INTRO TO CARING FOR CLIENTS

Relationship Marketing requires you to care. In order to be able to care, you need to be able to empathize without an agenda. If your client doesn’t believe that you see what they see, that you understand what they’re experiencing in their business, you can’t share with them a solution and expect it to go anywhere permanent.

Experiencing a “yes” for the sake of getting off the phone with you, or a soft commitment can be an enormous waste of time and energy for everyone involved. It also is a symptom of you failing to empathize properly.

So let’s break this down into steps.

Do not chase a “yes” from your client.

Do your best to show them that you understand the headache they’re dealing with.

Ensure that what you’re presenting to them is anchored in the principle of caring.

This approach doesn’t mean there are no “hard asks” being made. At some point, you have to determine what the next step is in your client relationship and if they’re committed to it. When and how you take this step will depend on your client’s personality profile, which we will get into next week. What it means is that you’ve laid the groundwork of earning their trust, and you’ve done it honestly. We’re not a big fan of tricking someone into saying yes through subtle psychological ticks. Getting them saying yes and they’re gonna be more likely to say yes, in the long run, is not a philosophy we subscribe to.

Chris Voss puts it well, at the end of the day we want our potential client to say, “Yeah we want to talk to you again”. You want their respect before you get a chance at getting their business.

In a world where everyone has their defenses up and is keen on sniffing out shenanigans, be genuine. Care more. Don’t chase the “yes”. Chase the respect offered by a mutual relationship. This is the foundation upon which you will see long-term business relationships thrive.

If you missed Relationship Marketing Part Two you can read it here.