Customer behavior gives you more information than asking questions May 31, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Client Value, Client retention, Communication, Decision-Making, Highest and Best Use.1 comment so far
My “buddy” Ankesh created a clever plug-in for WordPress blogs. It offers you the opportunity to donate a beer if you find value in a blog post. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this tactic. Ankesh has also included a feature that provides a non-alcoholic option. If I had my druthers, I would have a “baby needs a new pair of shoes” plug-in.
Our daughter is growing sooo fast!! 
.
She has already grown out of these shoes and another pair inside of two months.
In this particular post, Ankesh defends the plug-in’s value.
“It Helps You Know What People Like
If a few of your readers are willing to pay you $3 or $5 for a blog post, you can be pretty sure that many others will pay $10-100 for a more comprehensive report or an e-course.The beer plugin works as a signal – showing you which topics you should focus on more often.”
Here is the lesson
You may not be a tech-head or blogger, but if you want to have a better relationship with your clients, there is an important lesson here. The plug-in models “The Law of Two Feet.”
You can see the Law in action at a party. Imagine you walk into a large party. On one side of the room is the bar. On another is the band, with a dance floor in front. The food spread is on one wall. People playing board games are on another wall. (Hey, if I’m missing your favorite party activity just fill in the blank ).
Now, imagine if you are greeted by your host at the front door. He gives you one of two greetings:
- “Welcome, help yourself. Enjoy.”
- “What would you like to do first?”
What greeting is going to be easier to respond to?
As the party host, you never have to answer this. All you need to do is to see where people go. Clients take their two feet and walk themselves to the activity that interests them the most.
Behavior has a purpose: Need fulfillment
People behave to serve their needs. For your clients, acting on their needs and interests is much easier than answering questions. If you want to know how to frame a service for greater consumption or whether to offer a new product, provide your clients with options.
You will get much richer information than simply asking. And if you can charge for the option, that will make your market research that much more robust.
Case Study: Meeting Client Needs May 13, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Breast cancer research, Client Value, Client retention.add a comment
I’ve written previously on the power of removing a client’s worry. When you remove a worry from your client’s field of concern, you become indispensable. As an example, my daughter’s daycare would be very hard to be without. She never cries when I drop her off. She knows the teachers. She knows the other kids. I put her down and she is quickly off at play.
Meet a need, win a client
Consider your own needs. What competes with your mindspace? What would you give, what would pay, to gain precious piece of mind?
You and your client’s have something in common. They have needs that are begging to be met. They have a scarcity of mindspace and would dearly love to have their worries removed.
But, they also have needs that are much closer to their heart.
Your clients need to feel good about themselves
Your clients need to feel like they have made a difference in the world. They need to feel connected to others. They need to feel like they have made a difference.
What would it look like if you provided a service or product to your clients that removed a worry and made them feel better about themselves?
Combining the two needs in one product
A cousin of mine, Bill Cotton (our grandfathers were brothers, I guess that makes Bill a 3rd cousin, or is it 2nd? I could never keep the numbers straight 
), created a product that meets both needs. Sunglasses that support and promote breast cancer research.
The video is here. You will have to wade through a commercial or two.
Video and photo courtesy of 9news.com.
A portion of proceeds are donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which leads the cause of finding a cure for breast cancer. The sunglasses, named after Bill’s mom, Toby (who succumbed to breast cancer in 2001, after 17 years fighting the disease), also display the pink ribbon.
How can you provide for both needs for your clients?
If you’d like, you can get your own set of Tobys. Tell ‘em cousin Jeff sent you?
Declaring a vision for your business April 23, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Client Selection, Client retention, Conversation.2 comments
Imagine you have been dropped into a place completely unfamiliar to you. You have to navigate your way “Home.” All that you have at your disposal is a large map. But this is a very special map.
You can only see the area within your immediate vicinity. The rest of the map might as well be written in invisible ink. If you were to move a mile or so to the north, you would be able to see that portion of the map. But, you will only be able to see a new portion of the map when you move to it.
Oh, there’s just one more thing
Did I say “North?”
The map has no compass orientation. Rather than the traditional map that has north toward the top and south toward the bottom, this map has no fixed direction. The direction you are facing is toward the top.
(For technology geeks—like me—envision a global positioning satellite (GPS) unit with a very large screen, but only a very small portion of it on display.)
Working in your business rather than on your business
(I’m not a big fan of this cliché, but it works in this instance so, please, bear with me 
)
Does this map resemble your view—your vision—for your business?
If you are like most, your attention is consumed with the day-to-day challenges and not as focused with the way “Home.” Collecting your fees, paying your bills, staying one step ahead of the competition, and keeping your clients happy may be all that you have time for right now.
I feel your pain.
I’m the father of a toddler. I know full well how the full day you set aside to work on strategy can disappear in a blink of an eye. I can’t offer you time management tips. I’m not here to tell you that if you “think” it, it will come. (Don’t get me started on The Secret. Rubbish!!!)
And, I’m not here to tell you of a few steps that you can take to see the whole map.
I can add one more tool to your navigation toolbox, however
I’m going to give you a compass. This isn’t a compass that points north, or even magnetic north. This compass points you toward “Home.” That’s where you are headed, remember.
You are still left with a map that doesn’t show you more than your immediate surroundings. You will still have to learn the lay of the new land when you arrive at a new place. You won’t know what to expect. You are likely to encounter obstacles.
But, your compass will always point the way “Home.”
What is “Home?”
“Home” is
- Where you hold the vision for who you are, why you are here, and what you are here to do.
- Where you hold the vision for what your engagement with clients is supposed to be.
“Home”
“Home” for the Happy Clients Newsletter is to enhance the value of the client relationship. What does a high value client relationship look like?
1 + 1 = the sky is the limit.
How does a client relationship become a high value client relationship?
In order to answer that question, you need to understand the role of behavior in relationship. Behavior is the currency of relationship. Behavior is what an individual does to get his needs met. When a client agrees to work with you, it is to get his needs met. A met need is not a one-off event. It’s more than just 1 + 1 = 2.
It’s transformative. It has a ripple effect. What ever you contribute to a client pays forward.
The value of conversation
In order to meet a need, appropriately, effectively, you need to understand your client. There has to be a sharing of information; an openness deep enough for you to understand your client and for them to understand you.
The key to uncovering your client’s need, and realize this transformation, is conversation.
Can you achieve a transformation without a conversation? Perhaps. But for repeated success, there has to be a conversation. There has to be two or more people coming together and building a deeper meaning between them from a sharing of information.
No conversation, no transformation.
No compass, no vision for the conversation.
No vision, no idea what conversation facilitates transformation.
What is “Home” for you?
