IF YOU START IGNORING CLIENTS…YOUR CLIENTS WILL ULTIMATELY IGNORE YOU.
I bet you know what I’m talking about here. How many times in the last six months or so have you made a major purchase, let’s say over $500, only to never hear from the business or person you bought from again? Yet, they were so nice and attentive when they took your money and even said thank you as you turned over the cash. That’s ignoring clients.
And then nothing happened…not a thank you note, not a phone call, and not even an email.
The sad thing is that most of us have become so used to the lack of contact or follow-up after we buy something that we don’t even notice that it isn’t happening or that it even means that the business is ignoring clients. We just move on with our daily business and forget about it…and in most cases, we also forget about the company that sold us in the first place.
But here’s the rub… most of us want to do business with and refer companies that we buy from. The problem is that they don’t give us a reason to come back to them. Some of them even get mad if they find out we went somewhere else later on or referred our friends to their competitor even though they’re the ones that were ignoring clients.
You see, they’ve got it all wrong. They think it’s our job to remember to buy from them again or refer our friends to them. The reality is it’s their job to consistently remind us and prove to us that they are the only choice – but they don’t get it. They’re too busy moving on to the next sale not realizing they’re ignoring clients…and we’ve already proven that we’re valuable to them – we gave them our money!
Does any of the above ring true to you? Even worse, has your business fallen into the trap of being too busy to pay attention to the most valuable asset in your business – your customer list?
Don’t worry.
Separating yourself from your competitors and showing up differently after the sale isn’t all that tough. It’s really pretty simple – yet most businesses will never break out of the “love ‘em” and “leave ‘em” mindset.
That’s a good thing for you.
In this first Renegade INSIDER Letter, I’m going share just a couple of “old fashioned” ways you can not only keep your customers coming back you can actually turn them into referring machines so you can spend less time and money chasing after new customers and more time and money building long-lasting relationships with your current customers.
Here are four really simple and easy actions you can take right now that will shock and delight the folks that have given you their hard-earned cash:
1. Send them a handwritten thank-you note immediately.
Make sure it arrives in their mailbox while they are still excited about their recent purchase. No offers, no requests…just a sincere short thank you. By the way, an email doesn’t cut it here.
2. Wait a week or so and send a follow-up note (an email is better than nothing here). You don’t want to seem like you’re ignoring clients.
Remind them that they made a good decision and let them know you are available for any questions or comments they have. Make it easy for them to communicate back with you.
3. After a month or so, send a follow-up offer for a product or service that you think would be a good fit for them.
Put a deadline on your offer to create urgency. You don’t have to discount, but providing some sort of “premium” or “gift with purchase” will boost your results.
4. Add them to your mailing list and send them something every month.
Send a newsletter, note, gift, seasonal card, special offer, an invitation to an event, or even a request for a referral.
Remember, it’s your job to remind your customers and clients that you are serious about earning their continued business and referrals and that you are willing to do what most businesses can’t or won’t do – prove that they made a good decision and that you are the only choice.
You will accomplish more, earn more and live the lifestyle of your choice.
But, here’s the challenge… most people fall into the trap of “settling” into a safe zone, and even though they really have a desire to do more, earn more, and live “better” and in some cases even believe they deserve better it just doesn’t seem to happen for them…and likely never will.
Why?
Because every day we all make decisions that will either move us forward, keep us “even” or pull us back. Once we find our own version of a “safe zone” it’s really uncomfortable (there’s that word again) to make decisions that will force us to move forward into unknown territories and overcome obstacles that stop most of the population dead in their tracks… so it’s just easier to “settle” and call it good – and that’s what most people do.
But that’s not you…
You decided at some point that “average” was for other people.
You decided at some point that “settling” for the status quo was not an option.
You decided at some point to do “whatever it takes” to reach your goals.
Yet, there is a good chance that even if you have the desire to succeed and have made the commitment to do whatever it takes to reach your goals – something is holding you back or slowing you down…and there’s a good chance it’s one (or a combination) of the “Seven Obstacles to Success”.
Here’s the list…
Fear, Self-doubt, Procrastination, Lack of Clarity, Levelers, Belief Systems, Skill and Knowledge.
We’ll be covering each of these obstacles and how to overcome them in future Renegade INSIDER Letters.
In the meantime, rate yourself on a scale of 1 – 5 for each of the “Seven Obstacles”.
A rating of “1” means you realize there is a lot of work to be done…and a rating of “5” means that you have “mastered” the obstacle…
