How You Are Losing Clients

There are many articles on Technibble are about gaining more clients. However, you need to make sure you keep them once you have them. In this article, I’ll show you 5 ways you might be losing clients.

Clients losing your contact information

One of the most common ways for you to lose customers is because your clients simply lose your details. They like you, they are happy with the work you do and would love to call you again, if only they could find your phone number.

To help prevent this, consider getting some small stickers made that you can stick onto their computer case with their permission. It won’t get lost like a business card and the number is right there when they need it.

Is your answering machine message up to date?

It’s easy to forget what your answering machine message says because you simply don’t call yourself. It’s quite possible you changed it before you went on holidays to let your clients know you will be unavailable and forgot to change it back. Make sure your answering machine message is up to date.

Do you return calls quick enough?

Most of your clients should have some sort of loyalty towards you. They have met you; they trust you and know you are competent. They would rather not try out another technician because they have fears of getting someone that doesn’t know what they are doing. However, if you don’t answer the phone immediately they will only wait for so long. Try to return calls as soon as possible. The same day is ideal but the next morning should be the very latest. Don’t give them a chance to try out another technician and possibly replace you forever.

Do you “close” phone call inquiries?

When someone calls you and asks how much will it cost to have a wireless network setup, do you just say “$200 for parts and labor” or do you say “That will cost $XXX for parts and labor. I am available to go onsite tomorrow. Would you like to book in a time?”

The first way just encourages them to call around for the best price. The second way helps you “close the sale”.

This is what the marketing world calls a “call to action” and it gives the customer a way to take it further. It is easier for them to say yes to you and be done with it rather than continue calling around for the next hour.

Do you always provide value?

Just this week I went to a repair job that was about an hour away from my location and I fixed the problem within 10 minutes. I asked the client if there was anything else they wanted me to do and he said that I had fixed everything that he needed. I could get paid and go home then and there but I felt like I didn’t provide value. I noticed he was asking me a lot of questions about basic word processing. I told him that because of the distance I have traveled, I have to charge my full hourly rate regardless of whether I am here for 10 minutes or the full hour, so if he likes I can fill the rest of the rest of the hour and teach him some basic word processing, which I did.

After the hour he got his computer fixed, learned a lot and felt like I delivered value for money.

If the client feels they are not getting value for money, they will simply replace you with someone cheaper.