A couple of weeks ago, I was taking a long drive for a business function. I turned on the radio to fight the boredom and used the “seek” function to help me find a station.

There wasn’t much around that particular part of the country so I wound up listening to one of those advice to the lovelorn programs. It’s not the sort of show I would choose, but as it went on, I became more and more fascinated by the callers, their litany of problems, and especially what seemed to be the underlying cause of all of it all -- a complete lack of communication or the wrong type of communication.

That got me thinking; it’s not much different in the professional insurance agency world. A lot of the problems insurance businesses have, especially with clients, stem from communication issues. Whether it’s too much communication, not enough, the wrong type, or just a misinterpretation between what is said and what is meant, at some point, clients will simply leave and businesses while businesses are left without knowing why.
Since there aren’t any radio talk shows for insurance businesses trying to patch up troubled clients relationships, here are a few tips to help improve communications and build a long-lasting relationship.

Always be Available

The lovelorn often complain that their significant other is cold and distant. Clients can feel the same way about you if it takes days or even hours for you to respond to calls or e-mails. Small insurance businesses especially need to make sure they’re available to clients since one of the main reasons customers choose a small insurance agency or independent agent is to get better service.

For e-mail, consider investing in a mobile phone with data service that allows you to get your e-mails wherever you are. Yes, it costs a little more, but it will be well worth the expense when your clients react to your higher level of responsiveness. For voice calls, consider signing on to a virtual phone service for business calls. These services allow you to forward your office phone to your mobile device so you can take calls anywhere. It should also e-mail your voice-mail messages to you just in case you simply can’t take the call live. With that capability, you don’t have to guess if someone called and wants an answer. The message comes right to you. Wouldn’t that be handy in your personal relationships too?

Think before you speak

How many love relationships are damaged every day because one person makes a statement, the other responds, things escalate, and pretty soon the original issue is well overshadowed by what came after? The same thing can happen in business. It’s easy to let emotion overtake reason, especially under pressure. But you have to remember the cardinal rule of business: the client is always right even when he’s wrong. Take a moment to calm down and think before you respond. If you can’t do it now, say you’ll look into the issue further and get back to the customer. Then sleep on it if you have to. What seems to be a major, muddy issue one day often becomes much clearer after you’ve had a chance to sleep on it. The subconscious is a wonderful thing.

Don’t allow things to fester

This is the other side of the coin. Often in a relationship what starts out as a small issue can quickly grow if left unattended. The more time that passes, the more likely the other person will fill in your side of the conversation with what they think you’ll say. Do your best to answer small issues and complaints in a measured but timely manner so you can keep them small. And make sure your client knows that you’re looking into the bigger ones.

Tread carefully with e-mail

Few things have done more to put our love lives on edge than e-mail. In addition to the fact that good writing seems to be a lost art, an e-mail can’t convey the writer’s tone and intention. As a result, the interpretation is left up to the reader; many a fight has resulted from what the writer thought was an innocent statement. If you find yourself in a situation like that with a client, resist the temptation to respond with your own e-mail. Instead, pick up the phone and talk to the client. You’ll likely achieve three benefits. One, you’ll get a better idea of whether what you’re reading as a snippy comment was just a poor choice of words. Two, you’ll let the client know you take the issue seriously. Responding to an e-mail with a phone call is much more impressive than simply returning the e-mail. And three, it’s a lot easier for people to be angry when hiding behind e-mail than in a face-to-face or voice-to-voice situation. Making the call can help you take the teeth out of paper tigers.

Know where the line is between friendly and too familiar

Nothing kills a dating relationship faster than one person getting too familiar too soon. The same is true in a business relationship. While you may have some great and fun conversations as you build the client relationship, it’s still important to maintain the line between your professional life and your personal life. You want them to feel good about you, but they’re still your clients, not your friends. Answer the phone in an appropriate manner. If you’re using the same mobile phone for your business and personal calls, here is where a virtual phone service can help, because it can tag calls to show whether they’re being forwarded from your office phone or coming directly to your mobile. If you only give your mobile number to your friends, the tag will tell you whether you should answer the call with a businesslike “ABC Company” or it’s ok to use a friendly “Wasssuuuuup?”

Whether you’re talking love or business, it’s been proven time and again that great communication is the cornerstone of a great relationship. And when things break down, as they inevitably will, having those lines of communication is what will see you through the rough spots.
Follow the guidelines here and you’ll have an excellent start toward building a deeper bond with your clients – one that will last years. After all, if it works for radio therapists, it’ll work for you.

Kevin Baker is my1voice Product Marketing Manager for Protus (www.protus.com), provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) communication tools for small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and enterprise organizations. Kevin can be reached at kbaker@protus.com