In today’s culture I am noticing a discouraging trend in how businesses interact with their clients. I think it is imperative that we make an effort to do two things:
- Meet with people face to face. So often in today’s business world it is very easy to just send someone an email or give them a call, instead of taking the time to meet them for lunch or coffee or just drop by their business. I am always impressed by people when they take the time to come into the office and meet with me because it tells me that they are taking the relationship seriously and not just going through the motions. Clients like to know that they matter. And when you make your clients feel that way, there is a good chance they will continue to be your client.
- Listen. Listen to the problems your client is facing and then think through ways to fix those problems. As business people I think that we can many times jump to conclusions about what a client needs before we actually hear them out. Find out what the problem is, how you can fix it and then have the courage to pitch them what they need. Rather than just trying to sell them on something that might be trendy or would be easier or better for you.
Editor’s Note: On a marginally related note, the initials of the author of this post are B.A. Naturally, that leads me to occasionally refer to him as B.A. Baracus, that van-loving, crime-fighting icon of the 80s. As we all know, B.A. Baracus was played by the impeccable Mr. T. Not surprisingly, there is a video on You Tube that is relevant to this post featuring Mr. T. I’m not naming any names, but someone told me that I couldn’t find a way to relate Mr. T to this blog post. I pity the fool.
