Connecting With Clients

Source: Convergence Coaching 

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog post by Tamera Loerzel.

How many “out of cycle” client meetings or phone calls did you make to clients this summer that were not related to a current engagement?

Proactively outreaching to clients falls in what Stephen R. Covey defines in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as Quadrant II tasks – those that are important and not urgent. Unless we owe the clients something now, or they have a problem or complaint, our tendency is to put off any outreach and let proactive client outreach fall to the bottom of our list week after week. Another reason is that we sometimes make up that “no news is good news” – if we don't hear from our clients, then everything is okay. The opposite may very well be the case, though, as Ken Blanchard points out in his book Raving Fans – the silence should be worrisome to us. 

So, break the silence. Reach out to one client a week (or be bold by calling one and having lunch with a second!).

When you meet with your clients, ask questions that demonstrate your interest in them and build your relationship with them, including:

•    How are things going in your business (or your life) these days?

•    What changes are there in your team (or your life)?

•    What concerns you most (at work) today?

•    What critical decisions are you facing?

•    What opportunities are you facing at present?

•    What plans do you have to capitalize on them?

•    How can we be of more help to you?

•    How are we doing for you? 

•    What can we improve?

•    Would you be willing to be a reference for us?

For the complete blog entry, read “Do You Know What Your Clients' Silence Means?”

From Convergence Coaching, LLC Inspired Ideas, August 27, 2014, blog.convergencecoaching.com.