You must be able to see where you’ll offer a client value once they decide it’s time to actually take action. These possibilities will frequently arise in the conversations you’ll be having. You must listen closely when clients talk about things “they need to get to” or what they’re focusing on “once the madness is over,” as one of my super-rich clients put it.
There will be a lot of opportunities for all sorts of professionals once the crisis is over. Building rapport with other professionals means they’ll refer their better clients to you.
By listening to clients’ interests and worries, you’ll be able to often identify solutions that can be instrumental to their ability to weather the crisis. By listening to other professionals, you’ll be able to offer ideas that can help their practices during the recovery. When you adeptly structure the relationships, they are motivated to send their top clients to you for your expertise, and you’ll have what could be an extensive list of people who might turn to you when they decide to take action.
What’s important to realize is that a percentage of clients (and those of the professionals you’re helping) will take some sort of action during the crisis. This can easily result in more business for you before the “madness is over.”
As you’re cataloging opportunities, you’ll probably find yourself reassessing your high-end goals. Don’t be surprised if you’re upping the numbers. What you thought was a stretch will commonly be seen as low. You’re also going to likely re-evaluate your strategic relationships. It’s not uncommon to refocus your efforts on different professionals who can deliver clients to you.
Bottom Line
I’m confident that like me, you’re hoping for the crisis to end as quickly as possible and for it to cause as little pain as possible. But right now, you can be a major help to other people by connecting and delivering value where possible.
Doing so will not only benefits clients and other professionals, it can make you very, very successful. By focusing on others, you’re laying the foundation for your practice to grow later. And the odds are quite good that you’ll be generating more business while the crisis is still ongoing.
Russ Alan Prince is president of R.A. Prince & Associates.