The Benefits of Great Clients

January 27, 2010 in GROW, Management and Operations | 8 comments

I’m continually amazed at the great clients we have.  I’ve frustrated a few of them recently with some internal system changes we’ve made to our firm services.  I know they are the best changes for the long run, but they are hard for those who don’t like change.  But we have a relationship with our clients, and they know we are doing our best to bring them knowledgeable service.

Keeping and retaining great clients is a lot of work, but it has it’s benefits:

1.  Great clients are more forgiving when you mess things up, because they realize no one is perfect.

2.  Great clients put up with necessary hard changes, because they know you are vested in their success in the long run.

3.  Great clients are thankful for what you do for them, and they often say “thank you” when they are writing you a check.

4.  Great clients are always teaching you, because you admit to them that you don’t know everything there is to know about what you are doing.

5.  Great clients care about YOUR business, because they know that if your business grows their service will ultimately improve too.

6.  Great clients don’t mind hearing the hard truth, because they know our counsel is meant to help, not make anyone necessarily feel good.

Spend time on developing great clients… it will pay off long into the future.

Jason M. Blumer

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  1. Laura MacPherson’s avatar

    Laura MacPherson on January 27, 2010 at 10:32 am

    Great thoughts there. Would love a follow-up post on your thoughts about how to find and develop great clients!

  3. thriveal’s avatar

    thriveal on January 30, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    Sounds like a great idea, Laura. I believe you asked for two posts: (1) how to find great clients, and (2) how to develop great clients.

    I’ll get on it (might have to combine them into one)! ;-)

  4. Pierre Rattini’s avatar

    Pierre Rattini on February 2, 2010 at 4:26 am

    I believe these comments to be true, and although all change is not well received if it is necessary it must be done. I believe you can overcome a lot of their frustration by setting expectations in advance so they understand the reasons why. Never underestimate good communication and expectation management and a good thank you card.

  5. thriveal’s avatar

    thriveal on February 2, 2010 at 8:14 am

    Pierre-

    Great comments! Actually I believe a lack of communication was part of what frustrated our clients recently. It was also that we didn’t have a full grasp on the process ourselves! ha. That will always come back to bite you.

    Thanks for reading.

    Jason

  6. Marty Desmond’s avatar

    Marty Desmond on February 2, 2010 at 7:30 pm

    Jason, I like reading your thoughts on client relationships. We see too many firms that care about their clients but do not go the extra mile to develop better relationships. As a result, many are missing out on extra work by not exploring client needs.

    Your comment on communication is key. That must work two ways as well, both in your message and listening.

  7. thriveal’s avatar

    thriveal on February 2, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    Good thoughts, Marty, on missing out on extra work. That probably happens more than we know. Building heavy relationships usually leads to more work and more income! Yeah.

    Thanks for reading,
    Jason