My wife got a call a while
back.

She wasn’t home so it was
recorded.

Later, after she picked up
her messages, she suggested that I listen to it as well.

 It’s obvious that the caller
was using contact management software. She recalled our visit to the home
development she represents and our interest in a particular model.

She asked how my wife’s new book is coming along (Susan is published by Simon & Schuster, New York)
and if I’ve been speaking in or out of town recently.

 Up until then it was a great
act. Then her chatty, friendly approach was revealed for what it actually is… a
charade, all form and no substance.

What turned a potential
partner into a pariah? How did she go from making points to being thrown out of
the league? How did she become the Great Pretender? Where did she go wrong?

Her mistake was talking
about my daughter Kelly as if she knew her and citing her upcoming Doctorate.
Unfortunately for her, Kelly became a PhD over two years ago.

One mistake can ruin all your hard work. That one simple error destroyed all the trust that
had been built up over a handwritten thank you and three letters. She had taken
good notes on our preferences and intimations, put them in the software and
then dutifully executed the planned actions. Someone had helped with
well-conceived letters that took advantage of both the information in the
system and the news at the project. But you’re only as good as the information
you use.

You can’t pretend and get away with it. You can and should record information about your
clients and prospects in a contact management database. You should use the
database to help you remember people and all the various and sundry things you
learn about them. Recording only what you really know is the best way to assure
long term precision.

Record data accurately…  for now and when you need it. She recorded a June Doctorate but not
the year. Instead of not commenting, she elected to fit an assumption into her
telephone script. Any comment about not being sure she had the timing right and
we might have given her the benefit of the doubt. But feigning knowledge from
inaccurate facts cost her us as prospects as well as the three other couples we
might have sent her way.

If you intend to keep track
of age and birthdays, record the month, day and year.  If you just want to send a greeting the
month/day is sufficient. The same goes for anniversaries and company openings
or whatever annual event you want to remember to help you build this
relationship.

The beauty of the computer
is that it can help you remember. But it will only remember what you tell it.
Before you act on data, be sure it is accurate. That way leads to satisfaction.

True satisfaction increases sales and referrals. I came
across satisfaction research conducted by Xerox that illustrates the polarity
of feeling within any customer base. Customers rating their satisfaction at the
“1” level are not simply “dissatisfied,” they actively tell others not to
buy.  At the other end of the scale (the
5’s) sell for you.

In the middle customers are
indifferent.  Those rating satisfaction
at the level of “2”, “3” or “4” are completely blasé. They do not yet trust
you.

Not surprisingly, there is a
tremendous difference between a “4” and “5” rating. People rating the
product/service as a “5” are 600 times more likely to purchase again and
to refer others. These are loyal, trusting customers.

Loyal customers will overlook errors on your part. They believe that you will always act in their best
interest. They will give you latitude if they have been consistently satisfied
over time.The right CRM system used properly can maintain a positive relationship. (Here’s a link to an integratedCRM for small businesses. It’s the best I’ve found.)

Great Pretenders fool only themselves.

Loyal customers are nobody’s fools.

 Jerry Fletcher, CEO of
Z-axis Marketing, Inc boosts successful business to the next level by combining
digital technology and proven marketing techniques that start where the
software stops.  

Learn more– Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com

                        Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com