I’m sure people who have heard of me in my local village might say I’m difficult in the sense that I’m not afraid to speak up in defense of myself and family. I seem to get in fights with people in my area who seem to have the same type of personality.
No matter how I may act in my personal life, I don’t let fights or vendettas get in the way of making money in this retirement plan business. Grudges are silly if you let it hit you right in the wallet or pocketbook.
Years ago, I had a major falling out with someone in the retirement plan business. After all was said and the done and the hostilities concluded, that person became one of my best clients. What happened? I think we both acted like adults, showed contrition and general like for each other. I also saw it as an opportunity for me to grow as a person and not let a silly grudge get in the way of growing my business.
All of my business disputes typically occur when I’m the consumer and I let the producer know how disappointed I am in the service. The problem is that these producers can’t take criticism too well and they decided that my criticism is no longer worth my business. For some reason, this flakiness usually deals with construction at my home.
That’s another thing: if you’re criticized it, accept it. Even if the client is wrong, they are always right in the sense that you need to listen to their grievances. Don’t let their criticism get in the way of you firing them as clients. There are some clients you may never please, but a good way of client retention is actually listening to their criticism and trying to meet the expectations of your client when they think you’re failing.
In the end, never let fighting get in the way of making a buck.
