We all want to have clients who are raving fans. For too many of us the difference between the idea of raving fans and the reality is worlds apart.
Do you think having clients that love you something you find attractive? If you pay attention to the following ideas you’re going to find that having your clients love you is easier than you might think.
Include your clients in their own decisions.
Here’s a problem I often see in the world of advice – we don’t include our clients in the conversation when it comes to what they should do with their life.
I see the following scenario happen over and over. A client walks into an advisors office and outlines a problem they have. The advisor then steps into the expert role and starts telling the client what to do.
Several months pass and the client hasn’t taken any action. The advisor gives up, sends the client a bill and says to themselves “If that client had only listened to me their problems would have gone away.”
If that sounds like you, do yourself a favor and become a little more humble. The reason your client didn’t take action was because you never spent the time to find out what the true issue was.
If you happen to be the client, you also need to take some responsibility here. You need to speak up when your advisor is leading you down a path you’re not interested in pursuing. Just because they happen to be a category expert doesn’t mean they’re right with the recommendations they make.
Stop using jargon.
If you use technical terms with your clients you can almost be sure that what you’re talking about won’t be understood. Let’s be clear here. Jargon works great when you’re talking with someone else in your industry. It doesn’t work at all when you’re talking with your clients.
Every industry has it’s own language. I can promise you that if your client started talking to you using their jargon you would stop them and ask what they’re talking about. The only reason your clients don’t stop you is they don’t want to appear to be dumb.
Stop making your clients feel like they’re dumb and they’ll love you for it. That means you’ll just have to stop using jargon when you talk with them. Try simplifying the conversation. You’ll see that your projects move more quickly.
Become a great listener and not a great talker.
One of my favorite sayings is we have one mouth and two ears. We should learn to use them in that order.
Until you understand and the client knows you understand what their motivations are it’s hard for your clients to become raving fans. Stop talking and start listening. When you do, your clients will love you.
Think about co-creation in helping your clients achieve their outcomes.
One of my favorite terms comes from my friend Susan Bradley. She talks about becoming a thinking partner with your client.
When you become a thinking partner you automatically work with your clients to help them create a compelling future. Just ask yourself whether co-creating with an advisor is a more attractive proposition than being told what to do? If your answer is yes, then why aren’t you co-creating?
Treat your clients as experts.
It really just comes down to this. Do you treat your clients as experts in their lives and what would make their life successful?
When you work with your clients as a thinking partner, help them co-create their solutions, spend your time listening and stop using jargon you are going to be a different type of advisor. Your clients will see you as different and it’s going to be very hard for them to go anywhere else for advice.
When you take these actions your clients will become sticky and you’ll develop a tribe of raving fans. How does that sound?
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