I had the pleasure of having coffee with Bryan Wempen yesterday. Bryan is the VP, Strategic Alliances at PeopleClues and also co-host of the wildly popular daytime HR radio show Drive Thru HR. Bryan was in town to visit with a client and he and I fell into a discussion of the benefits of doing that. As someone who has internal clients that are spread out across a campus, I too see the benefits of getting out to visit with clients in person.
Top reasons to meet with your clients in person:
1. It builds the relationship by showing the client they are valuable. When you take the time to come see someone face-to-face, it adds depth and dimension to the conversation. They can see sincerity in your eyes and read your body language.
2. The client is more likely to ask questions that lead to discovery. If you only communicate via email or phone, your client may not understand what questions to ask. They may only ask a specific question without seeing the big picture.
3. It gives you a little “forgiveness” when you need it. There will be times in a relationship with your client when you just don’t nail it. We all fail at times. But, when you’ve met with them in person and built that relationship, the times where you are off the mark or don’t quite meet expectations will go more smoothly. The client is more likely to forgive the mistake and let you course-correct. Now, who doesn’t need a little of that opportunity once in awhile?
Now those are not the only reasons, but they are certainly top of my list. What are other benefits of face-to-face meetings with clients? What successes has it led to for you? Share it in the comments please.
4 Comments
This is an off-shoot of one of my favorite concepts, especially for HR folks, Management By Wandering About. Whether you deal with internal or external customers, you need to be interfacing with them face to face. It leads to a much higher level in the relationship, trust and the ability to relate. Get away from your desk/office and see what is happening in their worlds.
Eye to eye contact is where it’s at. Particularly like Trish’s first two points and to John – yes – visible leadership = trust. People with nothing to fear don’t hide behind email or their desk.
Cheers – Doug
Trish: This is a great reminder for sales people. We tend to do a great job getting in front of prospects, but often “disappear” after the sale. In the Background Screening business, we become an extension of a company’s HR team and need to continue to let our clients know that we are their for them, even while things are running smoothly. Reminds me. I need to hop in the car to go visit a client I haven’t seen in six months. Thanks again Trish. DK