No Cold Bananas

  When I’m in the office, my preference is to bring my lunch to work rather than eat out (I’m not as good at this as I should be). Sometimes I make my lunch, but usually my sweet wife does. I usually bring along a banana, but I don’t stick it in the fridge with the rest of my lunch—I keep it at my desk. Why? Because if I get hungry mid-morning, it’s better to eat my banana than hitting the pretzel jar or Connie’s candy dish. But there’s another reason—I don’t like cold bananas. I like my banana to be room temperature. I don’t why, that’s just the way it is. And that’s just me.   What does this have to do with anything? Good question. But here’s what I think—if it matters to me, it matters. Just like your clients. Too hot? Too cold? Jazz instead of dreamy massage Muzak? What matters to your clients should matter to you.   If you don’t already, you should begin creating a dossier on your clients—likes and dislikes in the treatment room, before, and after, as well as birthdays, hobbies, kids, pets’ names—you name it. If your objective is to establish a meaningful business relationship with your clients, the quicker you embrace the fact you are in a service business, the better.   You can use an Excel spreadsheet, a notepad, or a more robust client-management tool. The medium can be helpful, but it’s the discipline that counts. Intake forms are critical, but so are customer notes. No practice should skip on either. Charting and notes are what make you a professional; understanding your clients (and delivering for them) keeps you in the profession.   Discover your clients’ “banana” preferences and use these understandings to make connections that help lead to client retention and practice success.     Follow Les on Twitter: @abmp_les.