I was enjoying lunch with a Professor from Babson College and discussing a couple of book ideas when he asked me, “why do you have so many clients who have been working with you for 40 years?

There are three reasons, I told him:

1. “I clearly and simply explain what services I provide and what to expect,
2.  I then do what I say I am going to do for them and then make sure that I do a little more.  Added-value is a great investment.
3.  I tell them I love them by frequently communicating our success on their behalf and making myself available to them.”

Number three is the most important. I’ve been married for 48 years and tell my wife every day that I love her. She likes to hear those words because it reinforces the fact that she is important to me and lets her know that I don’t take our relationship for granted.

My clients like number three because it reinforces the fact that I care about what I do for them, I value their business, and want them to know that.

Nobody wants to be taken for granted and that is especially important in long-term relationships. It doesn’t matter whether it is business or personal because if you are in a service business it is always personal. If you don’t feel that way, you don’t get it.

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© 2018 Steven M. Stroum (with permission to share)