The Connection Factor - How to Keep Clients Coming Back 

by Rebecca Shafir

Know Your Connectors From Your Dis-Connectors: These tips can make your client retention rate grow exponentially! Make the first meeting so memorable, they’ll want to see you again and again. 

You’ve gotta love it! You’ve got to love what you do. If you don’t enjoy your work, your clients will notice it right away. “Seasoned” consultants may not appear as fresh and enthusiastic due to years of doing the same thing day in and day out, office politics the stress of added responsibilities and having to meet deadlines and quotas. One may be well suited for a particular line of work, but after many years burn out looms large. 

Look for ways of spicing up your job or others’ jobs – changing the schedule to allow more time in the morning for exercise, start a project that could lead to new revenue streams, read up on new research that could add a twist to what you already do well. See the big picture - think about how the knowledge you share improves the lives of others and affects the community. Make sure your reception staff really loves what they do too. They are often the first face contact your new client has with your company. 

Be on time – as often as possible. We all run late from time to time, but the first meeting is especially crucial to setting the stage for future meetings. Being late is a real disconnector. It suggests to the clients that their time is not valuable, or worse, you just don’t care. If you’re early, start them early and end early – that’s a Connector Plus! You’ve just given them more time to get other things done that day! Time is like “money” to many of our clients. As an extra incentive to getting to work on time, make it an office rule to give your client a discount if you or an associate are late! 

Check your waiting room. Is your waiting room a comfortable place to be for several minutes? Bring in friends to give you honest answers – is the artwork pleasant and uplifting or does it hurt to look at it? Could your clients feel comfortable looking at the same artwork time and time again? If you can afford to change the artwork every couple months, do so. This gives repeat clients something to look forward to each time they visit your office. Sit in your chairs for 15 minutes and decide if you could continue sitting there for another 15 minutes. Bright fluorescent lighting, smells of popcorn/pizza, muzak, noisy staff rooms or a dirty bathroom are known to be major disconnectors for clients. 

A heartfelt greeting. There’s no substitute for an enthusiastic welcome, a genuine smile and warm handshake. Make clients comfortable as if they were guests in your home. Invite them to help themselves to coffee or tea. Jeffrey Gitomer, marketing guru, says, “Treat every customer like your Grandma!” (This is a good idea, assuming you had a nice grandma!) 

Small talk is BIG talk. Before launching into the business at hand, ask them how they are doing. How was their weekend, their kids, etc. Get a pulse on their disposition before you get to the nitty gritty. This helps you pace the interaction and makes you sensitive to what’s on their mind. 

Let them tell you why they’ve come to see you. If you are a tax accountant you might be surprised to find that some folks are coming to you to hear about the new tax laws, your take on the best lending institution in the area, financial planning, money management, or want to get your input on a new business idea…not necessarily are they dropping in to have you do their taxes. 

Never speak negatively about the competition. You never know who knows who. You and your client may have some strong feelings about a competitor, but it’s not good business to put down the business methods of others. Instead, point out how you do things differently that benefit the client. 

Let your clients know they’ve been heard. Paraphrase back their questions, concerns intentions as you understand them. Welcome clarifications. The client may well have said one thing but meant something else. As your relationship develops over the course of the meeting, they may now feel comfortable telling you “more of the truth” than they did from the start. An authentic listener is hard to find. Good listening at all levels in your company can be a key differentiator between you and the competition. 

Give them (or their kids) something valuable and FREE! Some of these items may be novelty items for example. I had a client come to see me who was very upset with herself because she couldn’t listen to her family members. She would become anxious and controlling during conversations with her sons and their wives. At the end of our session I gave her a soft squeezable ear that I got at a convention where I was a speaker. She loved it, so every time she wanted to interrupt or give unwanted advice she would squeeze the ear and hold herself back. We had a good laugh over that for weeks! 

A recent copy of an article on the subject, a sample of a product, a Star Wars pencil sharpener, some insider advice, a call to a colleague on their behalf – all these are simple, cheap, but of great connection value for your client. Free educational seminars are also ways for sheepish or skeptical clients to get comfortable with you and your business. In these seminars you are giving some information, but mostly selling them on making an ongoing connection with you.

Accept complaints or criticisms of your business as “gifts” to you and your company. Thank them for bringing their inconveniences to your attention. Instead of coming up with excuses, let them know you will do what you can to improve the situation. Avoid the dis-connector phrases that make customers’ blood boil like “ That’s our policy” or “That’s always how we’ve done it and no one had a problem.” Remember it’s not that only certain people are complainers. These “complaints” are likely real problems for other clients at your workplace, but only a few bold clients will mention them. When they leave the meeting, thank your client for helping make your company better! Then take action. A Connector Plus move – call the client the next day and let them know what action you have taken to remediate the problem, and thank them again! 

Thank them for coming to see you. If future appointments are necessary, let them know (without sounding too sales-like) what is to be gained by coming back for another session or set of sessions. A written plan can help a client see how your plan will take them to their goal. Make that next appointment then and there if possible. Quite often clients will forget to call into your office or lose your card. If your client needs to see another associate for a related service, check to see if you can have the client meet them before they leave. This is another Connector Plus move that gives continuity to your relationship. Canceling, rescheduling too often is not only a major inconvenience, but an major dis-connector. Unforseen circumstances are inevitable, but whenever possible, try to keep appointments.

Preserve confidentiality at all costs. Certain businesses (medical, psychological, financial, etc.) have sensitive issues surrounding privacy. Upscale waiting rooms, in particular, contain neighbors and friends of friends. Keep all conversation behind closed doors. Never leave your files open where other clients can see them. Only benign conversations about the weather or parking are permissible where everyone can hear! 

Follow up with any promises you made during your meeting. Write these down and add them to that or the next day’s to-do list. Timely follow up tells the client that they are valuable to you and that you are invested in helping them find a solution to their query. 

Return phone calls or e-mails within 24 hours. If that is not possible due to travel or other commitments, let your client know this ahead of time. Sometimes e-mail is a more convenient way to communicate. Get their preferred e-mail address at the first meeting with your client.