Show the love

Customer relationships are critical to long-lasting business success. One way to build credibility with the client is literally to “show the love”. You must have a drive and passion for the work that shows the client that you are acting and will always act in their best interest.

Ten years ago, I took an assignment in Mexico. I had no Spanish language skill or understanding of the business culture. I also had a near impossible deadline that I had signed up to meet. Additionally, I was put in charge of a team of talented, but untrained consultants for the CRM application we were implementing. There were many ways that the project would fail and one way it would succeed. Show the love.

I had to show the team that I would train them and make them believe that they could do it. They returned the favor by responding.

I had to show the client that the deadline was close to but not impossible. Logging 16+ hours per day to meet the deadline helped show our commitment, but the results at each milestone was what really impressed them.

I have many more examples of “show the love” that will surface from time to time. How do you show your clients the love?