How to be of service to your clients
By John McCann
In challenging times we need to keep our heads – we need to remember “SERVICE” – serve each other, help, care and love each other (family, friends, clients, colleagues and yourself).
In challenging times, you must believe in you, in your integrity, in your resilience, in your mental toughness, in your goodness.
In challenging times, a leader is called upon to flourish so they can provide optimal service to their clients (emotional value, experiential value, social value, functional value and financial value).
This is when our clients need our service the most – under the stress of pressure, adrenalin is pumped into the blood stream and sends a message to the brain to redirect the blood to the large muscle group away from the brain where it is needed for rational thinking.
The best thing we can do in a challenging situation is to be calm and is to ask the four questions when we’re dealing with people:
- What do I really want for myself in this conversation?
- What do I really want for others?
- What do I really want for the relationship?
- How would I behave if I really wanted these results?
The attitude we need adopt is that, ‘I am here to help you’.
Using empathic listening will help calm clients so that they can think more rationally, so that they can think more logically, and if price needs to be adjusted, then so be it.
A fundamental question in challenging times is, ‘what is being asked of us and what is wanted of me?’
The answer to that question is probably how can you love more? How can you help more? How can you serve more?
We need to focus on each client.
Think of your clients and with a pen and paper ask yourself these questions.
- Do I really know them?
- Do I really understand what they need?
- Is pride stopping them from telling me that the bank is about to foreclose?
- Is it that dad is dying of a terminal illness and I don’t know that yet?
In essence are we on the surface of the onion or at the soft inner core?
Look for conditions telling you more than you realise – for example: are they wanting constant feedback but there seems to be no major problem?
Challenging times are interesting and I’m not saying they’re easy, but I am saying that they present an incredible opportunity for people who are willing to serve.
People who completely lose sight of or have no understanding of the real issues below the water line or in the soft inner core of the onion of the people they’re dealing with will be challenged.
It’s not easy, but I can assure you that if you focus on the good in you and in your life and in the way you do your job and focus on serving your clients then there’s no doubt – the research is clear, that this type of approach will help you become more effective and achieve the results you want for you, your family and your clients. Not only will this help you fill your rice bowl it wall also feed your soul and these are two of the most basic needs we have in life. PLEASE write a list of your blessings – write three to five things you are grateful for DAILY. And see how your world changes.
Love and peace, John McCann.