Falling in love with clients

The way some people track clients down, chew them up and spit them out, you’d think their motto was: “Clients, they’re not just for breakfast anymore.”

It isn’t a stretch to say that at Adams Jette, clients are very much like friends.

We often know how many kids they have, where they live and the kinds of cars they drive. We know who loves their job (who doesn’t), who is in a rock band and who likes to let loose on weekends.

You don’t have to delve into clients’ personal lives to improve customer service, but you do have to care about them—and you have to care honestly.

Just like you care about your friends.

You have to be honest all the time and help when you can. You have to look out for them, respect them, treat them courteously and only make promises to them you can keep. (If they ask to borrow your clothes, though, it may be time to re-evaluate the relationship.)

If you treat clients more like friends, what’s in it for you?

For one thing, your life is a lot simpler. It’s a lot easier to keep a friend than it is to find a new one. Just like clients.

When you treat clients like friends, funny things start to happen:

• When you do make an error, you’re forgiven.
• When you do disagree, you can work it out without threatening your relationship.
• When they let you down, it’s not the end of the world.

Remember: CLIENTS ARE YOUR FRIENDS. (In fact, clients can be better than your friends. Like friends, good clients can bring joy to your day. But unlike friends, clients also bring MONEY!)

We’re kidding, of course—well, sort of.

In this business, you have to fall in love with the right things. Don’t fall in love with your services, your product, your abilities or your company. Fall in love with your clients. And if you treat clients like the friends they should be, you’ll enjoy more success than you ever thought possible.