Years ago I was an account manager working for a national electronics distributor – and previous sales positions before that – I wasn’t the slickest salesperson, but I was “sticky”.
I’m not a small talker. I don’t do “how’s the weather” or “how ’bout them Yankees” well, at all! As an observer and a conceptual thinker, I like to really get to know people.
That was my key!
I was sticky!
Not tacky. Not, all over your business not matter what you say, sticky.
I was tenacious!
Why? I cared about the clients I was working with. I would go out of my way to know and understand my clients.
I really wanted to know what they were like: did they have kids, how many siblings did they have, did they ski or race go-carts when they were younger, coffee with half-&-half or tea with milk?
Funny thing is, this always came naturally to me. I didn’t realize the value my efforts had, not at first.
Instead I would wonder why I didn’t get the “quick” sales or close the opportunity right away. I thought I was doing something wrong. Yet, I ended up turning around an account with annual sales about $12,000 to an account that created over $1.2 million in sales in the following year.
I was sticky!
The client not only knew me, they could count on me. My word was my word.
And, admittedly, if I couldn’t create the connection, let’s just say that the client relationship slid on a slippery slope. Not so sticky.
To some, with my “caring ways” and willingness to go above and beyond, maybe some found me “tacky”…gasp!
Another lesson learned from the early years.
There are certain types of clients we are meant to work with – our ideal clients – and ones that are not so ideal.
In the case of working for a company, you work they accounts you’re assigned. And, if you have a good manager that sees the client connections, or lack of connection, they will adjust accordingly.
As a small business owner/entrepreneur, fortunately we get a choice. More like, we get to create the client relationships that stick by getting to know who our ideal clients are, initially through our diligent marketing research, then later through asking deeper questions of our customers.
It makes creating the ideal connections easier because we’ve “chosen” our tribe. Through our client care cultivation, they’ve chosen us back!
That’s sticky!
Do you know your clients well enough that you “stick”?
By the way, “sticky” is a mutual relationship. Can you count on your client, as much as they count on your, when you have to weather a storm?
If they don’t, and they end up being a fair-weather client, the kind that’s only there when things are good or they “need a favor”, now that’s tacky.
I’d love to hear about how you’ve become “sticky”. Please feel free to share in the comments below!
Here’s to your stickiness,
Christine