Retention in the Contracting world revolves around Relationship

The most loyal clients or friends, whether in business life or personal life, are those that we have worked to build strong relationships with.  This is an important aspect to remember when working to boost retention and grow a solid base of thoroughly satisfied clients inside an independent contracting company.  When we put in the energy to build company-client rapport on the frontend then we will reap the benefits of client retention in the long run.  In our post today, we are going to explore three very important components to building strong client relationships that will help lead to greater client retention:

Impress and engage to build rapport from square one

From the moment that a representative has contact with a potential or interested client, they should be working to impress, engage, and connect.  CSRs play a major role in this beginning process by working to build the initial impression of the organization of the company and the friendliness of the company members.  Clients should feel that their call is welcomed and appreciated; the first way to ensure they feel this way is to greet every call with a warm and friendly welcome response.  A continuation of this relationship building should occur when a technician comes to visit the client’s home on a call.  The tech should park on the street, quickly exit his vehicle, come looking prepared to work, knock three solid times on the doorframe, and answer the door professionally.  Subconsciously, we develop our initial first impressions within the first 16 seconds of meeting someone so it is important that techs make the most of the beginning time.  When company representatives work to build strong first impressions then they have a large part of the battle already under their belts.

Provide a thorough diagnostic and thorough explanations

Along with working to build strong initial first impressions, it is also important to ensure that the technical components of the call are handled effectively and professionally.  After working to connect and find conversational common ground with a client, a tech can effectively transition into the diagnostic portion of the call.  Before jumping into the technical components of the diagnostic it is important for the tech to explain what he will be doing and ensure the client that no work will the done without his or her consent.  When all client questions and concerns have been dealt with professionally then a tech can begin his whole system diagnostic evaluation.  Once the thorough diagnostic has been completed it is important for the tech to show the client the problem area or malfunctioned component.  It is also important that the tech ask if the client is familiar with the part and explain its function and possible reasons for malfunction by using clear analogies and comparisons.  When techs take the time to build strong relationships and strong rapport with each of their clients then they will play a major role in building a base of thoroughly satisfied, returning clients.

Offer opportunities to continue building a long term relationship

After a thorough diagnostic has lead to a client’s desire to invest in your service company, it is also important to work to provide an opportunity for a client to see a technician from your company on a regular basis.  There is no better way to do this then to provide scheduled service plans.  These maintenance plans work to keep company-client relationships strong as well as work to keep a client’s products and system working at optimal levels thus saving them time, hassle, and money in the long run.  When your company team members have the opportunity to provide continued service to returning clients then it is an opportunity to deliver outstanding service excellence that goes above and beyond the industry standard.  Working to offer a scheduled service plan to clients can be the difference between providing a one-time business transaction to a happy client and providing a beneficial recurring service to a thoroughly satisfied client.  When each of these three major components are combined, it is a recipe for companywide retention growth and overall success.

Rapport building is an important part of business because it works to build loyal relationships, which grows retention.  In our post today, we touched on three important areas that contribute to growing retention inside service companies: building strong initial rapport, providing thorough service on a call, and offering scheduled service plans to keep clients coming back.  Retention is such an important component of company success. Thank you for following our weekly post.  Here at Service Excellence Training, we turn learning into earning!

-Resource curated by Whitney Stewart of Service Excellence Training