Daniel Skognes

This is not a trick question.  The answer is annually.  So why do so many reps NOT have contact with their clients after the initial sale?  One of the major complaints clients have is that their agent does not stay in touch with them.  How do you think that makes them feel?  Put yourself in their shoes.

Here are some reasons to do an annual review with your clients:

Reason 1.  Client retention.  You want to keep clients on the books?  Stay in touch with them.  This lets them know you truly care about them and their welfare.

Reason 2.  Things change.  You have new products.  They may have gone through a divorce, a marriage, bought a house, got a new job, had a baby or a grandbaby, lost a loved one, just retired, etc. Every life event is a potential need for your services. They need to be reminded of what services you provide that can meet their needs.

Reason 3.  Annual reviews are always a great time to ask for referrals.  If you are providing your clients outstanding service, you have a right to be introduced to a couple of the friends or family members, don’t you think?

Reason 4.  You want to separate yourself from all the knuckleheads out there trying to take your business away.  If you have developed relationship with your clients, what is the chance of someone coming in and taking them away from you?  Slim to none, if you have done your job right.

Reason 5.  It is just the right thing to do.  Honestly, customers don’t really expect it because not many people do it, so that puts you into an elite crowd already when you make the effort to serve your clients and develop relationships with them. I say this often. We are in a relationship business.  Take your relationships seriously.  Do your part to keep the relationships alive and growing.

Several good things come out of this, as you can see.  Even if a client declines meeting with you, they will appreciate the fact that you made the effort.  By the way, if someone says, “Can’t we just do this over the phone?”  Say, “No, because I have a gift for you that I need to deliver in person.”  Don’t tell them what it is.  It is a surprise.  It may be a surprise to you too…LOL.

I like to give my clients things to read that are encouraging.  You can give them a little book like Tyranny of the Urgent. It can be read very quickly and has some great principles that everyone can put into practice when it comes to time management.  It talks about how we often sacrifice what is important for what is urgent.  Big mistake.  It is a great read.  If you have not read it yourself, I highly recommend that you read it. Give them a reason to meet with you! Just one tip.  When you give someone a book, inscribe it with the date and a personal message for them.  Then sign it.  That little extra touch makes it personal and meaningful. They are more likely to read it at that point.

I hope this helps you and I encourage you to have your annual reviews.  We did not even mention how to stay in touch with your clients between reviews…but that is a blog for another day.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013 at 9:31 am and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.