Am I Too Accessible to Clients?
Frank B. Mengert
??I help employee benefit consultants win new BOR ?? | 5X Start-up Founder | 2X Inc 5000 | Better BenAdmin??
Living in a world that operates via electronic messaging…I always seem to wonder if everyone is as accessible to their clients as I am.
In this day and age, it is very easy to keep in contact with my clients on this little device called the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge…which is basically attached to me at all times. Phone calls, emails, text messaging and social media enable me to communicate 24/7 to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
My world does not operate in a Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm environment. I can honestly say I have NEVER used an out of office reply. It actually infuriates me when I get an out of office reply that says “I have no access to email” and they reply. So is the message just enabled to pick and choose who you want to reply to?
It is not uncommon for one of my clients to make it a point to tell me how much they appreciate how responsive I am. Since I rarely sleep I am known to reply to emails at very odd hours. The minute an existing client or prospect email arrives in my inbox I am on it. Several months ago I made the mistake of not replying to a prospect request immediately and the next day they had already spoke to another vendor to arrange a consultation. Although I followed up, my opportunity with that client had been lost. Things like that stick with me and I have made it a point to be consistent in my responses.
One caveat to all of this is that my clients now expect this from me. If I don’t reply quickly enough they may lead into a phone call to find out what the delay is. Which leads me to my question: “Am I too accessible to clients?” I would like to think not because I actually take pride in knowing I am there for my client the second they need me.
How accessible are you? Any thoughts or ideas on why we should or should not be at the beck and call of one of our most valued assets? I would love to hear some feedback from my LinkedIn friends. I know I am not alone on this island…some of you reply to my late night/early morning emails too!
Here are some quick stats:
- 182 Billion emails sent per day
- 91% Consumers who check their email at least daily
- 48% Emails opened on mobile devices
Speech-Language Pathologist
9 年Great topic - I think it this day and age we are too accessible and there is no balance between work and personal life. Where do we draw the line so that our job doesn't designate who we are people? I am not only my job title and have found that setting boundaries has made me more productive and efficient with those I work with.
Employee Benefits Agency with White Glove Treatment & the Best Team ever! Most Influential Woman In Benefit Advising x 3 / Health Insurance Angel / Human Barbell, Educator, Mentor & Nude Shoe addict.
9 年I use an out of office reply & return emails, because THAT'S efficient. This is a great subject and I could write a chapter. But I'm currently out of the office & will reply later :-)