3 Practices That Turn Clients Off

Being engaged in the business of serving people for many years, I have observed what practices make clients disappointed with service providers. Here are three of those practices:

1. Not honoring the appointed time. Whether you are late for the meeting, or you do not end it at the agreed time, you definitely are making your client disappointed. Why will this turn your client off? Time is too precious, therefore when you do not honor the time they spared to meet you, you are disrespecting them. Who would want to work with a person who does not respect you? This is the reason that I always do whatever it takes to start my training on time and be ready before the time. However, I am still working on the part of ending my training on time because I have the tendency to extend due to my desire to give my clients more value. Although this is unintentional on my part, I am well aware that this should be addressed.
2. Not honoring promises. How would you feel if someone promised to call you during your lunch break, so you skipped lunch to wait for the call, yet failed to do so? I am pretty sure you would be far from feeling fine because you sacrificed something to wait for the promise made. This is what your clients feel when you fail to do something you said you would do, even if that something is not very important. When you say that you will give an update, call, or email, you have to take note of those little commitments because those are vital in maintaining the trust you have established with your client. If you cannot assure your client, do not make promises. Set the context.
3. Not following through. One of the reasons that some salespeople are held in ill-repute is their failure to check on their clients after the latter avail the service or purchased the product they offer. This practice tells clients that salespeople are only after the money, and not on helping them. This practice is also one of the reasons that a salesperson does not get referrals.

Product knowledge and selling skills are essential, however, there are also more important values that clients look for when choosing the best person to serve them. Let us be always mindful. Let us respect our clients’ time. Let us not break promises. Let us make sure that they are satisfied with our service. The essence of being a salesperson is serving people. Let us uphold the reputation of our profession.