All the cupids, heart candies, and poetry floating around this month got me thinking about the love language of my clients.
What would be the best way to show them love?
As business owners, we want to solve the external problems of our clients and do whatever they have hired us to do. In my case, it's get them a name and help them launch their brand.
Beyond the external need for a name, though, our clients also have an internal need. Yes, they are coming to us to solve an external problem, but the way that problem makes them feel is what probably drove them to make the decision to hire us.
According to Donald Miller of StoryBrand,
Customers buy solutions to their internal needs
more than external ones. While most companies
sell solutions to external problems, most customers
are looking for solutions to how those problems
make them feel.
Almost every single client I speak to uses some version of the following phrase when talking with me about what's going on with them.
"I've hit a wall."
When they continue, the conversation usually reveals how this wall they've come up against is making them feel. I often hear feelings of being frustrated, fed up, overwhelmed, overloaded, incompetent, disappointed, or confused.
So, what are three things we can do
to love our clients?
First, listen.
I don't mean the kind of listening where you're waiting to get a word in edgewise so you can close the deal, or pitch them on this or that, or tell them your prices so you can get off the call and move on.
I mean the kind of listening you do to seek understanding.
One of the most successful calls I've had this week involved me barely saying a word. A person in the medical industry first told me all about how she found us and what she thought about how we were doing things differently and what she liked about it, and then she moved on to tell me about the practice she and a partner wanted to open, how it was their dream, and how they had hit a wall.
There were a couple of moments where I wanted to jump in and make a comment or two, but I decided to hold back. I'm glad I did.
She really didn't have any questions. She wanted to be heard. She wanted to know if she could entrust her dream, her wall, and her feelings with us. All I did was listen, affirm, and encourage.
Second, understand.
Find out what your client's wall is. What are they struggling with? Be empathetic, and even help them name the internal problem if they're unable to.
"That sounds incredibly frustrating."
Third, armed with empathy, help them get rid of their wall.
Do what they've hired you to do.
Clear the path before them by taking down whatever has been blocking them.
The solution you provide will solve both the external problem and the internal problem.
They came to you feeling confused, frustrated, fed up, overwhelmed, overloaded, incompetent, disappointed, or confused.
Once their wall is out of the way, they'll experience clarity and feel encouraged, confident, excited, enthusiastic, and at peace.
Isn't that what we all want?
Now get out there and show your clients some love.