When it comes to client building, one of the biggest mistakes producers make is to assume that everyone who buys from them is automatically a "client." This is not necessarily true.

Technically, when you make a sale, you don't have a client; you have a customer. A customer is someone who buys from you once; a client is someone who will buy from you again and again. Clients who trust you and your expertise will come to you (and maybe only you) for advice. A client relationship is one in which both the buyer and seller agree that the first transaction was not a one-time event.

Your on-profile client management goals are clear:

• Servicing the existing business proactively;
• Meeting additional needs and wants as the client's situation changes; and
• Getting prestige recommendations and referrals to qualified, on-profile prospects.

"Client" status must be accepted by the buyer. It's not a label that can be stuck to the buyer by the seller. Client relationships don't just happen — they must be earned. Not only that, but they must be cultivated and nurtured to stay healthy. Client relationships are usually either moving forward, or falling apart.

You and your clients have different, yet complementary motivations driving the commitments you make to each other. You've made a sale, but you expect to make repeat sales, and (correctly) want your client to help you develop additional business through on-profile referrals. The client, on the other hand, has purchased a product or service, which (you say) will help meet one or more important financial objectives.

According to Levitt, buyers may begin to see the sale as a "favor" bestowed by them, not as something earned by you. In the Harvard Business Review, Levitt has written, "In your excitement and eagerness for additional successes, it is easy to misread these subtle changes in attitude and damage the relationship before it gets off the ground."

Your behavior and promises during and after the sale help shape the buyer's perceptions. If a prospective client feels that you are taking the purchase for granted, or want to rush off to the next "victim," the effect is predictable.

Try this!

• The short-term solution is to pay attention to small details, such as courtesy phone calls, e-mails, notes and letters during and after underwriting. Be sure to make good on each of your promises to applicants, and talk of your future together, using "we" language rather than an impersonal tone.
• Don't impose your style on your customer. Work with each as a unique individual. (See ON-Trac II, Unit VIII: T.E.A.M. Dynamics.
• Over the long term, you must meet your client's expectations by proactively anticipating needs and wants and problems (not just reacting to them), and establishing routines that assure the right kinds and frequency of client contacts, and help you check the effectiveness of your efforts. Or, to borrow a line from former New York Mayor, Ed Koch, simply asking clients, "How am I doing?" is a great way to find out. Use the "Client Satisfaction Survey" on the next page during annual reviews with your on-profile clients.

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Ohio National is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse or sponsor, any particular prospecting, marketing or selling system.

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