The Pedestal Group

I run into situations all the time where I don’t need a “Something for Dummies” book, but I need the next level up.  I recently spoke with a professional in the financial industry and every other word out of her mouth was a financial term. Being a lovely person I was able to ask what each one meant, but it was frustrating that I didn’t just “know”. For me – not her.  Then I tried to do something new on the computer and the documentation is clearly written for someone who has just a little more knowledge than I do.  Nowhere in this information does it tell you WHY you would use a portfolio or what the Testimonial function actually DOES.  And THEN, I watched Diner, DriveIns, and Dives which I really like.  He went to a place that had many, many ways to order a Philly Cheese Steak and the owner clearly prided himself on that.  Did I mention you order by number?  So if you don’t know what number, not only do you hold up this really long line (and those John Pinette fans know what I would say there) but you also get to feel stupid.  Really?  Come on!

It is time to go back and make sure the rest of the world can talk to us, use our products and follow what we are saying.  There is no reason in the world to use your business short hand with customers unless they have been down this road before.  Don’t expect them to know WHY your product does what it does.  Did you know if you put in your documentation a couple different ways people use your product they might find another reason to use your product and it becomes even more indispensable?  Gold!

And if you are thinking, no one reads the documentation, think again.  I bought a baking stone from Pampered Chef years ago.  It came with this stand that was a little weird but worked to keep the hot stone high off the counter so I didn’t scorch my counter when I used it.  I was at a friend’s house and she had the same stone.  Only her stand was actually a rack – you put under the stone so you have handles to put it in the oven and take it out.  How did she know to use it that way? She read the directions.  Genius.   Guess what I do now when I buy cookware!

So sit down and think about how you would explain what you do with a client to your mother, or your grandfather or someone who doesn’t know it.  They love you and want to understand so there’s no judgment or  grumpy.  Then recognize that if you define a jargony term for me and I get to use it later as if I know it, I get an ego boost. Bonus!  Next time you are with a new client, tell them WHY your product or service does what it does, tell them HOW they interact with it, and make sure they know what they need to know.  You’ll keep customers longer, I promise.

And by the way – I still use my handles as a stand.  And so does my friend now!

Last night I attended a dinner event and left the house at about 6:45.  Until then, I was at my desk.  A client called at 7:30 and when he didn’t reach me, waited about an hour and then called my cell.  When I answered, his first question was, “are you on vacation?”.  Obviously this is an extreme example and I did question his assumption immediately (which he recognized was silly).  But, the point is, when something happens that is out of the norm, what assumptions are your customers making?

With this particular client, it is extremely rare for him to call and not get me.  Or if I can’t answer right then, he hears back pretty quickly.  So when he didn’t get me and he needed help, he immediately went to thinking I wasn’t available.  And actually, this example isn’t as far out as it sounds.  I often get voice mails at the end of the day that start, “you’re probably gone for the day” and it may only be 4:30.

So, take a look at your process.  What are those norms customers come to expect?   Pay close attention to those things you pride yourself on – fast turn around, responsiveness, etc.  What if you have a situation where your normal response isn’t possible?  Can you do something to let the customer know everything is okay but in this one instance things are different?

In my case I promised the client if I were going on vacation he would get notice.  In fact, all my clients would.  In the past, I’ve been able to manage the calls quickly and still enjoyed my vacation so that works too.  But it was really important that we have that conversation so he is confident he can get help when he needs it.  What confidence do you need to ensure?

This video by RockPaperInk gives you a fun take on the client relationship and what can sometimes happen in the vendor relationship. Go ahead and watch it – it is short – I can wait.  Wasn’t that hilarious?  It was sent to me by a friend. We’ve been sharing tales like this recently as we each have a client playing these kinds of games. So how do you prevent it?

Obviously, setting expectations up front is key.  Everyone should understand, in writing, what is going to happen.  But as the videos show, clients often know the rules and yet try to change the game after the fact.  I think the restaurant is the best example.  The prices were stated on the menu, the couple ate and enjoyed what they ordered, but now want to negotiate down the price.  At the end, they finally agree to pay what they should but with the expectation that they learn how to make the food at home.  For those of us who trade time for money, this isn’t as funny a video as it should be.  Even without the tools, training and experience, the client wants to bring the service “in house”.

So what can you do to prevent THIS?  You set expectations at the beginning, but the real key I think here is to make sure you continue to sell your client on what you bring to the table.  If something looks easy, the client assumes it is.  It is a delicate balance but it is critical to get it right. Some things that can help:

Never talk about the value of your service being tied to your own expenses. Recently I had someone tell me I had to appreciate her costs because she had 5 people on staff. Bottom line, not my problem. If it isn’t worth what you are charging me for the value I receive, I’ll negotiate – and negotiate hard.  For instance, did all 5 people actually touch MY project?

What you do isn’t “easy” or “simple”.  It is cake for me to re-route email into a folder in Outlook through a rule.  I’ve done it a million times. It is a simple task because I’ve done it as many times as I have, I use rules all the time to help keep myself organized, and I spent the time to figure out how to make that work.  I’m not saying it is brain surgery, but at the same time the PROCESS to achieve the result is simple – the RESULT it achieves is not.  Meaning, if I create a rule for a client and route email directly so she doesn’t have to manage 20-100 emails a day, how much time have I given her back each day?  Isn’t that worth the $15 it would cost?  Seems like a no-brainer.  But I have to make sure she understands that it is the RESULT that is important – not how simple or easy it was to get there.

The hardest one – recognize that for every client who negotiates, you can get one that understands your value.  The hair salon client in the video should either get a haircut and that’s it or kicked out. She clearly has no business in that chair or has some reason to believe it is reasonable to negotiate like that. The stylist doesn’t care if her husband likes highlights and it isn’t his job to worry about it.  He needs to get clients who appreciate what he does and how he does it versus someone who would treat him like that. A very polite, “I’ll be happy to take care of you, but prices are not negotiable” should end the discussion.  By negotiating, you’ve set yourself up for all kinds of headaches. Because people like that LOVE to tell their friends about the “great deal” they got.  And then you get more clients like them.  Go for the ones that get what you do.

So have a laugh, and then look at your clients to see which ones could have segments on this video themselves.  If you have any, it is time to start phasing them out.  Do a little negotiating yourself!