The 7 Secrets of Delightful Client Communication

Client Communication

Who cares?

Have you ever watched a TV commercial or listened to someone’s marketing pitch, gotten to the end and thought, “Who Cares?!?” If so, either you are not the ideal client for this product or service or the marketer missed the mark in terms of Delightful Client Communications.

Josh Braun, VP of Business Development at Jellyvision, offers these seven secrets of Delightful Client Communication that will help you grab your clients’ attention, clearly communicate what you have to offer and ultimately, enable you to more frequently and effectively close the sale.

Secret #1 – Focus on Benefits, Not Features

Let’s face it, would you rather buy a car that has dual front air bags, side air bags, anti-lock brakes and traction control or a car that, “Keeps you and your loved ones safe as you travel to your favorite destinations.”

When you are communicating with your clients or prospective clients, always focus on the end benefit that they will receive, not the features you will provide.

Secret #2 – Tell Stories

Story telling has existed as a form of communication for centuries. In early societies, this was often the mechanism of choice to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next. As human beings, we are wired to retain information told to us in the form of stories that entertain, inspire or relate information to our common existence.

One of my favorite books that uses stories to convey key points related to wealth accumulation is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Secret #3 – Use Visuals

If you are standing in front of a group of perspective clients and want to make a lasting impact, be sure your presentations contain compelling visuals of the ideas you want to convey. I can spend twenty minutes with a bunch of text-dense slides talking about how I help my entrepreneurial clients keep more of their hard earned dollars with investment strategies that minimize fees and taxes and maximize long-term returns via a well-diversified portfolio. (Do you feel your eyes glazing over?)

Alternatively, I can show a simple visual of a piggy bank representing your business and personal finances with three “leaks” in the bottom showing how your accumulated wealth is leaking out if you are not working with a financial advisor to minimize fees, minimize taxes and diversify. Everyone wants to have a non-leaky piggy bank, right?

Secret #4 – Use Metaphor

This enables your clients and prospective clients to make a linkage between the unknown and the known. Click here to see how I use the metaphor of a house to both explain the foundation of a good financial plan as well as how this plan connects to your business and personal aspirations.

Secret #5 – Build on What They Already Know

Studies have shown that information is “stickier” if you can build on your audience’s existing body of knowledge.

As a fellow entrepreneur, I often use examples with my clients based on their experiences as a business owner to drive home key points related to their long-term financial plan.

Secret #6 – Keep it Simple

When presenting to existing or prospective clients, limit yourself to one, two or at most three key points. List them at both the start and the end of your talk. As an expert in your field, it’s easy to quickly overwhelm people with new information, which in turn can paralyze them into inaction. If you are presenting to prospective clients, make sure you convey the one or two key pieces of information that will convince them to work with you.

Secret #7 – Use Humor and Surprise

People definitely remember things that either make them laugh or are different and unexpected.

In thinking back to all of the most memorable presentations that I’ve ever attended, they all have made me laugh, surprised me or both! Some of my favorite books that use humor to drive points home include:

  • Quitter by Jon Acuff
  • The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
  • Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey

Your Assignment

Review your marketing materials (website, presentations, newsletter, blog, etc.) Choose one of them and assess how well you are delighting your clients and prospective clients in the context of the 7 secrets listed above. If you are already using three or more of these techniques, great! However, if you start to yawn and lose focus when reading your own marketing materials, make them more impactful by using the techniques described above!