Relationship Management

By: Eric W. Shultz 8/4/2009
Achieve-Ur-Dreams.com


To some of you this term may not be totally familiar. In business you can survive or not, based upon this concept. Actually the “business speak” term/ acronym is Customer Relationship Management or CRM. In fact there are some major companies out there that have made their whole business about helping other businesses with their CRM systems. What is Customer Relationship Management” and why is it different then just “Relationship Management”?

Being the analyst that I am, I always like to start with dictionary definitions and work my way from there. After all it is always best to quote an expert or non-refutable source. In this case it is www.dictionary.com.

Relationship: (noun); a connection, association, or involvement; connection between persons by blood or marriage; an emotional or other connection between people: e.g. the relationship between teachers and students; a particular type of connection existing between people related to or having dealings with each other: e.g. has a close relationship with his siblings; an existing connection; a significant association between people or among things.
Synonyms: interconnection, interdependence, interrelationship, link

Bare with me as I go a bit deeper.
Relations: (noun); the various connections between peoples, countries; the various connections in which persons are brought together: business and social relations; a meaningful connection or association between two or more people or things, e.g. one based on the similarity, relevance or dependence of one person/ thing to another; The mutual dealings or connections of persons, groups, or nations in social, business, or diplomatic matters. From the Latin; relationem (nom. relatio) meaning; "a bringing back, restoring”.
Management: (verb/ noun); the act or manner of managing; handling, direction, or control; skill in managing; to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, (sometimes despite difficulty or hardship); to dominate or influence (a person) by tact, flattery, or artifice; to handle, direct, govern, or control in action or use; to direct or conduct business affairs.
Synonyms: direction; supervision; preservation

You are probably thinking, “Wow! I am impressed, he can quote the dictionary.” Actually the definitions lead to interpretations which are the whole premise of this article. In the aforementioned definitions please note that I have brought to your attention various terms by boldly highlighting them. These terms, as I look at them, are deeply meaningful and personal in nature and talk about people, human beings, not a generic entity/ thing known as “a” or “the” customer. That’s right readers we are talking about people and getting personal. Maybe the better phrase is “Personal Relationship Management”. I hope you are ready for more, cuz here it comes!

I spent many years in corporate America and personally was involved in not less than 5 different implementations of Sales/ Contact/ CRM software packages. Every one of them had a common thread of being information managers/ databases. They were great for tracking details about customers. You know the usual information, name, company, phone, address, etc. There was a place for notes as well and a listing of all the “touches”. Management could look at the data and see who the salespersons had contacted, when and why. They even had e-mail blast capabilities. Not one of them had a personal touch or related to data entries as people. Let’s face it; there was nothing about maintaining a relationship with the person attached to the name. To me it was a database of information designed so that if a Salesperson left the company, the data remained so that the next rep in that territory had names and numbers to call. More of a CYA tool than a CRM tool. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, every company has to know who the customers or potential customers are and what their status is in the sales cycle, I just think it should be a bit more sincere and personal. After all we are talking about relationships, says so right in the software description, Customer Relationship Manager”.

The thing is that a company, seller or buyer, is made up of people. No people no company, no salespeople no sales, no persons as a buyer no buying and so on. Transactions, information exchange, etc. does not occur between two buildings or two computers. Computers keep records but they don’t really make a buying or selling decision; that takes people. Many companies have great products or services to offer and on that alone you would think their success will be automatic. The reality is unless someone knows what you have to offer or the kind of company you are, they can’t or won’t do business with you. To quote a favorite movie of mine; “If you build it, they will come” is not necessarily true. The word has to get out about you, your product, your company, etc. The most effective marketing tool is word of mouth or referrals from those who know you and are satisfied with doing business with you. You know that old adage about everyone knows 10 people and will tell those 10 people who in turn will tell 10 people… But beware word of mouth is also the fastest way dissatisfaction or poor quality (we will talk about quality in a different article) is shared, so treat them right the first time, all the time. Some businesses simply cannot grow without that referral or proclamation of satisfaction from others. Those “others” are people who are actually reacting with some sort of emotion or feeling about who (that is a people reference folks) they are doing business with. This is particularly true of small businesses, Real Estate, Car Sales, Home Services, etc. The bottom line is; that it is more so the relationships created than the product itself that really grows your business and that other bottom line, the financial bottom line.

A great way to create and preserve the relationship is through personal correspondence. Not an e-mail but a card or a note in your own handwriting. Not really a unique concept since handwriting notes is probably the second oldest form of communication. The first being grunting if you were a caveman or of course as we evolved grunts were turned into the spoken word. The top form of communication with your relations is the face to face conversation where it is not only the spoken word but the body language that conveys your message (that is a different article as well). But I digress, back to the written communication method of relationship management. How do you feel when you get a card in the mail with a personal message? I dare say not one of us doesn’t like that. In fact the only thing better is that same card with a check, cash or gift card in it. Generally those cards only come from family on special occasions. Actually those sorts of cards can also be a key ingredient of building that relationship with clients or customers, at least the gift card part.

Okay so overall the handwritten note sounds like a relatively good and simple plan, right? So why don’t we do it? Time is probably the biggest issue. It takes time to find a suitable card or buy printed note cards in bulk, it takes time to actually write the note, put it in the envelope, seal it, stamp it and get it into the mail. Not only that but when you add it all up it could cost you upwards of $5.00 per note including your time. Heck even with my slow keyboard capabilities I can send an e-mail in much less time and it is basically free. Does a personal note really make that big a difference? I am not going to answer that question instead I will let Tom Hopkins, America’s foremost sales trainer, answer that.

Tom Hopkins built a very profitable real estate business in three years. He reveals his secret; developing the Thank You Note Habit. Tom says, “Because I understood building relationships is what selling is all about, I began early in my career to send thank you notes to people. I set a goal to send ten thank you notes every day. That goal meant that I had to meet and get the names of at least ten people every day. I sent thank you notes to people I met briefly, people I showed properties to, people I talked with over the phone, and people I actually helped to own new homes. I became a thank you note fool! Guess what happened? By the end of my third year in sales, my business was 100% referrals! The people I had expressed gratitude to were happy to send me new clients as a reward for making them feel appreciated and important.” For more on Tom Hopkins go to:
www.tomhopkins.com or www.tomhopkins.com/pdf/ThankYouNotesforRealEstate.pdf

In today’s technology enabled society, this same practice can take about the same time as sending an e-mail but can be very personal. From the way the card is designed so that your message can look like what you want it to be (not how the mass merchandising card companies want it to look) and be in your own handwriting with your own signature. All you have to do is sit down at your keyboard and make the card that is then printed, stuffed into an envelope and mailed with a real stamp. Wait it gets even better! This can all be done for less than a dollar. Not only can you thank people but you can use it to meet people, promote a special event and so much more. Use this philosophy for a direct mail campaign if you like; you will be thrilled by the ROI (return on investment).

So let’s wrap this up by quoting Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” If you want to succeed in business be sure to make “Relationship Management” the cornerstone of your business plan. Simply put; “Make it Personal”! It is with us here at Achieve-Ur-Dreams. We have the tools and technology for this information e-mail us at: info@achieve-ur-dreams.com or call 614-352-3288 to learn more. Or you could send me a note but until you talk to us that will take longer than the e-mail or phone call.

Eric Shultz
Relationship Management Pundit