Posted by Robert Bylett at 7:24 PM
in Business Owner, Client Relationships, Client Satisfaction, Clients, Communication
One of the most overlooked parts of the beginning of a new client relationship is establishing client expectations – both what your clients can expect from you and what you expect from your clients (as well as performance from any products or third party services). Unfortunately, you often don’t realise how important that step was until your client is frantically calling and sending email messages every 5 minutes on a Sunday afternoon for an issue that can clearly wait until Monday morning.Best Case Scenario – Upfront and in Writing
The “best practice,” is to have a candid conversation at the start of a new client relationship to clearly explain the expectations. This conversation often doesn’t happen because many people find it as uncomfortable as the “money talk.” That’s because we often think of client expectations in the negative – what we can’t and won’t do for our clients. A better perspective is to frame your expectations in relation to how you are able to provide the best service so that what is possible is emphasized and what is not possible is de-emphasized – though the boundaries are still very clear.
Continue reading "It's 5:00 p.m. Sunday Evening...Did You Forget to Manage Your Clients' Expectations?" »
Posted by Robert Bylett at 4:32 PM
in Business Owner, Client Relationships, Client Satisfaction, Clients, Communication, Small Business
I bet you’ve found yourself in this situation before…You have been professionally “chasing” a great business prospect for quite a while – regularly sending email messages, connecting by phone, showing up at events that you know they will be attending, etc. Then, the prospect finally agrees to sit down and talk business with you. You are so excited!
You’ve been in hunting mode for so long and the “prize” is finally in your sites. You’re in the meeting making your presentation – your blood is pumping and things are going great. You get to the end, ask for the business, and…they say, “Yes.” All of a sudden you freeze. Your heart jumps into your throat and your mind goes blank with what should happen next. You’ve been so focused on the “hunt” that you hadn’t really thought through what would happen if you actually succeeded. Instead of thinking ahead to your next steps after acquiring the client, you’ve gotten used to thinking ahead to the next tactic to try and acquire the client – assuming the current tactic failed.
Continue reading "What to Do When a Prospect Says, “Yes.”" »
Posted by Robert Bylett at 9:10 AM
in Business Owner, Client Relationships, Client Satisfaction, Clients, Employees, Small Business
Some people use the words “client” and “customer” interchangeably (or simply generically) – as if they mean the exact same thing. I’d like you to think a little about these important words because there is a significant difference – one that can have a huge impact on your long-term business.Definitions according to Merriam-Webster:Client: One that is under the protection of another
Customer: One that purchases a commodity or service
Here’s the distinction: In a client/vendor relationship, the client (or buyer) is “under the protection” of the vendor and becomes dependent upon the ongoing care of the vendor. The keywords here are “relationship” and “ongoing.” Whereas a customer/merchant relationship is purely transactional – there is no responsibility or dependability on either side – and it ends once the sale is completed.
Continue reading "Do You Have Customers or Clients? Is There a Difference?" »
Posted by Robert Bylett at 8:40 AM
in Business Consulting, Business Owner, Client Satisfaction, Clients, Coaching, Small Business
We have often heard
the phrase "Systematic Approach" used in life, in many different ways,
such as sales, business management, and even training. You may have heard
people say that "you need to approach this systematically."
Yet, what is a Systematic Approach and, why is it important particularly
in relation to how you manage your clients?
Let’s tackle the “why” first. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how
important good customer service and client relations are, and one theme we
continually return to is that of consistency. When you utilize a
Systematic Approach, you automatically build in the consistency factor.
Continue reading "A Systematic Approach to Client Management" »
Posted by Robert Bylett at 4:43 PM
in Business Consulting, Business Owner, Coaching, Happiness, Personal Development, Work Life Balance
Change…most of us humans don’t deal well with it to start with. Add on a business owner role, and change is even less welcome. Think about it. We’ve invested a lot of time and effort into “perfecting” our business processes and procedures to get them to work successfully. So why fix what doesn’t appear to be broken? The problem is that even though everything looks like it is working smoothly, that doesn’t mean that it’s working as effectively as it should.
It’s somewhat like the frog in boiling water analogy. You slowly turn the water up and the frog doesn’t realise anything is wrong until he’s already cooked. If you haven’t figured it out yet, you’re the frog!
I was with a client the other day and her response to my question about why things were done the way they were was, "Well, that's the way it's always been done." To me this is like raising the red flag and sounding the siren for immediate change and improvement in the system.
Continue reading "Well, That’s the Way it’s Always Been Done!" »
