The Key To Any Successful Business Relationship

You may or may not be familiar with the acronym KISS

Otherwise explained as: Keep It Simple Stupid

This phrase is used in all sorts of situations, including when you’re trying to figure out the best solution to a problem. And it is especially relevant in business

It doesn’t matter what type of business you do

You can be selling to consumers, or to other businesses, this logic still applies

The fundamental premise of business is an exchange of value. A client gives you money, and you, in turn, provide the customer with something they value

Even more basic than this though, your job as a business owner is simply to make your clients life easier

That is after all, why they come to you

A person takes their car to the shop for an oil change not necessarily because they are incapable of doing it themselves, but because it is easier to pay someone else to do it, and they value their free time

A business owner hires an IT professional on staff so that their life is easier by not having to figure out how to learn and manage numerous electronics systems on top of managing day to day operations

You are the provider of simplicity. You reduce workload and simplify the clients life

Unfortunately, as the experts in our chosen field (whatever that may be), we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that our clients share our enthusiasm

We think “Ahh, this person came to ME asking for my help, they must care about this as much as I do”  

Following this flawed line of thinking, we can then launch into detailed explanations and rants, divulging all the complications and details of the task at hand that we have learned over the years, while your poor client is sitting there, lost in a sea of confusing words and phrases getting more overwhelmed by the second

By the time we finish, we feel accomplished and satisfied that we’ve proved our expertise to the client, while the client, is sitting there with a fried brain, desperately trying to comprehend any portion of information dumped upon them 

They begin to think to themselves “Oh goodness, I had no idea this was so complicated. There is more to this than I even thought possible. If it’s this difficult for the man supposed to be handling this to even explain it, how on earth am I supposed to trust him to be able to complete it?”

This of course, is the last thing we want

But unfortunately, in our attempts to ease fears by demonstrating an abundance of knowledge, we actually accomplish the opposite and end up forming more doubts and questions in the clients mind

So instead of dumping a truckload of information on an unsuspecting client that they don’t really care about anyway, here’s what we do

We Keep. It. Simple.

We don’t over complicate with explanations. We don’t tell the client how hard it is, or how time consuming it's going to be, how many staff or contractors we are going to need to complete this, and how this is the biggest task we’ve been assigned yet

We reassure, we ease, we make their life easier

Client comes to you with a mysterious car issue that could be a million and one different things?

“Not to worry, I’ve seen cases like this dozens of times before. We will simply run a few diagnostic tests quickly to pinpoint the exact source of the issue, then we’ll get your vehicle fixed right up nice and quick. By the time we’re done, it’ll run like a dream”

Notice how we didn’t add to the clients worry by saying it could honestly be anything and we have no idea? We didn’t confuse the client with explanations of car components they don’t understand or care about. We didn’t worry about them saying it could be super serious and we can’t promise anything. 

Instead, we recognized that they came to us because they are likely already overwhelmed and stressed about their car trouble, and so we alleviate that stress by presenting ourselves as a confident expert

Because we kept everything positive and made the issue that is daunting to them seem simple for us, we have now inspired confidence from the client, and demonstrated to them our competence in fixing motor vehicles

Now of course, this is simply one example, but the principle remains the same for any business

You understand where your client is coming from and the stress they likely feel about the issue they are asking you to solve, and you do your best to alleviate it

You make the task seem routine, you reassure them it will be handled completely, that it will be efficient, and that you couldn’t be more calm about it if you tried

Your client will look at you with awe and gratitude as you’ve just taken away the stress at the forefront of their mind, and now they can get back to living their life or running their business, trusting you to handle the rest

The even better news? 

Now that they see you as an expert for handling such a “major task” in their mind, you’ll be the first person they come to for more problems, or that they recommend to others experiencing similar difficulties

Congratulations. You now have a repeat customer who sees you as the solution to their stress, and a high chance of collecting multiple referrals on the basis of your expertise

All because you remembered to give your clients a KISS