Today I took the time to make my way to a quaint little seaside town some ninety minutes away from my home-office to meet with a valuable client enjoy a nice day driving in the countryside and time, including lunch, in the lovely location and all paid for by the company. Ok, I met with the client also, but it was a basic relationship-nurturing meeting rather than a straight-up hard core business meeting.
The client has been with my organisation since before I began working there, many years, and I was initially told he was difficult to work with and to 'be cautious' when I approached him; anyone would think he's a hungry tiger or something. I did that of course, applied caution, but I didn't find him at all difficult, in fact he was an absolute pleasure to deal with. Isn't it funny how different people's experiences with, and perceptions of, others can stick with them and potentially taint that of other people?
The client and I had a good meeting, a chat, coffee and I snuck in a small cookie also, and we chatted about everything other than the business dealings we have.
His account with my organisation is huge, many, many, many, many thousands of dollars and while he's had moments of dissatisfaction in the past everything is on the right path now - something he confirmed today - which he says is largely due to my efforts but we spoke mostly about his yacht, sailing and the fact we both work too hard.
The chap is a legit businessman who has built his business from the ground up and it was an enjoyable hour or so chatting and learning from him; he has a lot of knowledge and wisdom to impart. It was an incredibly productive meeting for me personally and for my organisation that will pay (even more) revenue dividends down the track for sure.
Nurturing relationships is critical to business, especially in a world where person-to person communication and relations are becoming less human. I hold towards the old ways mostly, personal attention and interaction, of course I use digital means also, but good old-fashioned personal attention and relationship nurturing goes a long way.
Speaking of nurturing...I managed to do some of that for myself too...nothing like a good fucken self-nurture-session in a quaint seaside town right folks?
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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Attitude and personality are very important in the treatment of another person, and in your case the meeting was a success and the perspective you had of that client was not such. Attitude is the key.
How better that the meeting went well, you enjoyed the conversation and in a nice place. A great day!
Family day here, with some chores and paperwork to do and then rest.
Have a great day Galen!
Attitude, personality and bloody cookies are so very important!
My day is over, I just made dinner (Hungarian Goulash - Yum!) and only Friday to go before a long weekend. Life's good.
Yes, cookies are important too hahaha a sweet treat sweetens!
Enjoy your dinner, I'm making the pizza!
Nobody ever thinks of after sale relationship... money drives and that is all..
It is ironic hey? How people can taint one's perception about someone whom you've never even met. More than often it's those people who are the problem.
A drive in the country side all paid for by the company... I mean why not it's both business and pleasure hey!!
After sales is where new sales begin through word of mouth and reputation...and it's where disaster can strike through having done the wrong thing, you know?
I understand how easily it is to push one's own opinions onto others, especially in a work environment, but it should be avoided really; it's not productive or fair to others either.
Today was awesome...I had to work a lot later but the escape to the country was so great. Hmm, tomorrow is Friday...A repeat performance?
"Especially in a work environment." I can't see how it's productive in any way either, but it just goes to show how we will trample on other just to grab at the ledge...and for what?
I can't see anything more fitting than to do a repeat on Friday! Enjoy that little mission of yours!
Stay safe and drive safe!
We have a good proverb about such situation. I think the English equivalent is;
Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
Its certainly difficult to recover from a bad reputation for sure, even should that bad reputation be an unjustified on. Well said, a relevant saying.
It’s good to do these check ins with customers for sure, and the funny thing about it is the people who may be complaining about this individual don’t have high standards or something of the sort. That means they may have done something he disliked because it sounds like he’s got high standards himself and there ended up being some conflict due to the discrepancy. I’ve had customers who others thought were difficult but if you are competent and show them competency they are often amenable. They dislike incompetent people.
Not a bad place to spend some time either, love spending time by the water!
You've hit the nail on the head. I can't go into it as it may give too much potentially identifying information but the situation was bad because someone (who is not at my organisation any longer) was not candid in respect of a situation which meant it was not addressed in a timely manner. It caused a lot of problems. I came along, swept all the bullshit away and called it how I saw it (figured I had little to lose in doing so) and the guy responded well, saw me as a straight shooter and someone who made results happen. That goes a long way right?
