Here's how you can foster and sustain relationships with clients.

To foster and sustain relationships with clients it's important to meet them where they are at. What drives them? The more that you can assist them out of good nature that does not benefit you or your company at all, the more trust this instills and creates an opportunity for an authentic relationship. My best client relationships turn into friendships. That is the best way to achieve win-win partnerships. Don't assume anything, always clarify to make sure they know you are on their team but that you have a job to do to. People want to help other people succeed if you lead with conversations that inspire mutually beneficial results

To foster and sustain relationships with clients, start by understanding their needs and goals through active listening and regular communication. Offer consistent and reliable service, ensuring you meet or exceed expectations. Personalize your interactions to show genuine interest and appreciation. Provide value by sharing relevant insights and solutions that address their challenges. Be responsive and proactive in addressing any concerns. Maintain regular follow-ups and check-ins, and celebrate their successes. Lastly, seek feedback to improve your services and demonstrate your commitment to their satisfaction. These strategies build trust and long-term loyalty.

It means focusing on the emotion and meaning behind the words . One needs to use one’s power of empathy to feel vicariously the attitudes and characterizations of your client . You can’t do that if you’re sitting there thinking about what you are going to say next.

To foster and sustain relationships with clients, you have to get to know them and earn their trust. To do this, you have to understand their why. Knowing their plan of approach, as well as having base knowledge of what their industry is going through, allows you to ask the questions that matter. Your client will appreciate the non-canned questions, as this approach lets them know you are bought into their successes, both short and long term.

You will foster and sustain long term relations with clients by effective summarizing the conversation in your own words . By doing this the client will be able to tell how well the conversation is going and continue feel empowered. They will also be more willing to let you know if you are catching what they are throwing.

When I was in staffing I used to write down bday’s , kids names, spouses , hobbies etc. I was practically making dossiers at a point. I would send bday cards and holiday cards. Always ask about their family. Things you would do with anyone you have a relationship with. It always kept me top of mind. There are a million ways for you to personalize outreach and all of the above helps. In 2024 , “I hope all is well” just won’t cut it. Talk less. Listen more.

I like the trends piece: if you know where the industry is going , you can separate yourself from a basic recommendation. I would also bring in other SME’s if the situation calls for it for it . Inside the unified communications world , that could look like a sales engineer.

Depending on company policy of course. Send a token of gratitude. You will never be forgotten again. You’ll be the first one they call. When needed. And side note I did it plenty of times without expensing it on the company. Send a handwritten note with a gift card or if you know your client as well as you should, you can tailor the gift a bit more. Just saying it was fun and great working with you and team, goes a long way. If you just made 5k in commission on a deal , no reason you can’t send a gift card saying congrats or whatever congratulatory verbiage applies appropriately in the situation

Empathy is a secret weapon for building credibility and trust in my experience. Do you understand their role and how they're measured/reviewed? Can you speak their language or at least fake it enough to make them believe you care about their dialect/perspective? Wouldn't recommend speaking to a Data Scientist the same way as a Social Media Manager. Same with speaking to an SVP Supply Chain vs. an Enterprise Architect. If someone believes you understand their role, challenges, and world they are going to be way more likely to believe you can help solve their critical challenges. Projects/transformations are complex with lots of stakeholders. Empathy is a fast track to building a bridge of understanding and trust IMO.