How are you?

Recently, I’ve been finding the most difficult conversations with my clients are in response to the easiest (and most common!) question: “How are you?” Whenever anyone asks these days, I am never quite sure how to respond. More than ever, I’ve found my clients (and myself) compelled to answer honestly. Sometimes it’s “I’m surviving,” and other times “For right now, I’m great.” We laugh and sometimes cry. We are in this uncertain place together. We’re deciding whether this common conversation starter is just a pleasantry that we use as a vehicle to get to ‘real business’ or whether it is a question of genuine concern.

So how should you connect with your clients during and after these difficult times? Despite that it has become a loaded question, always begin with a genuine “how are you?” and then actively listen to the answer. I would encourage you to slow down and allot at least 2-5 minutes for each person (depending on your industry, it may be much more). 

Nicole Yen

Advisor

If you’re thinking, “maybe some businesses have time for that, but I definitely do not.” I implore you to consider it in a different light. As fragile as we are now, we can either build bonds or break them down. Who are you to your clients? Do you just have a business relationship (replaceable) or a real bond (irreplaceable)? This is an opportunity to show clients that you provide a service for them because you care about them and for that, five minutes is a bargain.

Want to work with Nicole? Send her an email at nyen@breakawayba.com.