The Line
The older I get and the more clients I work with, the less I think I understand about any of them. There is a kind of invisible line between every client / supplier relationship, especially on the service side of things.
A solicitor client was rehearsing a talk he is giving soon
about commercial property. The purpose of the presentation is to help members
of the audience prepare and deal with some of the mechanics of the transaction
so that they can avoid unnecessary fees. “But surely,” I said, “there are people
who do not want to deal with title deeds, due diligence and banks? They just
want the result.” “You are missing the point.” he replied.
Yesterday another client surprised me with the strength of the
criticism she levelled at their company accountant.
She said “This bloke wants to flog me all sorts of add on packages that will
help me manage my business better. I don’t want all that. I told him to go and
manage his own business better.”
And this invisible line moves all the time. I got a call
from someone I haven’t worked with for ten years this week and she told me exactly
what she wanted. I said that there are better people out there for this than me.
She just replied, “Tim, you are the man; we have not considered anyone else.”
One could argue that the product side of business is largely
transactional, but there is no doubt that the service side of things, between
the right people, can be transformational.
With each and every client you just have to try and know
where the line is.........
posted by Tim @ 3:07 AM
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