| Is
Complacency Crippling Your Valuable Networks and
Client Base?
You thought you had a strong relationship with
a client, once you had developed over a few years.
Now you hear they have moved to a competitor,
resulting in a significant drop in income for
your business – what happened? You make
several calls to a key contact in your network,
and the calls go unanswered without explanation.
What are some of the signs of complacency?
Successful organizations are at far greater risk
of becoming complacent than a new kid on the block
who is hungry, scratching for business and grateful
of any and all new clients – who they have
had to take away from another supplier in the
first place. Often gaining the new business before
the current service provider new it was ever at
risk.
Might the reason for losing that client be based
around conversations like?
“Don’t worry too much about that deadline,
we have worked with John for years, he knows our
work is always late!”
“Sorry Bill, we have had to put your job
on hold for now, we’ve got another really
important client that’s taking all our manpower
at present!”
“Your phoned 3 times with no replies, sorry
– I’ve been busy.”
Assuming that your product or service meets the
marketplace average standards, the main reason
business is being lost in the market place today
is COMPLACENCY
Google lists over 1.3 million definitions for
complacency including quiet satisfaction, contentment,
and smugness, unconcerned or unaware of potential
danger or risk.
The late Charlie Bell’s quote –
rings true for many businesses:”The biggest
threat to McDonald's lies within - and that is
us as a company becoming complacent. There are
a lot of companies that get fat, dumb and happy
and take their eye off the ball and forget about
serving customers”.
Networks or client base – is there a difference?
Master networkers treat their networks as if they
were filled with current clients – people
they can do business with and people who can refer
business to them. Your networks and your clients
both need to be nurtured – never take them
for granted. Why? Because networks are exactly
that!
5 keys to avoid complacency with your
networks and clients:
-
Stay connected – this doesn’t mean
daily contact – but it does mean regular
contact – in the format that the client
prefers – not your favorite format. Options
may include phone call, text message, email,
ezine, newsletter, tweet, note in the mail with
an interesting article. The message you are
sending is – I think of you regularly
– not just when you are giving me business.
Take the time to audit your networks and decide
who, how often and what format you will stay
connected. The larger your networks, the more
systems you will need to manage this.
-
Share information generously – develop
regular sources of qualified information –
beyond traditional media – and become
really good at disseminating information to
your relevant networks – while it is still
“news” – not old hat.
-
Offer to help others. Sometimes we take many
of our natural skills for granted. Preparing
a proposal document might be something you could
do in your sleep – (even though at one
point in your life you were a novice at this)
yet something that might take an unskilled person
hours and hours. How will you know what people
need help with? ASK! What’s keeping you
awake at night these days? Or is there anything
I might be able to help you with? What’s
happening in your world – anything I can
help you with?
-
Develop your own skills and general knowledge
by continually learning. IPods have revolutionized
learning and listening - and the listening doesn’t
always have to be work related! The bonus is
you will become a more interesting person.
-
Be open to change! Same old/same old won’t
cut it today! Open your mind to innovative ways
of doing business. Don’t be afraid to
be different. Many business models are no longer
working in today’s marketplace –
but because “we’ve always done it
this way” – we resist change.
A final quote from Camille Paglia – “Will
we end up like late Rome, infatuated with past
glories, ruled by a complacent, greedy elite,
and hopelessly powerless to respond to changing
conditions? “
Being prepared to change, innovate, and continually
improve your systems will save you, your business
and your networks from complacency and guarantee
continued growth and renewal – particularly
in a tight marketplace.
Happy Networking.
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