Icon Key
Bookmark and Share

 

Business Development

Returning Thanks to A Thankful Client
Print View |  Bookmark & Share  |  Comment |   |  Back to List |  << Previous Next >>
Editor's note: Most consultants are in the business to make a difference. Whether the field is retail merchandising, environmental engineering or sales and marketing, consultants like to matter. If you're doing the right thing, you'll receive numerous thank you letters from clients. First of all, save them, frame them, enjoy them. They will see you through hard times when you wonder why you're in business.

Second, when a client  thanks you, return the favor, and let them know how much you appreciate them. This is also a time to underline your values and commitment to them. Brent is a physician specializing in paliative [end of life] care for elderly patients. The "Friends" group was a support network for career changers.


From: Brent Savage
Sent: August 19, 20— 5:06 AM
To: wsfrank@careerlab.com
Subject: Good morning!

 

Hello Bill,

I've been called in to Hospice Care Network for Monday, which is unusual, because they had 20 plus admissions over the weekend and will need some physician home visits.  Please give my regards to the Friends group, which I hope to rejoin shortly.

While I am thinking about it, please know that your influence on my professional development has been profound.  From the Birkman through the three-day visit, on to the two-page resume, friends group and especially networking, my professional self concept is becoming completely transformed. 

I've been touched by the number of people who are looking out for me, and am beginning to realize that my own reciprocation to them and to myself makes for a much deeper, soulful approach to my work than I ever realized was possible. 

After all, we are all coping and sometimes struggling with similar issues of the meaning of work in our lives, living in this world we inhabit, and our own aging and hopefully mellowing processes.   I think that the CareerLab approach to all of this has its roots in a deeper, existential view of work and its meaning.  I just want you to know that I appreciate your creativity and persevering efforts.

Brent 

Brent,

This is a very kind note, and I appreciate it a lot. You're right, there is something deeper here than just "work." I do take a spiritual approach to career planning, namely: "There's a right place for everyone," and my job is to help others find their "right place." 99.9% of the time, we're successful.

You're doing really well, and I'm very proud of you. You've accomplished a lot in the brief time I've known you.

Talk soon,

:Bill

Print View |  Bookmark & Share  |  Comment |   |  Back to List |  << Previous Next >>

Comments

Add a Comment
Your rating:
Name:
Your URL:
Your e-mail:
Message:
 
Enter security code:
 Security code
(please enter the
numbers on the image)
 
Skip Navigation Links.
William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.