I get a tap on my shoulder from behind. I was deep in thought, bouncing from idea to idea. I was not aware of anything around me. I turned around and was pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t expected to see the person greeting me for another day or two. How nice to see a friendly face. We immediately decided I needed to take a break and we should go find a place to have a drink and catch up. I learned all about the new baby and how she is so perfect. She sleeps great and she eats like a champ. She looks just like her mom, but smiles any time daddy comes in the room. We talked about his job – what was going good, what was not so great. I saw pictures of his six year olds latest puppet show production. Very impressive. He got a good laugh from my story on how my 3 year old demanded of the entire family at dinner to “give me space” (with arms fully extended to explain how much space was required). We talked about more serious family matters – my dad’s health, etc. Before we knew it an hour had passed. It was so great to catch up.
So you are probably wondering where I had this encounter? The airport? The mall? Nope. I was at ShoWest – a cinema industry tradeshow (www.showest.com). Who came up behind me? An old college friend? A long lost cousin? Nope. It was my client. We’ve worked together for several years, and he has become more than just a person I work with. He is a friend. I know I will not become friends with every single one of my clients. But imagine if we did treat them as we would a friend, we may just help build a customer for life. I try to keep that mindset when building new contacts and meeting new clients. I am building a new customer not just for today… but for life.
Great story Julie. I would not have guessed your encounter was with a customer, but what a wonderful surprise to hear that it was!
Kc
Julie — thanks for sharing this story. It is too easy to forget the simple lessons in business and in life. This was a good reminder for me. I appreciate it.