Tag Archives: empathy

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Lasting Client Relationships Help Your Business Thrive

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Freelance professionals and all business owners and leaders understand that they must periodically calibrate (and re-calibrate) their business entity so that it will be positioned to survive and thrive. While evaluating the potential success of growth strategies that appear to be capable of building a client list that enables you to achieve your revenue goals, do not overlook this basic business growth strategy—establishing good client relationships.

Good client relationships are foundational to the development of a healthy business and typically result in a potent client list, robust repeat business, consistent referrals and a low client churn rate. Implementing inbound and outbound marketing strategies in order to energize revenue is always necessary, but the process is usually time-consuming and by that metric alone, is expensive.

Recognize that you can enhance the value of your client list quantitatively, by adding more names, and simultaneously follow a qualitative approach to building the roster, when you prioritize the development of good client relationships. Establishing positive relationships with clients is a savvy marketing strategy that can play a supporting role in growing the number and quality of your active clients. Client relationships can support conditions that encourage client loyalty, repeat business and referrals, while simultaneously discouraging client churn. That the process of retaining clients and persuading them to continue doing business with your organization can be influenced by good relationships is so fundamental it is sometimes overlooked.

Beneficial client relationships are built on trust that’s born of the fulfillment of expectations (e.g., excellent project work and timely invoice payments), as well as transparency, communication and collaboration. More like partnerships than the usual transactional agreements between clients and vendors, clients with whom you’ve established a good relationship provide stability, inspire creativity and drive innovation that results in project outcomes that often exceed expectations. Below are qualities and practices that promote the development of beneficial client relationships that will pay dividends to both you and your clients.

1. Agreements, specifications and contract

It is a given that good client relationships begin with ethical and transparent business practices that are introduced during the initial project or product discussions between yourself and the client. Project specs or desired product solutions govern work agreements and performance milestones. Project contracts or sales agreements are intended to facilitate a smooth and productive collaboration and ensure that both the client’s interests and your interests are fulfilled. The quality of these discussions is integral to the establishment of creating good client relationships and transparency is key.

2. The customer experience

The quality and consistency of the customer experience your organization delivers is another building block of beneficial client relationships. The fact is, when your organization delivers an end-to-end efficient and satisfying customer experience, those with whom you do business will be happy to see more of you. When you (and your team) make it possible for clients to trust your expertise, professionalism, integrity and ability to meet or exceed expectations, you’ll be on your way to establishing mutually rewarding client relationships that can bring both tangible and intangible rewards to your organization (and the client’s).

As you shape the customer experience your company presents, be aware that “thank you” is a powerful word in every language. Saying “thank you” to your client for doing business with you shows appreciation and everyone likes someone who appreciates them. “Thank you” has the power to nurture and sustain positive relationships.

3. Communication and collaboration

You can build lasting, mutually beneficial relationships by facilitating good communication with your clients. Regular communication is integral to supporting collaboration, enabling innovation and producing outcomes that will likely meet, and may exceed, the client expectations. Honest and ongoing communication is crucial to gaining client confidence; be certain to keep your clients fully apprised of the project’s progress, challenges, or changes. Regular updates and transparent reporting demonstrate accountability, promote cooperation and enable proactive problem-solving that drives successful results.

As well, keep in mind that while technology enables communication at any time or any place, it cannot replace the value of face2face communication. When scheduling client meetings, suggest in-person chats whenever possible, as a way to encourage a good relationship. The Harvard Business Review reports that 95% of business leaders believe in-person meetings are essential for building stronger, more meaningful relationships. Alternating meetings between the client’s preferred location and your own shows consideration and empathy, attributes that are also integral to relationship-building. Keep in mind that business decisions are often influenced by personal relationships.

4. Listening and empathy

Effective listening is a cornerstone of relationship-building and good relationships are the foundation of business and diplomacy. Active listening is a demonstration of empathy and respect, and it builds trust. The ability to listen effectively is a valuable leadership skill and despite appearances, listening is active, not passive, and requires the listener to be fully present. When you invite your client to share information ask questions and perhaps brainstorm ideas, you validate his/her priorities and concerns and demonstrate your commitment to the development of a positive, long-lasting relationship.

Empathy allows you to see the world through the eyes of others and listening is a crucial enabler of the process.  Empathy helps you to effectively comprehend your client’s feelings, aspirations and challenges. Clients who feel as if they are understood will also feel that they are valued, making them more likely to become and remain loyal to your organization and more likely to reward you with repeat business and referrals. 

