Over the last 12 years I’ve learned a great deal about what it takes to grow and scale a business. I believe we all recognize how important it is to know what we’re doing, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of people out there who are just as experienced as you, if not more than you, so what ultimately draws people to you and keeps them coming back has much more to do with the experience you provide for them than what you know. This starts the moment people come in contact with you. The great Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, they’ll forget what you did, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.”
And in business that quote has never rang more true. It is the main reason that I have been able to maintain full time entrepreneur status since I launched in 2008. Not to mention with enough means to live out the kind of life I never dreamed. The reality is I have had to do very little marketing of my consulting practice Change Agent Consulting, LLC over the years. I began with a website, some VistaPrint business cards, and being vetted in some consulting pools…that’s it! Besides our Facebook page, the only time I have ever expanded our marketing strategy has been to promote our I Lead With Purpose training program.
The #1 way I have generated business has been through word of mouth and client retention. That means I have saved a lot of time and money, because my clients actually were the ones serving as my marketing team. I got to thinking about how I was able to accomplish this and I came up with the following formula I’d like to share with you:
Expertise + Optimal Client Experience + On Time Delivery + Timely Responsiveness + Ongoing Non-Business Contact = Clients Who Love You
The more you can create an experience that makes clients feel understood, the more they will keep you at the forefront of their minds. The more you do what you say you’re going to do, the more clients will trust you. The more you give your clients the deliverables you agreed on, the more they will see you as an expert. And the more you reach out to them post a client engagement, the more they will see you as more than just a business contact.
In business people want reciprocity. They want to know you give a damn about them. Business for the sake of transaction should not be your goal. Business for the sake of making everything you touch better should be the goal. That includes building lasting client relationships.
At the end of the day, caring excellence will be the thing that sets you apart from the masses. It doesn’t mean that you won’t make mistakes along the way, it just means you’ll fix those mistakes in a ‘right sized’, timely manner, even if that means reducing your fee. In a nutshell, put this formula into practice and you will experience flow and abundance. It’s that simple.
As you reflect on putting this formula into practice, you may want to also consider investing in yourself and your business with our leadership development program, I Lead With Purpose that starts on 9/26 and the Be Well Beautiful Woman Retreat which is an all-inclusive luxurious experience overlooking Gull Lake October 25-27.
Let’s get it,
Demarra West
Founder
