August 19, 2021

Why Clients Want to Keep Coming Back to Us

Ah! Those halcyon days!
I remember them well.

Those naïve days of yester-year.

Those days when every outing didn’t require the planning normally reserved for a NATO military exercise.

Those days when Wendy and I would love going to the cinema for our Date Nights.

Each year, there would be one or two films where we would want, desperately, to rise to our feet… and applaud. Sometimes we did!

We gaped at the stories of triumph-against-impossible-odds.

We were lifted by the wonder and majesty and glorious courage…
in the face of frustration and disappointment, misery and heartbreak.

We would drive home with our faith renewed in the unconquerable possibility of – the rising of hope in – our souls.

You know…
There are people we meet who have that effect upon us.

In their presence we feel inspired.

  • Not because of any celebrated talent they might possess.
  • Not because of the clever things they say or advise.
  • Not because of how they make us feel about them and their accomplishments.

No.
Rather we feel so inspired by something else entirely.

We feel so inspired… because of how they make us feel about ourselves.
How we feel about the possibilities in our lives.

Who we wish to become…
merely by having associated with them.
Or being in their presence.

We leave them, to return to our daily round.
But now, with hope in our hearts…
A spring in our step…
And a brightening of our countenance.

They are rare, these individuals.
But few forget them afterwards.
The memory of them lingers long in our spirits.

And here’s the question:
Are you such a person?
Is your business such a place?

I listen to Advisers, Planners and Leaders explaining to clients (on websites, or wheresoever)…
Why it’s important to keep meeting each year.

“Because life changes. Doesn’t it?”
“Because life throws surprises and shocks.”
“Because markets tend to do unpleasant things to our investments.”
“Because politicians keep changing the rules.”

And so on, and so forth.

On the other hand, I’ve worked with those Planners and Leaders whose clients say that they feel better simply for having been in their presence.

Reviewing results of client research I’ve heard language used like… “Liberated!”
Or… “Elevated!”
Or… “See My Life More Clearly Now!”

Hmmm.
You already know what I’m going to ask, don’t you?
Because you’re smart. Perceptive.

Nevertheless…
I’ll ask it anyway.

It’s this simple, difficult-to-wriggle-from question:

“Why Exactly Do Clients Keep Coming Back to You?”

Face that question. Mull it over.
And you might conclude that there’s a fresh, new role just waiting for you to fill.

A role which moves clients to come back to you.
For reasons other than the purely logical, the dutiful, the instructed-to-do-so.

For reasons they’ll talk about freely about to others… for years to come!
They might even rise to their feet and applaud!