It was a great day today, relaxing and yet so productive from a work perspective. Just Friday to go now, most of which will be spend on my computer with a couple meetings in between and then it's a long weekend. Kings birthday long weekend. I don't give a shit about the king but I'll take the Monday off!
Yeah it's remarkable what people will do to sour a relationship and for often times no good reason other than a mistake, not owning it and letting it fester.
Yeah take the holiday, it’s amusing those types of things where people largely don’t care about something in the same extent as before but it’s a day off still so they can’t change it without outrage. Fickle things, these humans!
You are right Galen. Most times we miss out on potentially beautiful relationships due to another's perception or POV. One on one interaction should be the primary way to assess other people, and not relying on second hand information.
I caught you with a cookie... Hehehehe.
I think we've all probably pushed our own opinions of others onto other's in some manner but minimising it is the way to go. At a workplace it can be very disruptive to work processes and attitudes.
Anyway, yep I snuck a cookie, a home made one and it was glorious! How am I to say no to a customer after all? 🤔
I could not agree more. All my working life I seem to have been given the difficult or problem customers. Sure it was always a bit uncomfortable at first, but as you said when I worked out they had been stuffed around by others in the company I worked for, it was pretty easy to fix and deal with. I only just finish working for one after 17 years and that was only because he retired.
There's a great deal of satisfaction to winning over a customer everyone else sees as difficult and creating a great relationship; I believe it's important to make the initial approach run the first meeting without preconceived ideas in mind and let things go from there; It's also wise to use ears and moth in a 70/30 percent proportion weighted towards the ears as over-talking isn't a good thing.
There's many elements to relationships, business or personal, and the same ones (generally) apply to both.
I had a great day today, the meeting was a good one and the drive and languishing around in that coastal town paid for by my organisation? What's not to like huh? 😉
Not everyone sees a person the same way; some people aren't capable of doing so and are not good judges of character.
I'm a very straightforward and factual person. Whenever I speak about work or an important matter, I take my time to explain the situation thoroughly and don't mind if some people feel offended; if it needs to be said, I'll say it. Here, some people feel offended because I don't sugarcoat, but I'm not rude either; I'm just pointing out the issue or explaining my concerns in a broadened version.
Yet, some people do see things from my POV, and also appreciate my blunt approach. So, at the end of the day, you just can't please everyone. All we should and can do, is be ourselves, and always do or say what's right.
There's a time to be direct and a time not to be, the trick is knowing when.
I believe being forthright is the way to go, I have always held to that, and saying how it is can be used advantageously. Of course, one needs to read the situation I think. You said you're not rude which is the way it should be - being rude gets one nowhere.
Thanks for commenting.
Definitely!
People just assume, since I'm either writing a long paragraph or sharing a lot of information at once, they think that I'm either angry, or simply a rude person. I'm actually quite calm, but I guess people aren't used to others being very informative about a certain matter. These days it's just short texts and inanimate replies, or basically just a nod. People should communicate more, especially when there's a problem at hand.
Don't mention it, man!
I had a similar experiences with MANY customers or delegates from other companies where people tell me this person or that are horrible people etc etc... And then I go in with a mind-set to figure out what makes this person human and how to connect with that.
All of a sudden I have a GOOD relationship with someone who everyone thought was completely irrational and difficult.
Though... there are some people who just have "dick days". lol
I think people fail to understand others well due to the lack of personal interaction in preference to digital interaction. Effective communication is becoming less prevalent these days and I believe it to be of detriment for many reasons.
Absolutely. With all the technology available to us these days, people confuse progress with "making everything digital". Technology is not meant to replace what makes us human.
I am still at home booked off sick. I can't wait to get back to work. I am sick of trying to manage it all from my phone and emails. It is NOT working out.
You need some vitamin C, it'll fix you right up. Ok, maybe not...but Vegemite will! 🤔
!LOL
Indeed
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You have an amazing talent in photography Sir @galenkp
I do agree with you that attitude really matters in doing business.
Thank you, I appreciate your favourable comment very much.
