Life Time Earnings vs. Short Term Profit

Being help driven instead of commission driven is one of the biggest secrets for long-term everlasting success in recruitment, HR (and any other business). And itís a guarantee for having an exciting and wonderful career. A lovely personal life. An ever-growing bank account.

I have read an interesting remark in Jeffrey Gitomerís book ìCustomer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Pricelessî. Here is the remark, and I suggest you stick it on your computer screen. To read it whenever you feel the tendency to insult your customer, to overcharge him/her, to not meeting your customerís special requests. As you read it I hope you will have a second thought before you put your stupid intention into practice. This is IT:

The future value of your customer is itís past turnover times 20.

Wow, that is something huh? And itís true. Iím sure you never gave this a serious thought before. Neither did I before this immense powerful message struck my mind. So many service providers, including HR companies, tend to think end-of-month and are very creative in finding ways to extra-charge their customers. Their profit is short-term as they earn a couple of extra Euros. Their loss is long-term as they lose their customers forever.

You can overcharge your customers just for a while and just until theyíve found a new provider who has fair pricing. You can be nasty to your customers just for a while, until theyíve found a provider whoís friendly and caring. You can refuse to give them extra reports at no charges just a while and until theyíve found a provider who loves to do the extra work as part of the existing deal. This list is endless and Iím sure weíre all guilty of having done this Ö. We will do that no more, as now weíre smarterÖ Are we?

Whenever you irritate, annoy, curse at, be average, treat unfairly, cheat, lie, donít meet your promises, donít exceed expectationsÖ your customers, your candidates, your suppliers and anybody else around you, will start avoiding you. Will start looking for alternatives (most of the time your competitionÖor your replacement).

Even worse, they will tell anybody else about you who wants to listen to them (read: all their friends and business relationsÖ.). So anybody else will start avoiding you as well. So if you want to be out of business, do as written above.

If you want to enjoy the 20 times more turnover from your customer you can do as in the (incomplete) list below:

1. Your customerís perspective.
Look always at your customerís problems from their perspective, not from yours. Because in the end, their perspective is your perspective anyhow,

2. Look for opportunities.
Look always at opportunities to do more for your customer, at no extra charge,

3. Be delighted.
If they express extra wishes, be delighted you can be even more meaningful for them,

4. Delete your ego.
And your urge of the feeling they treat you unfair. Stop whining!

5. Listen to your heart
Be help focused, be help driven, go for the extra mile, love your job,

6. Think about the long-term
And your own long-term successful career. Itís about your successful career!

7. Be outstanding
And the 20-times turnover is yours, pity to give it to your competition, right?

8. Get referrals.
Your delighted customers will refer you to their business friends, they will be your best sales people while bringing you more and more business.

9. Forget the crap that you donít have enough.
If youíre long-term everlasting outstanding to your customers you will have more than enough. Only losers donít have enough and will never have enough. You are a winner, arenít you?

10. Be creative
Find cheaper and better solutions for your customers so they will spend more with you and both will profit from it.

11. Paid for by your customers.
Understand that what you eat, how much you eat, and how good you eat, is paid for by your customer. Same for your kids, and your partner. They love to eat good as wellÖ

12. Please your customer and candidate.
Itís much easier and much more natural to please your customer. Itís also much more fun. Itís also much more profitable. Itís also much more work (oops thatís probably why you donít want to please?) and if this bothers you: find a job at the post office.

13. Work with the best recruitment software available on the market (TalentBase).

Being outstanding is a wonderful, exciting, blissful, happy experience and can be everlasting. With your ongoing dedication, commitment, creativity, hard work, and love for what you do, love for what you stand for, love for yourself. It truly makes your life meaningful. And I just love it to be surrounded at my job with a bunch of recruiters who understand this. Iím sure youíd love it as well! The choice is always yours, and yours only!

I am curious what you will decide. Will you let me know? Thank you!

For more secrets read next timeís issue or write an e-mail to gerard.koolen@lugera.com (thanks again) and you will receive regularly all other secrets (also if you work at the competition, Iëll be more than happy to send you all the secrets). Gerard Koolen is Managing Partner at Lugera & Makler.