Many businesses strive to create and maintain successful client relationships. Why? Because this is key to success. A business with good standing and relationship with its clients can and will more likely succeed than businesses that fail to build and maintain such client relationships. But doing so is much easier said than done.
While not exactly rocket science, building successful client relationships is much harder and more complicated. This is because it involves people, and money — two things guaranteed to increase the likelihood of complication of any situation.
At the same time though, building successful client relationships is not impossible.
What Does It Mean to Listen More Than You Speak?
“Active Listening”
This is perhaps the best phrase to use to capture the feeling of listening more and speaking less.
When dealing with customers and clients, it’s important that we be present in the conversation. However, we have to make sure that the conversation is less about you and your business, and more about their concerns and how they want their problems solved by your business.
Another added benefit is that the client or customer feels like you value them. They will appreciate the gift of a listening ear. This makes them feel validated and understood. This allows you to forge a more personal bond with your client and customers, which is an especially powerful tool in both sales and building relationships.
Finally, when it is your time to speak, your words are more likely to carry more weight and reverberate.
Think of it as the law of supply and demand. Because the conversation is mostly one-sided in favor of your clients and customers, when you do share your opinion, you don’t have to make one point over and over.
While this isn’t to suggest that you shouldn’t talk, because your customers and clients need to know your thoughts too. However, by spending more time listening than speaking, you’ve allowed a bond to be created that, when you do so speak, the other party is more likely to listen closely to whatever it is you have to say.
Building Successful Client Relationships
You never stop building successful client relationships. Even with clients you’ve had a long history with, you’ll still need to constantly work at improving your relationships and strengthening the bond that you two have created.
But before you go there, you need to know how to build successful client and customer relationships first.
Learning how to speak less and listen more, as well as learning from any and all interactions, are keys to doing just that. Because, if you can make customers feel validated and welcomed, while at the same time, avoiding doing things that, as per your experience, lead to negative outcomes, you’re already well on your way to building a lasting relationship with your clients and customers.
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