5. Flexibility and patience

Beneficial relationships rely on flexibility and patience. For example, there may be times when your client must grapple with unexpected challenges, such as time line changes or budget constraints. In these situations, your willingness to be adaptable and propose alternative approaches to meet revised client needs will demonstrate your commitment to the project and his/her organization, promotes trust and is likely to significantly strengthen the relationship.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Skynesher for Getty Images.

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Virtual Mode Selling Asks You to be Mindful

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When you have a product or service to sell, it’s important to connect and communicate in formats that are convenient and comfortable for your prospect. As we discovered in the early days of the coronavirus shutdown, face2face In Real Life conversations cannot always be arranged. In March and April 2020, you took your first clumsy steps into videoconferencing. Once in a while, you leaned into telephone meetings, one-on-one conversations and group conference calls, too.

You did your best to maintain business as usual (under very unusual conditions) and that included talking with prospects about how your solutions might be of service in COVID era business conditions. As you continued to schedule virtual sales calls and other types of negotiations, it became apparent that the distance inherent in videoconferencing (and also phone calls) presents an obstacle to sensitive conversations. It’s so much easier to to connect with your prospect when you’re sitting in a room together. When in a face2face conversation, you’re more adept at conveying empathy for your prospect and showing your grasp of his/her situation. You instinctively know how to create trust that will nurture a good relationship and encourage the sale.

Virtual mode team meetings are one thing but selling, what with the nuance and expertise required to handle objections in a way that reassures and the diplomacy that supports you during price negotiations, can be rather a challenge. Selling is selling, whether you and the prospect are hashing through details while across the desk from one another, or while you try to make eye contact with a video image, or maintain your focus while speaking to a disembodied voice on the telephone. It’s just that you would be wise to remember that your approach to virtual mode selling must differ from face2face discussions.

Virtual communication requires a pronounced shift to a client-centered perspective. An intentional strategy on your part is needed to more effectively reach across the digital divide to establish rapport and build trust. Below are five actions you can incorporate into your virtual sales calls to show prospects that you understand their needs, priorities and concerns and enable them to feel secure as you guide them through the sales journey.

Lead with empathy

When prospects demonstrate interest in your product or service, perhaps by responding to your inbound marketing, it’s because they need a solution that will solve a problem or enable a goal to be reached. Descriptions of your product or service have aroused curiosity. They hope you’ll understand what they need to do and how to efficiently get it done. Demonstrate both empathy and business acumen by asking questions to show you intend to understand their needs and propose a credible solution.

Employ active listening

It’s been said that the most successful sales professionals devote as much as 80% of their sales conversions to asking questions of the prospect and listening to the answers. The best way to persuade prospects to become clients is to create conditions where they feel seen, heard and understood. You do that by listening more and talking less. When in doubt, or to confirm your understanding of the situation, ask more questions. The more carefully you listen, the more sales you’ll make.

Become the trusted adviser
Your would-be clients are in need of a solution, but they won’t buy until and unless they trust you. The worst move you can make is to get someone on your screen or on the phone and make it obvious that your motive is to rope them into a fast sale. No one wants to have a sales call with someone who just wants to “close” them and maybe even trick them into spending money on a solution that’s not the best and costs more than it should.

Serious prospects want an advocate — a smart, dependable adviser whom they can grow to trust. Prospects, whether they consciously realize or not, want to do business with a professional whose primary intention is to be of service. They back away from those who are too hungry for a sale.

Exhibit the behaviors referenced above and direct them to help you understand the prospect’s need, earning trust and building a relationship as you come to understand how you can be of assistance—-ideally by providing them with the right solution at the right price. A 2019 study published by Gartner Peer Insights found that customer perceptions of a sales professional are a critical element of purchase decisions. Customers are motivated to spend on purchases that support business growth when they feel their sales contact is a trusted adviser who boosts their confidence in their purchasing decisions.

Emphasize outcomes and benefits

The best sales professionals focus heavily on the solution’s outcomes and results, often by painting a vivid picture of how the prospect’s working environment will benefit when the solution is implemented. Prospects want you to take the lead, figure out what’s going on and tell them why your solution will work, without getting bogged down in minutiae. What really matters to prospects is, “How will my life be different after we work together? Will this project be worth the pain—i.e., time and money—-of hiring you”?

