How To Make Employees And Clients Feel Valued

The following is an edited excerpt from the book “The 5 C’s”: Common Sense Tips for Bringing Uncommon Success to Entrepreneurs and Leaders by Dr. Satya Mitra.

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“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

My father was a very effective communicator. He was always able to use analogies and give examples to make his point clear. For his lesson on taking ownership, he used to tell me that if I were a waiter, I should deliver the customer’s dinner as though it were my dinner. I should clean their table as though it were my own. That example always stuck with me. Now, when I am doing financial planning for a client, I treat it as if I am doing financial planning for my own hard-earned money.

I communicate similarly with my own sons. To teach them that they should be passionate about everything that they are involved in and to get them in the mindset of focusing on every detail, I would give the example of preparing for a theater performance. The only way the performers can be successful, I would tell them, is if they treated every rehearsal like it’s the final show. Apparently, the lesson stuck. When my oldest was in eighth grade, he was selected for the varsity baseball team — the youngest player by far. I spoke to his coach after the selection, telling him I preferred that my son remain on the junior varsity team so he would get more playing time.

“No, we want him on varsity,” the coach told me. “I can’t explain to you the effort he showed at training camp. He played so hard every single practice. It was like he was playing in a real game. He deserves to be on varsity.” I was not surprised.

How you communicate will determine how effective you are as an entrepreneur. If you can master both internal communication to employees and external communication to clients, you will set your business up for success.

Communicating With Employees

Communicating with employees is critical — the most valuable asset of any company is the people that make up the organization. At first, you likely started your business alone or with a few partners — in my case, it was just my wife and I. As your venture grows, though, you will have employees who need to be invested in the success of your concept; they need to have buy-in.

It is important to win the hearts of your team members. To do that, you must have excellent communication. The number one message I am communicating to employees is the lesson from my father — ownership. I want them to feel that the company is their company. When my employees come to work, I want each one to think, “I’m entering my office.” In our office, if an employee sees something dirty or out of place, they will straighten it up because they are invested in the impression we make. It’s just a small example, but they don’t say, “Oh, a janitor will deal with that later.” They know that when we all pitch in to do what needs to be done, we all achieve more. This culture unfolds from constant communication encouraging my team to take ownership.

But just communicating to employees is not enough — two-way communication is key. You must be approachable and create an environment in which employees feel comfortable sharing their observations and ideas with you. Some entrepreneurs fall into the trap of thinking they’re the only ones who can come up with the best ideas for their business. But you do not have the monopoly on new ideas.

Your employees work with you every day, and oftentimes they are closer to the day-to-day details than you are. Innovations and areas for improvement will occur to your employees, and they should be invited to share those insights with you. Yes, you have the final say, but appreciate that you may not be the only one with useful insight to give. Open communication results in great ideas circulating freely and employees feeling more valued and motivated.

In my office, we have yearly planning meetings during which I solicit input from everyone who works for me. If someone brings up a good suggestion, I give them public acknowledgment and praise, and I put that suggestion into action. They feel heard and valued, and their insights help keep the business growing and thriving.

Similarly, if you plan to make operational changes in your office, you should get input from your team members and communicate your rationale for the changes. Being the boss who makes decisions from on high and then forces those decisions on employees is not effective in the long run. Employees are more likely to feel committed to your direction if they have the opportunity to help shape it as appropriate, while recognizing that you are still in charge.

Your communication should also show that you genuinely care about your employees. For example, if any of my employees has an important family event, I always make sure we cooperate with them so that they can attend. They have a life beyond the work they do for me, and I understand, acknowledge, and support them fully as human beings. People who feel valued as friends or family rather than as workers who are simply being used for labor will give you maximum effort. With this form of communication, you build genuine, lasting relationships and increase your chances of success.

Communicating With Clients And Customers

Just as we must focus on communicating with those who work with us, we must place equal emphasis on our communication with those who use our services. Clients and customers are our real bosses: we work for them. It is essential for our communication with clients to be prompt and appropriate. If you’ve ever been to a doctor’s office and had to wait a long time to be seen or called a cable company and had to wait on hold for a long time, you understand the frustration that delay can cause. Unreasonable waits undercut clients’ confidence and make them restless. Responding thoroughly — and within a reasonable timeframe — is key.

In my line of work, clients sometimes get unsettling letters from the IRS. They’re told they’re being audited or owe a large sum of money. If they call me — often frantic and looking for reassurance and advice — I need to get back to them within the day, and preferably within the hour. The longer I make them wait, the more their worry builds. The service I provide is informed guidance, which helps people feel calm and in control. Time is of the essence.

Additionally, being proactive in your communication is invaluable. I have clients who panic when the stock market goes down. I don’t wait for them to call me. Instead, I call them. I tell them there’s been a market correction, and if there’s anything that needs to be done, I’ll do it. Communicating in this way sends the message that they can relax because I’m on top of everything. They don’t need to supervise me or give me reminders, because they know I’m paying attention to the situation and looking out for their best interests.