Several people are losing clients due to inability to nurture the exiting relationship. In fact, the believe in reaching more clients through social media make most of us to play down on nurturing relationships
I agree, it's lazy and less effective but it's the way many choose to go.
In Spanish we say ... cría fama y acuéstate a dormir ( In English would be something like ... Rest on your laurels and go to sleep)
It is difficult to recover from a bad opinion, but for those of us who work with people, I think the best attitude is the one you describe. Not all of us are the same with everyone, but with cookies the success is guaranteed 🍪😃
The thing is, I didn't go to my initial meeting with this guy with the preconception he had a bad reputation, I went there with a clean slate as I'd put aside the comments and things I heard. That allowed me to form my own opinions then move on from there.
Of course, reputation can often precede a person and a bad one can be difficult to recover from as you say.
It sounds like you had a first rate and effective day assembly with a precious customer in a picturesque coastal metropolis. It's top notch to pay attention that the assembly centered on constructing a strong relationship instead of simply business. It's additionally exciting how distinct humans's perceptions of others can effect our own interactions. It's clear that fostering relationships is key in commercial enterprise, and your dedication to private interplay along digital conversation is commendable. And it is extremely good which you had been capable of take the time for self-care in this kind of beautiful setting.
!PIZZA
It certainly was a productive day for many reasons and I gained from it commensurate to that which I put into it, which is to say a lot in both respects, business and personal.
In addition to the upbringing and the rooting for your land Galen, you only want what you know, it is a demonstration that with care and professionalism the best of interpersonal relationships is rescued, the human quality. I agree with you.
With communication becoming less personal these days and more digital I tend to find people respond well to personal attention and that gives me an edge over the dum dums who communicate with their clients by digital means only.
Without a doubt it is a great formula to relate, Galen, it is always good to remember that personal and professional coexistence with others also nourishes our spirit.
Greetings 🌹
There's a reason for the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover, or from how others describe them". I like to keep an open mind when meeting new people. If a person I trust and rely on said to be careful about another, I will keep their advice in mind, but I will still give the other person a chance. There are a lot of times where people just don't jive. It's good that this relationship with your client worked out for you and your company.
I've always found that information should never be wasted...hearing what people think of clients gives me valuable information...and not always about the client, also the person doing the talking. the way people talk about others says a lot about their own character and that can be valuable information to have.
Our client in my work is called stakeholders. Nurturing our stakeholders is essential since without them we will have no work.😊
'Stakeholder' is a common term used all around the world and for sure keeping them on board and engaged with the program is the best way to go.
Thanks for the new learning.😊
Yes, our administrator keeps reminding us to engage the stakeholders more in our program to gain recognition too.😊
You know, I when I read your contents sometimes I come across a certain word and I would head to my dictionary and read what it defines. I don't know, its just I think kind of a bit rude to go on and read more without really understanding what you meant.
English is not my native language so I need to learn the words unknown to me.
... that word "quaint" - summarizes the narrative.
I think that's a good thing to do and I do it myself at times when I need additional context of a word I've come across. English is my first language and I am proficient with it of course, however there's a lot of words and sometimes I like to clarify as you have as well.
I have a few people I work with that I would probably describe differently than other people perceive them. I would venture to guess the same might be true of me. It's interesting how one interaction can earn you a reputation. I'm glad you were able to get away for a bit and enjoy the day even though some of it was dedicated to work.
Perception is a strange thing at times, quite often both a reality and fabrication depending on who's perception it is I guess. I tend to make my own mind up on people but of course there's external influences quite often.
That's why we should not take somethings we are told about someone when we have not heard from the both parties, he may be difficult with them, maybe, because of the situation which brings them together, but it wouldn't be the same for everyone, beside, approach matters a lot, I am happy that you find the client as an easy person to dealth with, and not believing in all what others said of him. Life and our daily activities is truly good when we make our own path and see what's going to be the outcome.
Making one's own path is a good way to go right?
Thank you 🥰
Interacting and building your social interaction skills with different people will pay off when it comes to business. It is a very important skill to communicate when you are starting your business.
Indeed.
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Beautiful
Cheers.