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The single best use of your time is regular reviews with your top clients. But periodic informal conversations with clients over coffee or lunch are an equally powerful way to build deep bonds. With the holidays approaching, this is a great time to arrange those meetings.
These conversations will make the transition from a purely business relationship to a friendship. There’s one big problem with making these unstructured conversations happen, however – and that’s time.
Ready for the adventure of a lifetime?
Last year, seven advisors climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and experienced the adventure of a lifetime.
They did this to raise funds for Amani Children’s home in Tanzania; this four minute video describes their experience. The next Kilimanjaro climb will take place next August, for details and info on an upcoming information call, email [email protected]
Fighting the clock
Talk to most people about the challenges they face and inevitably you’ll hear the T word – “time.”
Even very successful people are swamped. There are a number of reasons for this – the escalating proliferation of online information we need to stay on top of, the growing flood of email communication and a “do more with less” mindset among many companies. Those factors have created a toxic brew in which many clients struggle to find time for a relaxing coffee just to get caught up.
This is why even people who’d like to sit down with you have difficulty making that happen. You have to be sensitive to that reality in the requests for their time we make of clients
All that said, there are two weeks each year when your chances of sitting down with clients are better than any others –the weeks leading up to Christmas. During the week starting Monday December 10 and especially beginning Monday December 17, most people are still around, but things are winding down. If you’re ever going to have the chance to get in front of a top client for a casual lunch or coffee, these two weeks are when it will happen.