One of the rules I created for my office is that if we receive anything by mail, fax, or email, my secretary reviews it, determines what it is, and makes sure to contact the client to acknowledge receipt. We log that the sender has been contacted. Before a client ever feels the need to follow up with us, we want to proactively let our clients know we’ve received their information. We may not always be able to immediately review the information they’ve sent, but we’re always able to immediately let them know that we’re working on it. Prompt, proactive communication has become part of our brand. In fact, our clients comment on how fast and communicative we are; they know they can rely on us to call and keep them in the loop.

On the other hand, poor communication will cost you clients. Clients who feel they have to manage you and who don’t know when they’ll hear back from you will find someone else to provide better service. People change service providers all the time because of poor communication, so don’t make the mistake of being unreliable or unresponsive. If you’re busy and can’t respond immediately yourself, make sure your assistant keeps the client posted.

The bottom line is that responsiveness builds trust. It shows you aren’t just trying to take the client’s money; you’re interested in their personal well-being and treating the relationship with respect.

Staying In Touch While Traveling

You begin to gain even more trust and loyalty if your communication skills travel with you. Whenever I am out of the office, whether I’m travelling personally or on business, each of my employees sends me an update before they leave for the day so that I’m aware of what has been happening in my absence. I take time in my hotel room, whether I’m within the country or abroad, to review the business of the day and communicate with whomever I need to. We’re blessed with cell phones, internet service, and other ways to keep in touch even across vast distances, so there is no excuse to let essential communication fall through the cracks.

If you run a business but are completely unreachable during a time of crisis for a client, you run the risk of losing that client. I’ve never had someone say to me, “I was worried about the dip in the stock market while you were visiting Africa for ten days and not responding, so I’m taking my business elsewhere.” Such failures of customer service simply don’t happen in my office because I’ve trained my employees to serve the clients as I would. I’ve also implemented systems that keep me apprised of any important issues related to my clients. I can’t emphasize enough how essential timely, well-informed communication is, no matter where you may be.

Serious Customer Service

Many years ago, I was in India when a client received a letter from the IRS. He panicked and called my office. Since we have a communication system in place, my secretary let me know about the matter as soon as possible. I asked her to send me the IRS letter so I could review it. As it turned out, the issue was one that I routinely handled. I called the client and told him everything would be fine. I would call the IRS to take care of everything when I returned to the United States the following week.

But IRS letters stir up anxiety in people nonetheless. They wonder if the government will give them a fine, take their property, or, worse, send them to prison. I could tell my client was still extremely worried. I told my wife I was going to change my flight and go home early. I suggested she stay with the kids and return when we’d planned. When I went to change my tickets, it turned out there had been four cancellations. My wife said she would rather return with me than stay by herself, so my whole family flew home a week early — all because my client was worried about a letter.

I’m not suggesting you change personal plans every time a client has an issue or a concern. But sometimes the communication with a client just needs to be face-to-face. We have so much technology now enabling global face-to-face communication, that you may not need to fly back around the world, but you may need to navigate time zones and communicate with a client at an inconvenient time for you. This type of communication and serious customer service will pay dividends in the long run. Changing my personal plans ensured that I will keep that client for life. He saw I truly cared about his situation and was willing to go the extra mile to give him excellent service. His gratitude translates into extreme customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Influencing And Inspiring Others

As entrepreneurs, we must also use our communication skills to influence and inspire others. Often, this means pushing back against common misconceptions and expressing views contrary to popular belief. Effectively communicating when you are going against the tide requires gaining people’s trust and having an unshakeable knowledge of your field. If you want to persuade people, you need to understand both the big picture and the small details, inside and out. You need to be able to describe all the products and choices available in your field, and you need to assess each client’s needs in order to recommend the best option for that client.

For example, in my field, there is a common belief amongst clients that everyone should stay away from annuities. However, annuities may be right for some and may not work for others — it’s purely a case-by-case analysis. If a client comes to me and wants to buy shares of a mutual fund but would be better off with an annuity, I need to be able to communicate the facts and explain why. I need to be able to speak persuasively on the options, especially when that client is coming into my office with a preconceived negative impression of annuities. That ability to influence flows from knowledge. If you don’t have sufficient knowledge and grounding in your field, you won’t be able to convince your client of the correct path. Continually learning and improving helps build the knowledge base that will allow you to communicate confidently and persuasively, no matter what your profession.

Key Lessons

• Open, two-way communication results in employees feeling invested in the company. As they feel a greater sense of ownership, their effort and dedication increases. Employees produce better results, and your business is more likely to achieve its goals if you leverage communication properly.
• Timely communication generates a sense of reassurance and confidence in your clients or customers and helps you retain them. Poor communication loses clients — period.
• Proactive, responsive communication that recognizes your clients’ needs will improve your business’s reputation. People will be impressed by your prompt, personal touch. They’ll remember you, recommend you, and remain loyal to your brand.
• Being a persuasive communicator in the face of popular misconceptions sets you apart and builds the trust of your clients. Doing so requires gaining a deep knowledge of your area of expertise.

We’ve discussed how to Connect with the community and how to Communicate with employees and clients. Now let’s look at how to Create a unique business in the next chapter.

To keep reading, purchase “The 5 C’s”: Common Sense Tips for Bringing Uncommon Success to Entrepreneurs and Leaders by Dr. Satya Mitra on Amazon.