Your customers got needs and they got expectations and let's face it, we all do.
Today we're going to talk about right here in the Six Figure Mastermind how to
address all of those and find out exactly what they are. You're in the
right place.
As an entrepreneur, you're dealing one-on-one with a lot of customers right
out the gate and those customers, because they came to you, they have expectations
of what your product or service can do for them, how that product or service can
improve their lives and how they are going to plan on being better off
because they had business with you so how do you meet those expectations and
how do you understand what they are? First of all, you're going to be very
very very clear on what your product or service actually does for the customer
and when that product or service will be fulfilled. Now if you're not clear, you're
letting the expectations run loose and those expectations could be
determined or misinterpreted in one of many separate ways that will really be
detrimental to your business so be very very clear on what you're offering.
Clarity is not the same thing as over delivering. Let me tell you what I mean. I
once had a contract that had about 20 different points on it of what my
product was fulfilling on. I actually made a mistake in that contract because
I had painted myself into a corner because I had delineated so much in the
contract that either wasn't possible with the timeframe we were given or
wasn't deliverable based on what their service needs were. I painted
myself into a corner and I couldn't get out of it without changing the contract.
Don't be that guy, don't make my mistake. What I would advise to you is be clear
on your expectations but also be flexible and allow yourself some time or
space or energy or fulfillment to do what you know you can do. I'll give you
an example. I was on a phone call with several clients in fact, I had about 15
different clients that wanted to set up some time with me and in my original
thinking I said, you know what, each client takes about 15 minutes so I'm
going to schedule a half an hour for each client, that'll give me some breathing
room in between and that way I can fit you know, maybe 6 clients in one day.
You know, their expectations were fulfilled because they got to have the
conversation with me but my expectations were suffering because I would block out
a half an hour for a 15-minute conversation and there I was, spread out
for the entire day on just 6 phone calls because I told my client to expect
a call from me at a certain time, I gave the client and expectation to say
I'm calling you and we're going to chat at 6 o'clock, I will call you then. Now that
expectation, although it was very very clear was actually limiting me as an
entrepreneur because I had so much of my time taken up so I changed the
expectations into something that was still clear but that we could both work
with so instead of saying I'm going to call you at 6 o'clock, I will say, I will call
you between the hours of 6 & 7 mountain time. Having that very clear expectation
did a couple of things. It let them know when to expect my call just as before
but now it was a window instead of a pinpoint. I also saved a ton of time
because in those 6 phone calls throughout the day that I had scheduled
that exact time 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30, those times were taken up no matter if I
had a client who answered the phone or if I had a client that missed the call,
that means I couldn't start my call until my next pinpointed time. If I said
I will call you between 6 & 7, I can say I can fit 12 phone calls in, I can
schedule 12 phone calls in that window because now I learned that they actually
don't take 15 minutes, they take more like 5 minutes and I know that some of
them aren't going to answer the phone so I can schedule 12 phone calls and I can
tell my customers, I'm going to call you between this hour and this hour, I look
forward to chatting with you and we're going to talk then. That allows me as an
entrepreneur to have more flexibility of my time, I take up less of my day in
appointments and I actually get more done in less time because as an
entrepreneur, isn't time the most valuable thing we have? Use your time wisely
by setting clear expectations for fulfillment with your customers. When you
can deliver on clear expectations, their expectations are always met. Second thing
you do, send reminders, be in constant contact with your clients and with your
customers. If you have an appointment set up for one day, message them the day
before. If you've ever had an appointment at a doctor's office or a dentist's
office or anything like that, you will get a reminder email or call or text or
something to remind you either one or two days before saying, hey, we have an
appointment coming up Tuesday at 10 o'clock, we look forward to seeing you
then. Even people that you hire, even if
there's a repairman coming to your door and he's repairing your sink, your
faucet or your toilet or I don't know why it's all plumbing but someone come
in your house to fix something, they're going to give you a window and then you
know what to expect when they come so having that reminder system will remind
your client of what to expect and how to interact with you, it also opens up the
pathway of communication which brings me to my third point. Be in constant contact
with your client before the sale, during the sale and after the sale. A lot of
times people will fall off the map after the sale has been made. The entrepreneur
that isn't successful, this is one of the reasons why, is because after they get
the sale, they will just drop off the math, even if the the product has
been totally fulfilled, they won't reconnect to their client,
they won't follow up with their client because the fortune is in the follow-up
but there's no need for follow-up if they've already transacted the sale,
right? Wrong. That's totally wrong. You are working with people, you're not working
with numbers, you're not working with spreadsheets, you are working with a
person and that person wants a connection with you, that person wants to
be associated with you, that person wants to be the person that uncovers the veil
that is constructing you and your product. They want all of that torn
away and they want to get to know you and you as an entrepreneur get to know
them. Be in constant contact with your clients so that if any expectations
change, they are the first to know about it. For example, if you're a coach and
let's say one day you're feeling ill and you're feeling sick and you can't show
up to your meeting that day or maybe there's some kind of emergency, be in
constant contact, reply promptly to the text messages, be
the instigator of your messaging system, be the instigator of your emails or your
posts or your messages, any communication that you have with your client, be the
first one to do it so that those expectations are clearly set. The best
way and here's a bonus for you, the number four, the best way to maintain
amazing expectations between you and your clients is to be personable. When
your client forgets that they're doing business with you, you know you've
succeeded in your business. When your client forgets that they've done a
transaction with you or signed a contract and they just know that you're
willing to go out of your way to make sure that their needs are taken care of,
that's really why they want to do business with you, that's really why
they're willing to exchange the value because they know that you don't see a
number, you don't see a document, you see a person and as an entrepreneur and we
said it before, I'll say it again, you're a solutions provider. You want to
exceed expectations so set expectations that are clear, set
expectations that you can win at, set the expectations that your client can win
at and then do everything you can to go above and beyond. Alright, now you know
how to create expectations, you know how to create appropriate expectations so
leave me a comment below, tell me how this is working for you, what's your
favorite thing about your business? I will see you tomorrow.