Posted by Wanda Loskot on October 22, 1998 at 10:49:00:
In Reply to: Re: 1. Love your clients; the definition of posted by Chris on October 21, 1998 at 01:19:31:
:
: They are few and between - but they sure do spoil the barrel.
: I hope - you don't expect me to love them, too.
Hm.. Chris, imagine that you have 3 kids (perhaps you have :-)
and one of them is difficult, a real pain in the butt.
Annoying, got some manners who knows where (peers?)
Doesn't want to clean his room - bad in school...
Do you still love the kid?
Or you stop loving it because it is a bad apple?
Or do you do everything you can to help the kid?
I know what you are thinking!
Kids is your flesh and blood, etc.
Stay with me, please.
How about friends?
One of them is going through a divorce and gets drunk.
Once, twice. Three times!
And calls you late evening to unbossom.
Annoying? I bet.
Do you stop loving your friend because of that?
Or rather you are trying to help.
Let's get back to your client.
Some become bad apples because are going through difficult period
in their lives. If you love them - you love them, even if they are
not that perfect at some point.
Now - of course, some people are plain bad. Mad. Dishonest. Greedy.
If you have those - drop them. Send them to competition. Don't do business
with them to begin with. If they cannot be loved - don't accept them as
your clients to begin with. If you are always looking for values first and
to make a sale second - you will have no bad apples to begin with.
You will have only troubled customers going through some difficult times
and they who should be loved even more, and helped even more. Don't you agree?