The Advisor’s Corner

Let’s Stop Arguing About What to Call It

March 6, 2017/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom Doescher

How about if we call “it” obtaining a new client (customer)? As you know, Uncle Dan very generously shared his wisdom with us in the “Sandbox Hunter’s Game Plan” blog series, summarized in the January 19, 2016 Food for Thought. In this blog, I would like to focus on obtaining new clients for professional services. I believe most of the comments would apply to any service or product, but for purposes of clarity, let’s focus on “professional services,” which I will allow you to define.

If you Google sales, marketing, and/or business development, you’ll discover all kinds of definitions the authors of various articles and books are passionate about. The reason I’m commenting is because of the ambiguity that exists in many companies. I would suggest there are three major functions necessary to secure a new client (customer):

Finding (This isn’t my own term; I got this word from a guy in my networking group) — Finding is the process of identifying a prospective client. You might use an outside resource/service, have someone internally perform this function, your Hunter may be responsible, or possibly it’s the result of a combination of tactics. Question: Is how you obtain qualified leads and who is responsible for finding leads clear to both you and your team? Do you have enough leads? If no, why not?
Relationship — Often, this is the hardest part, but the goal is to get a new client. This may take a period of a few weeks or a few years. I’m aware of situations where this period lasted for more than 20 years (sorry, I have to tell the truth). Again, I think Uncle Dan gave us great advice and tips. This is where the great Hunters excel. They introduce the prospective client to their colleagues, especially those who can offer industry insights and what is called “thought leadership” (simply stated, they say, “If I owned this company, I would do this or that to profitably grow the business.”). I strongly believe that personalized contacts are more important today than they’ve ever been. I’m not talking about mass emails, webinars, podcasts, et cetera. I’m talking about face-to-face, voice-to-voice, and handwritten notes. Question: Do you have people who can truly develop new relationships and transform them into clients? (By the way, I have met people who know a lot of prominent executives, but can’t convert them into clients. How many new clients do you have this year? Last year?)
Closing — This is getting the ball over the goal line, or ringing the bell — whatever you want to call it. Again, Hunters are best in class at closing, and Uncle Dan provided some thoughts on this function, too. Question: What is your close rate? Could it be higher? How? Do you really have the right people involved in the close?

Would You Recommend it to Your Mom?

February 20, 2017/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom Doescher

In my September 19, 2016, blog post, I told a story about an auto dealership’s customer service representative who behaved more like an owner. Well, now I have another story about that service representative, Chad. Barbara and I took our vehicle in because of some issues we were concerned about. During our time with Chad, he said, “I always try to treat the vehicle owner like my mother. In other words, what would I do if it were my mother?”

His comments triggered a fond memory for me. My dad spent his career as a mail carrier. With a little encouragement and mentoring, who knows what he could have done? But he was proud of his accomplishments, and he was a wise man with an extra dose of common sense.

Anyway, when Chad made his comment, it reminded me of the lens I have always used with my clients. If they (the client) were my dad, would I make this or that recommendation? It has been like a speed controller on a school bus, and it’s helped me “do the right thing.”

Chad, thanks for the reminder and for being a wonderful example of excellent client focus.

The Re-recruiting Gold Medal Award-Winner

February 6, 2017/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom Doescher

In my Build Your Own Dream Team Food for Thought, I encouraged company owners and senior executives to have deliberate re-recruiting activities. I suggested sending handwritten notes to team members, recognizing a job well done, and possibly sending notes to the individual’s spouse or parents, as well. In the FFT, I emphasized that most of these acknowledgements don’t need to cost any money; the gesture is simple but powerful, and the only thing it requires is a little time.

I recently became aware of a situation that is worthy of the Re-recruiting Gold Medal. A company with a very nice, spacious showroom offered one of its young team members the use of the facility for his wedding reception. Wow!!! These guys just set the bar pretty high.

Stephen Covey used the metaphor of making deposits in someone’s Emotional Bank Account. The company owners mentioned above made a huge deposit to the Emotional Bank Accounts of this team member, his family, and even their other team members.

And what was the cost? Nothing! I would love to hear about other creative re-recruiting stories that I can share with my readers.

Let’s Stop Arguing About What to Call It

Would You Recommend it to Your Mom?

The Re-recruiting Gold Medal Award-Winner

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