Bottom Line…
If your clients trust you, they’ll stick around.
Problem is…
If you fear them leaving you then your fear can ultimately hurt this client loyalty.
And then the Good news…
You Can Do Something About This.
Realize your fear could hurt your business.
No service provider wants to lose clients, business opportunities or revenue. Ironically, though, this fear of losing business actually hurts your ability to keep and increase business because it causes you to avoid doing the difficult things that bring about even more loyalty and trust from your people, the people you are trying to serve.
It’s worth remembering that your clients can smell fear and desperation a mile away, note this is completely off-putting for a potential client. What your prospect are attracted to is a service provider who will be honest and direct with them. Even though you may see this as being at the risk of jeapordizing the relationship, your people will respect you more for it.
Put it this way. It’s just like dating. Girls prefer honest and self-assured guys over desperate ones who tell them what they want to hear. Sounds crazy and counterintuitive, I know, but it is true. 
Put your clients first.
What clients want more than anything is to know that we’re more interested in helping them than we are in maintaining our revenue source. And when we do something, or fail to do something, in order to protect our business, they eventually lose respect for us and understandably question whether they should trust us.
Always start with your client in mind. How can you provide them with outstanding value?
If you look after the needs of your client then the law of reciprocity states they will look after your needs in return.
Be vulnerable.
The most successful service providers are those that are not overly concerned about the possibility of losing a client or for being under-compensated for what they do. I call these guys the ‘naked service providers’becuase they refuse to worry about having their ideas misappropriated by a client, they give all their best content up front and go the extra mile for every client all the time.
They do this because they know it will earn them the trust of their clients in the long term.
The most successful people understand that despite setbacks that are naturally occurring along the way, communicating with prospects and running a business from this perspective will provide more good along the way.
Overall in any business whether it be coaching, holistic services, hospitality, health and fitness or a corporate market your highest intention should always be to provide outstanding, honest and valuable feedback to your market at all times. People come and go in the world of business… It’s the people who play with this mentality that stay.
Here’s to Your Staying Power
Kim Rowe
National Student Liaison
