Happy Sunday Everyone:
I’ve had someone pursue a relationship with me for years on a product that I don’t do but get a lot of requests for, HELOC’s. For the past 7 years I’ve given that business to a lady an hour away from me. I’ve never met her in person, she’s never sent me a thank you note, she never checks in with me, nothing. With that said-my clients always tell me in the end that she took good care of them. Finally this other lady got through to me, “Hunter please just give us a chance”, she’s local, I’ve met her in person, seems relatively solid….My thought was “this other lady has never once proactively reached out to me, screw her, she doesn’t deserve my business, I’m moving on”. I gave the new lady 3 opportunities in the past 30 days. Of the 3, I only know of what has happened with two of them, because they both copied me on emails that she hadn’t responded to them. The other one is lost in space. When I asked her about it (by simply forwarding the clients email to her), I immediately received a long apologetic email about her health, being sick, etc….She then immediately copied in my clients, apologizing to them and giving them a paragraph on her life/health/etc…Makes us both look unprofessional.
So as I reflect on both of these ladies, I think about my situation with them. The 1st lady, I resent, because of her lack of appreciation for the business opportunities I’ve provided her (at least 40 clients in 7 years), but at least she treated my clients well. The 2nd lady, I think of how crazy it is to pursue a relationship with me for that long and then actually get opportunities, and poop the bed. Not only poop the bed, but then load the excuses by email and embarrass me in front of my client with the lack of professionalism. So I ask myself a question and have a few thoughts on the subject.
1. Does anyone feel this way about me? If so, not good.
2. The simple act of proactive communication to someone who is going out of their way to help you with your business is not optional, its mandatory.
3. follow-through is the cornerstone to trust. I literally delete emails for some people, and flag for others before deleting if the task is on them to resolve, the difference in my head is “this person I’ll need to keep an eye on, this person I trust”. None of us want to be in the “need to keep an eye on” box.
4. Even if my business model is solid, people still need to know I appreciate them (i.e. old pair of shoes from a few weeks ago). Can you imagine sending someone 40 clients and not getting a thank you note once, or a phone call saying “thank you”? I actually think 3 years ago I received a box of chocolates, from the company, with an automated note (WOW).
5. If I have a personal situation that is impacting my business, ask someone else to step in, have a backup plan. if you don’t have a team, have a buddy system.
6. Business is business, personal is personal. When I had my blood clots, a client that I was close with knew about them, clients/referral partners that I wasn’t close with personally just thought I was out of the office, while my team took care of everything. Don’t get too personal until you have the right. Might not sound fair but I believe it to be true.
7. If you’re going to make a mistake, pick up the phone and apologize, and do it once….mine sounds like this “I have no excuse, I’m sorry, can I have a redo”? Unless you have a track record with someone, no one cares about a long story of why you f’ed up, it’s unprofessional and sloppy. Own it and move on if the other person allows it, and if they don’t, move on and accept it, but move on.
Here is the great news, I believe the majority of our competitors live in one of these two worlds, or both, this is what we compete against. The fix is simple (just don’t tell the competition), proactive communication, follow-through, w/ a hint of appreciation, is all it takes. You’re allowed to be human, you just need to communicate and follow-through. Do what you say.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.