Moderate your tone of voice

It’s not only what you say, but how you say it. You’ll be most comfortable speaking in your natural vocal tone, but it may be to your advantage to adapt it for virtual formats, just as you do for speaking to an audience. You don’t want to sound timid and apologetic, but neither do you want to be perceived as arrogant or intimidating.

The ideal tone of voice for virtual (or face2face) presentations is warm, businesslike, confident and straight to the point. Your tone of voice and the pace of your speech should convey a sense of expertise, authority and trustworthiness to your prospects. Use your smartphone to record yourself reading a paragraph and play back to critique your pace, tone, elocution and relatability. Your goal is to find a way of speaking that is both authoritative and friendly.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The Rise of Soft Skills

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In locations such as Davos, Switzerland and Sun Valley, Idaho, billionaire business leaders gather to attend conferences where they participate in important conversations. Many discussions, so I’ve read, focus on leveraging ground-breaking technological advancements such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and 5G data networks, plus minimizing carbon footprints and, always, maximizing profits. However, the unexpected arrival of the coronavirus and our responses to it not only preempted those momentous conversations, but also pushed to the forefront trends that not long ago were only distant drumbeats.

You may recall that telecommuting, now rebranded as Work From Home, began slowly about 20 years ago and existed mostly in the high tech space. The much more recent phenomenon known as the Great Resignation has seen 38 million+ workers quit their jobs since 2021 and skimmed 4.4 million employees from the U.S. workforce in February 2022 (most switched employers). Meanwhile, yet another trend has been slowly building in professional development and leadership circles since about the 1980s, the importance of traits and competencies known as soft skills.

The WFH and Great Resignation disruptions have left managers struggling to simultaneously retain talent and lure employees back to the office. According to a survey by Glassdoor, what can be summed up as a toxic work culture (mostly insufficient pay, limited chance of advancement and lousy bosses) is fueling both occurrences. Workers are mounting a spirited pushback and the bosses can’t help but notice. They know it’s time for a workplace culture reboot. Bring on the soft skills.

Like wisps of fog slipping in at daybreak, talk of the traits and competencies known as soft skills slipped onto the radar screens of business thought leaders with little fanfare. Soft skills can perhaps be best defined as empathy, or Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.), the ability to understand and acknowledge the feelings of another.

In your personal and professional spheres, it is now of paramount importance that you commit to understanding the perspectives of others and figure out how to acknowledge and accommodate their values, priorities and experiences. Soft skills traits and competencies—-work ethic, communication, problem-solving, adaptability, delegating, resilience, analytical and motivational ability, collaborating and decision-making—-will put you on the path to achieving that goal.

In our New Normal business environment empathy, that is, E.Q., can bring a competitive advantage to your organization. When you think about it, the ability to see the world from the viewpoint of others has always been among the most valuable resources in your your business toolbox. Let’s consider how empathy will cause you to act with compassion and strengthen your relationships with clients and colleagues and become a foundational element of business growth.

Build trust, inspire loyalty

Soft skills will play a central role in your ability to attract and retain clients and receive referrals and recommendations. The purpose and benefits of your products and services, their environmental and social impact and your diversity, equity and inclusion advocacy are factors to consider within your Freelance consulting practice. How you integrate these messages into your various communications formats, including website text, social media posts, blog and/ or newsletter, marketing emails, images, packaging, shipping and strategic partnership choices and demonstrate your relatability, reliability, authenticity and expertise will add (or subtract) clients from your roster.

Use your communication soft skills, in particular asking questions and active listening, to discover what your top clients feel is important to them now and assess how their perspectives and priorities may have changed since 1Q 2020. Soulaima Gourani, co-founder and CEO of Happioh, a Silicon Valley software company and author of Take Control of Your Career (2016), suggests that a good way to cultivate self-awareness, a component of empathy and other soft skills, is to invite feedback from your clients. Gourani says, “Feedback is not easy to a lot of people and it is an essential component of change. You have blind spots and it is like ‘you’ve got broccoli in your teeth …’ You need people to tell you that, because you can’t see it.”

It’s probably safe to assume that in these turbulent, war-torn, inflationary times, reliability, expertise, transparency and efficiency are at top-of-mind for clients and prospects. Support your clients with follow-up, creativity, training and encouragement—- humanist behaviors that sustain healthy relationships.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Fred Rogers (1928 – 2003), creator of the children’s television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, poses with the Neighborhood Train. The series aired on PBS 1963-2001.