearly as important as with is in your future. Now discipline your thoughts
to stop thinking about the past. Quit talking about it. Quit reliving every negative experience.
You are only going to affect you future. People with positive attitudes are enthusiastic,
animated, excited, smiling, and always expect the best things to happen. This is what
your client wants from you. You will give birth to more in the future than you’ve lost in
the past.
Success is your focus.
Another key to successful CRR is the ability to build relationships while taking care of
business. Here are some ideas for you: don’t make people feel invisible, always maintain
good eye contact, remember, you can’t smile enough on the telephone or in person, to
stay connected ask people who get your voice mail message to leave their e-mail address
and telephone number, watch your body language, buy a notebook to record all your
relationship building ideas, only do dog and pony shows if your client needs a dog and
pony, add the words “for you” to the end of your sentences, every four months record
your end of your telephone calls to improve the quality of your calls, always take notes
to demonstrate that you care and you are listening, and always take the time to say
“Thank you” to everyone who contributes to your success.
Passion is the powerful attributes for successful business owners.
Get excited about your work. If you don’t like it, change it. Your life is too important and
too short, to waste it doing something you hate doing. Be yourself and avoid trying to
imitate somebody else. Have an attitude of gratitude. Say “thank you” often. That kind
gesture will make someone’s day a better one and you will feel the success that you
have help someone else have a great day.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Enthusiasm is an acquired quality and it’s free! Go out and
get some, if you’re running low. If you want to take your business to the next level learn
to do the unthinkable. Never saying “I’ve always done it this way.” Never follow the crowd.
Take a new and different path to solve old client problems. The old way may not be the
better way. Don’t let “good enough” be good enough.
If your success becomes to comfortable, it’s time to change. Always aim higher and you’ll
be rewarded handsomely. Being SUCCESS is no small task, especially when the client is
doing the evaluation. If you dare to be different, strive to be effective, and are attentive to
your clients’ needs, you too can be SUCCESS.
In closing, Customer Relationship and Retention is not a challenge it is a way of life for
any business person and it all comes down to this. When you do the right things for clients
with the right motives, there’s no limit to what the Client will do in for you. Take everyday
as a gift and enjoy opening it. Because you never know what you will find when you mind
is set for SUCCESS.
Google Me Regards,
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| irenefk | Client relationships | 1 | Aug 24 2008, 2:39 AM EDT by ScottOBrien | ||
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Thread started: Aug 23 2008, 4:57 PM EDT
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wow, I just read this post and is it ever true. Thank you is a very important part of anyone's day. Thank you to God, to family, to friends , to team mates, to the clerk at the grocery store, to the mail man, and who else can you think of? Everyone of us likes to be appreciated and loved and Thank You just doesn't even seem like enough at times. Sometimes a hug needs to come in the package also.
A Thank You needs to be delivered with emotion, with a smile on one's face, in their heart and soul. Thank You Jim Cobb for writing this article, I really appreciate you today. irenefk
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