“Being a good human being is good business!” – Paul Hawken, Founder, Highwater Research.
During the busy last two months of the year, most business owners are more stressed and impatient than the rest of the year. They are in a rush to finish the year successfully and create a plan to jump start the new year. This gives you an excellent opportunity to think about how you can help your clients solve their end-of-year problems and start the new year with a better focus.
Try these 3 tips to help your clients de-stress:
- Gratitude: Ask yourself how you can show gratitude to your clients, employees, centers of influence, and carriers. When was the last time you took your carrier rep out to lunch? Think about your clients’ Goals/Passions/Struggles (GPS) and determine what small gift of gratitude would be most meaningful to them. What little act of kindness can you extend? Also, instead of sending client gifts in December, consider sending a Thanksgiving gift or card – this simple act will differentiate you.
- Pay closer attention: Instead of zoning out because of all your own to-do’s during the holiday, practice active listening when you’re visiting prospects and especially long-term clients. You may assume you know them and their GPS well, but when you pay closer attention, you may discover many areas of opportunity.
- Create better Relational Capital: The ability to create Relational Capital is the most meaningful way for you to distinguish yourself. There are three essential qualities at work in Relational Capital – credibility, integrity and authenticity.
Credibility is a quality that makes others believe in you, your words, and actions. Credibility is the outgrowth of your professional competence. Integrity is being trustworthy in actions and character. It is the quality of having honest and truthful motivations. Authenticity is the quality of being genuine. It is about being who you are.
Credibility, integrity, and authenticity make people want to connect with you. People want to build relationships with those who possess Relational Capital. Try using these as your yardstick and make a point of connecting in new ways with your prospects, clients, employees, and carriers.
When you build the three ways of increasing your success into your daily routine this holiday season, you’ll see your business thrive. You and your clients, prospects, employees, and carriers will feel better, and you and your agency will gain more respect.