Have you ever wondered why some clients seem to fade away.
Sometimes it feels like they've dropped off the face of the earth.
So if clients seem to be ghosting you lately, how about
we take a look at what might be going on and how to fix it?
Sound good.
Sit tight.
I'll be right back.
Welcome back Heroes.
It is Warwick Brown founder at Account Manager Tips,
host at The KAM Club and on a mission to help busy key
account managers get results.
So what is ghosting?
Well Merriam Webster, the dictionary, says that it's the act
or practice of abruptly cutting off all contact with someone
usually without explanation.
Now we've all been ghosted by a Tinder date that didn't go as
well as we thought, but clients?
I mean, why would someone who's already using your solution,
and paying for it I might add, stop returning your messages?
It's maddening, it's frustrating and a massive waste of time as
you chase and chase and chase.
So to prevent ghosting you first, got to understand
what's caused your client to avoid you in the first place.
Let's get into it.
Here are seven reasons.
Why clients go dark.
Number one, they didn't hear from you.
Did you know that it takes an average of five touches to get
someone to buy something or like, it feels that way about getting
them to do something as well.
If they don't hear from you after your first conversation
or your last conversation, there's a good chance that
you can't just, just moved on.
It's not personal.
It's just business.
But what can you do about it?
Make sure you have a system in place so your client gets
a follow-up message from you as soon as possible and
keep them in your calendar.
Always have a meeting with your client scheduled for
some time in the future.
Even if they ghost you between meetings, at least you have
those placeholders to catch up.
Two.
They're busy.
It's easy to forget that clients are human, just
like the rest of us and they're not always available.
And they are certainly not at our beck and call.
So if they don't return your phone calls, well, chances are, they're
just busy with something else.
Now look that doesn't mean you should give up.
But instead of a message to remind them of their
commitment to you, send a message to ask if you can help.
Let them know that whatever you need to can wait, and
they're off the hook for now.
The last thing they need, if they're busy, is more pressure
from you asking for stuff that makes them feel guilty.
Now, if they value what you provide or will provide,
they're gonna respond once their schedule clears up.
And of course, if they don't you know, where you stand.
Three.
They don't need anything.
As a key account manager, if you've done your job right,
well, maybe there's no reason for them to stay in touch?
When everything runs smoothly, that frees your
client up to concentrate on things that aren't working.
Usually our clients are way more important to
us than we are to them.
Especially if you're not a major supplier.
I once had a client who told me Warwick, you know what?
Your category is 5% of my spend.
So it only want it to take 5% of my time managing it.
All right
The more you know.
So it's okay if things go well.
Sometimes no news really is good news.
And you know, maybe you just have to rebalance your
communication expectations to align with your value as a
supplier and what your client's looking for from you as well.
Four.
They've lost confidence in you.
Ask yourself have I really, really been delivering my
best as an account manager?
Maybe you've fumbled, maybe you even dropped the ball.
Have you missed important deadlines, not delivered on
the results that you agreed?
Maybe you've been difficult to reach or
slow to respond to issues.
Have you had some disagreements lately?
Any of these situations, may lead your client to question your work
ethic or your ability to perform.
So review past interactions for clues.
Where may things have gone wrong with your client relationships?
I once had a client who refused my calls and contacted
my boss to say they wanted another key account manager.
I was, I was mortified.
This came out of the blue.
I thought we had a great relationship.
I was wracking my brains.
What did I do?
After some soul searching I realized that I had missed some
reports that I had promised.
Now in my mind.
I thought no big deal.
So what?
You would have thought the world had ended though, from
my client's perspective.
And I realised it's their perspective that counts.
So I sent a follow-up email to my client right away
with the missing reports.
I apologized and it wasn't long before they had a change of heart,
about a change of account manager.
Our relationship got back on track and they started
to return my phone calls.
So the moral of the story?
Successfully deliver what you agreed and if you're
running into any problems, just let your client know.
Five.
They're not interested.
Even though we hate to admit it sometimes people just
don't want to talk to us.
They don't see the value.
They don't have any money, it's too much work for them.
They think you're too expensive.
What they have works fine.
I mean, it goes on and on.
What are the reasons can you come up with why your client
might not be interested?
Because once you've identified those objections, you can plan
a strategy to overcome them.
Now you may need to adapt your approach, your communication
from a different angle.
Or in fact, you may realize, you know right now, at least
you're giving them all they need.
And nothing wrong with that.
Six.
It's bad timing.
If you know your client already has a lot going on,
do not send them more work.
That will only make their already busy life busier.
Beyond their workload, though, there could be a lot of other
things going on, which might make it a bad time to ask for stuff.
Uncertainty from organizational changes.
Problems with colleagues leading to stress and anxiety.
Performance issues at work, a difficult boss.
Office politics that makes certain topics sensitive or off limits.
Personal lives of course, that spill into work and lead to
distractions, and lots more.
It could be that it's too difficult, embarrassing or
confidential to talk to you.
Silence is easy.
Make a conscious effort to show more empathy.
Recognize the emotional factors your client may and
the problems they face and send messages of support.
And also look for alternatives.
Can you do things more simply in less time, or in
fact with another person?
Maybe you're overwhelming your key contact with too
much, and you could do the same thing with somebody else.
And finally, number seven, you're pushing too hard.
We should never be pushy with our clients because it makes
them feel uncomfortable.
Your goal is to make them feel more at ease while talking to you.
Not less.
To work together to achieve goals.
So reflect on your interactions with your clients.
Have you pressured them or harassed them?
Are you sending them too many messages, left them
too many voicemails?
Have you gone over their head or behind their back to get
things done and get attention on what you want to do?
Have you jumped into solutions without
understanding their problems?
You may seem desperate.
Or a bully.
Or a stalker.
None of which are a good look.
We all have deadlines.
We all have targets and things we need to get done.
And those demands can lead us to put pressure on to our clients.
So when you're asking for things, be assertive but not aggressive.
So let's compare these two sentences, right?
Aggressive.
You need to make a decision by Friday.
Assertive.
Can you give me a date when you can make a decision?
Can you see the difference?
Same message but the aggressive approach is a turn off and may
even antagonize your client.
The assertive approach is decisive and encourages discussion.
So don't drown your clients in a barrage of information requests.
Take your time, focus on what your clients need
and not what you can get.
Make sure you've got a process to stay in touch.
I think I mentioned this earlier, but contact plans and reminders
are a great way to ensure that there's a reasonable interval
between your messages and that you've got something useful to
share when you do send them.
So that's a wrap heroes.
Remember it's not uncommon for a client to fall off the radar.
Sometimes it's as simple as they just need to
take care of business.
Other times they're just not interested.
Whatever the case may be it's important to know why you
get ghosted so that you can be prepared for it in this.
So, thanks for watching.
If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up.
If you're new here, how about subscribing and leave a
comment below and let me know if you've ever been ghosted.
I've shared my stories.
I'd love to hear some of yours.
Now, if you want to keep watching, I recommend this
video all about the right questions to ask your clients,
to get to know them better.
And until next time Heroes bye for now.