What I've learned from my clients

I started this business back in 2010 and I have been blessed beyond what words can describe with the growth and health of my business. Part of it was good timing. Most of it was the great association with Outdoor Living Brands and their family of amazing outdoor concepts. A huge heaping of salt that gives the whole thing flavor is my consultants. But the one key ingredient that I couldn't live without is what I've learned from my clients. Sometimes I don't realize how much of what I do and how I treat my clients is because of what I've learned from them. I wanted to share some of this rich wisdom and some of these world-class practices that I've learned from the brief weekly conversations with these business owners.

One of the ones I do reflect on regularly is the business philosophy of a couple of my clients. Some of my clients are soft spoken and are successful through demonstrating their skill. Others are quietly confident and have a burning passion for customer service. Others still provide unabashed confidence in their success. It takes a bold personality to make a bold business statement. What always strikes me is the passion whether this is overt or subverted. It's palpable and unyielding. As the steward of their brands, I am able to communicate with this passion on their behalf and I am grateful for these mentorships. If I told them they were my mentors, they may not see it as genuine because it's a huge honor to be an unknowing mentor. It's an honor they've well deserved and I prefer to keep that to myself as I savor what this precious secret gift offers and perhaps fear it would go away if I shared it.

Female vs. male clients? Definitely a difference! If you had asked me before I started my business if I would prefer one over the other, I wouldn't know which one but I would have suspected that I might prefer one over the other. My female clients are distinctly female - not feminine but there is a maternal flavor to their client dedication and a female fire associated with their business decisions and bold moves -- and they are bold. We women, and I hope I can count myself in this same echelon, are not cowering in the corner when it comes to moving confidently and with fire in the direction of our/their dreams. Perhaps that's it. Perhaps I can feel the dream more with my female clients. Maybe that's because although incredibly evolved, there's still this feeling that work is what men need to do and what women choose to do. I know that's silly because working is not a choice for my own 2-income household. My male clients? If my female clients seem like lions, my male clients seem like bears - sometimes big strong black bears and sometimes teddy bears. Their strength is quiet and their passion for details palpable.

Enough commentary. Here are some specific things I've been blessed to learn, be associated with, and observe.

Attitude and respect. my team and I know we are vendors - important vendors - but vendors. We know our job is to respect our client's time to the n'th degree and do everything we can so they devote less time to managing marketing. But, marketing without some, if not limited, but regular attention is misguided. Marketing is a reflection of the business. It affects the business goals and helps them come to fruition. The owners need to put as regular attention to marketing as the frequency to which their business goals evolve and grow. If we are a part of their business growth by witnessing it and hearing briefly about it on a weekly call, we are more effective in marketing the flavor and heartbeat of the business on a right here and right now level. So while we know we are vendors, we know the clients that treat us with the most respect. Is a vendor just a vendor? If they aren't a necessary partner, then they probably shouldn't be a vendor at all.

Admitting weaknesses. I've been surprised by 2 of my clients who are not afraid to admit that they make mistakes. I'm incredibly impressed and don't think I could have this courage. We all make mistakes in our business. They may be very few and very far between but we do make mistakes. I've written blogs for these owners where they admit they make mistakes and I admire and respect their courage.

Professionalism. In light of my admission that I am cowardly about admitting mistakes publicly, I once had a client that I messed up on so badly that I didn't charge them for the entire next month. It nearly brings tears to my eyes that they paid the invoice as if it was full price. No note. No email. Just the quiet message of respect, honor, and dignity in treating partners as humans. Thank you. You know who you are.

Attention to the nth degree detail. I can't describe this better. I have a client that ran water under a deck to a permanent spigot on the far end of the deck because the family had a large backyard and he didn't want them to have to drape a hose over their large new deck. The spigot is shiny, red and beautiful. I often picture that in my mind when I wonder whether to attend to a tiny detail. The thing that was great about that spigot is the customer never would have asked for it. But no doubt that every time they water their lawn and hook the hose up to that shiny red spigot, they think of this client and their attention to service and detail.

Sense of humor. While I love this, I'll make another admission. I can't translate these through my writing. I've chosen only a few best friends in my life, including my husband, and they all have a great sense of humor and either a huge smile or charming sarcasm.  I love my clients that send me hilarious emails without even knowing they're being funny. I have tried, and tried, to pen (or keyboard) their sense of humor. While I admit this is an incredibly tough challenge that I haven't mastered, I look forward to the laughs and enjoy their joie de Vivre they communicate and embody.

Finally, I have to give a nod to one of my Northeastern clients that reminds me of my mother. My mother sure is a tough little bugger but so much care comes through that toughness. I guess I've modeled the way I care on this. I, perhaps often, care to the point of driving some of my clients crazy but they have no doubt in their hearts that I care deeply.

And finally again, in the vein of sharing what I've learned; there is one phenomenon I've learned the hard way that I'll share in case any new consultants read this blog. I've even named it. Trust Event. At the beginning of every consulting relationship whether if it's one month in or three months in, I will mess up on something. Or perhaps because a deep trust has not yet been established the client may perceive I've messed up on something. I strive to overachieve in resolving it. The relationship always achieves a noticeably stronger level as a result of the mess up. It makes no sense but I even tell my consultants about it - the Trust Event. I do tell them to superly duperly over achieve on resolving anything the clients are disappointed with. But it seems like after the Trust Event, the clients don't get to the point of disappointment. Perhaps it's because my team listens better and hears better. Perhaps it's because of the way the event was resolved. Perhaps it's because the consulting relationship got past the issue. But the relationship is always significantly deepened after messing up on something but resolving it right.

Done waxing poetic,
Robin