You must make your clients happy for many years to come.
If you tell your clients that you will provide them with a proposal within five days, then do it within three days. If you told them you could save 10% on their premiums then find a way to make it even more affordable, like 15% or 20%.
You can also send a personalized gift instead of sending a birthday or holiday card by post. Find out the problems that your clients are looking for and give them solutions.
You can differentiate yourself from your competitors by promising more and delivering more. Your clients should be treated with respect and you will not hesitate to recommend other companies, even if their prices are slightly higher.
This will make you a “Dream Protector” to your clients. They’ll continue to do business with you for many years and will also refer qualified people to you.
Unfortunately, many speakers, trainers, and authors may have offered you the same advice (promise a lot, deliver even more) but most don’t do what they say.
It is your extra-mile value which will encourage prospects to do business and it will also keep them coming back year after year.
It is easy. If you show that you are willing to give real value upfront, people will be more inclined to do business with your company.
Why?
It’s because it’s unusual. Too many businesses are trying to make a quick buck by cutting corners. Too often, the values of honesty, integrity, honesty, and courtesy have been neglected. This is not the way to run your business. This is not how you should run your business, and certainly not how I manage mine.
Did you ever buy a product or service simply because the seller offered you a deal you couldn’t refuse.
They told you about all the great benefits and how they would treat after you have used their products or services. After you became their client or customer, they either treated you with indifference for years or never contacted you again.
This has happened many times to me. This is how I feel about a lot agents who treat new clients in the same manner. It’s one of the most costly mistakes they make in their career or business.
As unbelievable as it sounds, agents often ignore prospects who have spent a lot of money to get them to become customers. Instead, they focus on converting more prospects into customers.
As you can see, many of their customers who they have worked so hard for will eventually leave them.
How about you?
Are you guilty of the same fatal error as the one that killed your mother?
You are welcome to join the club. It’s embarrassing to admit that I have done this myself. In my early years of my career, I was primarily focused on acquiring as many clients as possible.
I believed that because I had so many prospects to pursue, I didn’t need to worry about losing any. I figured I could find more clients to replace those who had lost business.
Believe it or not, I was able to find enough clients to replace those who left me for a brief time. Can you guess what happened with my income?
It fell a lot.
If I had known that it cost six times more to acquire a client than to resell one to an existing client, and that a 5% increase in client retention could net approximately 45% more profits, I would have taken better care of my clients back then. This was an expensive lesson.
A general rule of thumb is that once you have many clients, you should spend at least 80% on servicing them and reselling their products. The remaining 20% should be used to get more clients to buy from your company.
This important truth is always in your mind:
It’s not enough to sell customers in order to get them… However, you must also continue to sell the customers in order to retain them.
The real selling in the financial planning and insurance professions happens after a prospect becomes your customer.
Unfortunately, many advisors and agents believe that selling stops when prospects become clients. They fail to treat their clients well enough to maintain their business for the long-term.
To illustrate my point, I will tell you about a doctor who died in heaven and then went to heaven.
The doctor became bored after spending so many years in the serene and peaceful environment of heaven. He approached St. Peter one day and said:
“St. Peter is heaven, a wonderful place to be for all eternity. It is quiet, peaceful, serene. After being up there for so many decades, I am beginning to miss the excitement of earth. Is there a way I could go back to Earth for a bit?
“Oh no. St. Peter responded, “You can’t return to earth.”
“St. Peter! The universe is so vast, is there any place where I can get excitement?” The doctor asked.
St. Peter replied, “Well, I can grant you a 5-day pass into hell.”
“Hell? “Hell? Are you sure that I will be able to get back in five days? The doctor asked.
St. Peter replied, “I heard there was a lot excitement in hell, but you can return to Heaven after five days.”
“Okay. “Okay.
St. Peter raises his hand and a path opens, leading directly to the gates of hell. The doctor knocks at the gate when he reaches it. The gate opens instantly and a red carpet is laid out to welcome the doctor.
Many people are happy to welcome the doctor to their home. They treated him as a king for five days. They treated him like a king, taking him to every party. He got whatever he wanted instantly.
After five days, the doctor decided he didn’t want hell to end. However, his pass was expired and he was immediately transported back to heaven.
After wandering in heaven for several long months, the doctor finally ran into St. Peter. Before St. Peter could speak a word, however, the doctor shouted…
“Hey, St. Peter! I’m bored once more. I need another 5-day pass to hell.
“I’m afraid that I cannot do that. St. Peter replies, “The 5-day pass that I gave you was only for a single time.”
“Is there another way that I can go to hell?” The doctor asks.
“Actually there is. However, if you leave this time, you will not be able to return to heaven. “You’ll have to remain there forever,” St. Peter replies.
After thinking about the fun and excitement he had in hell compared to the calm and serene atmosphere of heaven the doctor said to St. Peter…
“You know, St. Peter. I think hell suits you better. Please send me to hell forever.
The doctor is standing at the gates of hell in less than a second. The gate opens instantly when he knocks it. Instead of receiving the red carpet treatment, a large hook grabbed the doctor and threw him into a large pot of boiling lava. There, many devils poke at him using pitchforks.
The doctor was screaming and screaming and begged the devils not to poke at him. They ignore the doctor. They keep laughing and poke at the doctor.
The doctor suddenly sees Satan in a corner and laughs loudly at him. The doctor pulls out all his strength and shouts at Satan.
“Satan, it’s hard for me to understand. Your people treated me like an emperor the last time I was here.”
Satan replies, “Yeah. That’s because you were a prospect back then.” But now, you’re a customer.”
This is unfortunately how many agents treat their clients, despite the silly story. It is no wonder that they lose 19% each year of their client base.
Keep in mind the advice I gave earlier to prevent this from happening.
Treat Every Client As If It Was The Last Time They Are Doing Business With You!
This is how you will treat your clients and prospects. You’ll be a success beyond your wildest imaginations!