"I love all of your work Harry!" Harry Beckwith, author of "Selling The Invisible", "The Invisible Touch", and the forthcoming book, "What Clients Love: A Field Guide To Growing Your Business" was a joy to interview because he's extremely rich in character and wisdom.

Christian: I love all of your work and have applied it to my business with great benefits. So, tell me about your latest efforts.

Harry: My upcoming book is called "What Clients Love" and it is written from the client's point of view. It answers the question, "what makes a client do business with a company". We go from the birds eye view to the ground level.

Christian: Brilliant! Tell us more about it.

Harry: Part of the book deals with major world trends.
#1: The proliferation of information and choices.
#2: The decline of trust.
#3: The loss of community.
#4: The rise of intangibles & services.

Christian: Where do you get all of your ideas from?

Harry: From observing clients, I see trends and similar stories from a number of clients.

Christian: What are the top 3 tips you would give to small business owners?

Harry: Customers are less loyal today. Most businesses think they have great customer service, but as a consumer how often do we really feel like we get great customer service? In my experience, not very often. So, there's obviously something missing. The disconnect comes from businesses thinking that how well the product or service is delivered equals how great the customer service is. Customer service is about the relationship between the customer and the people at the company. A strong relationship = great customer service. In fact, the number one most critical rule for getting and keeping clients is to make them feel important.

Another important tip is to believe you can do better and then act on it. And, know that big business and small business are identical. Big businesses are small businesses with lots of people. Big businesses are usually over-staffed, and small businesses are usually understaffed. But the rules for getting and keeping clients are still the same.

Plus, the points I continually stress about service oriented businesses:

1) Price communicates value.
2) Recognize that all businesses have brands. - know what you are communicating. Building a brand is just as important for you as it is for McDonald's.
3) Visual Presentation/Packaging - ask "does this communicate quality?'
4) Understand the importance of relationships vs. service. - ask "What are you doing today to make your client feel important?"

Christian: What is 1 thing you would like people to know about you?

Harry: How sincere and passionate I am about what I write and what I teach.

Christian: Thanks you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. I've learned a lot and I can't wait to read your upcoming book!

Harry: It's been my pleasure.

What isn't in the interview, which I'm sneaking in here: After our interview Harry was running off to teach a 2nd grade class. He volunteers to teach boys without fathers because he knows how important of a role they play.

If you run your own business, you work for your clients. I recommend purchasing "What Clients Love" by Harry Beckwith. Read the book and then tell me what you think. Email: Yes@smallbizu.com

Click here to obtain your copy of "What Clients Love"

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