Today let’s investigate how to deliver incredible client experience in your meetings. But first, we have to inspect what we expect from the meeting.
Most account managers spend hours, or days, putting together a hodge podge of different reports. These often come from various systems with the goal of turning out some kind of relevant justification for the client to stay, and spend more money (upsell). I call this the “garbage dump” approach. The content will change from AM to AM and is usually biased to support what they are comfortable talking about. Too often this is stuff like ticket counts, uptime, resolution time, back ups totals, etc.
Unfortunately, this usually results in the client trying to avoid the meeting or end it as quickly as possible.
Bring real business value to your clients by making the meeting flow in an easy, comfortable and professional way.
Storyboard it! Make the experience interactive. Ask questions and listen. Now you can diagnose and offer solutions to your clients' problems. As the client gets more comfortable with you, they will share more business problems that you can solve. Now your clients will be engaged and inspired to take action.
This also takes the pressure off you and your account managers to get “creative” in a live setting. Top performers, from athletes to actors, spend thousands of hours practicing. This is so they don’t have to “think” when they deliver a world class, record breaking performance. How prepared and polished is your deliverable, before the "big game"?
Apply this same approach to your business. Instead of trying to make sense of a bunch of reports, follow the storyboard. Use sections (widgets) to ask questions, keep notes, review previous meeting minutes and embed relevant 3rd party content. Set yourself up with success by making it easy for you and the client to move to the next steps. Your process is your deliverable. Your deliverable is your process. Your account management is now systems driven!
How many touch-points do you think make for the best client experience? Schedule a time with use and let us know.
Success Resources
Try this: Embed a calendar booking tool like https://calendly.com/ or MicroSoft Bookings into your report. This way you always have definite next steps and don't have to chase the client.
Read this: Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
How do you proactively plan projects and upgrades with your clients? Let us know and schedule a time to chat with us about delivering the best account management.
