Are you about to lose one of your best clients to the competition? It’s a good question to consider. If your clients are anything like mine, they set high standards for themselves and, spoken or unspoken, for the people who serve them.

If you want to retain your top clients long-term, then you’ll need to do what it takes to earn their loyalty, including:

• Taking the time to understand their business, what their work really requires of them, and how they measure personal success
• Constantly listening for changes in their needs, and collaborating with them to improve your services and meet new challenges
• Communicating openly when there are issues to work through, and demonstrating that you always have their best interests at heart

I hope you’ll decide to apply these principles to your client relationships. If you do, you’ll be far more likely to retain your ideal clients long-term. That alone is probably worth a lot.

Of course, your reward for the time and energy you invest in your clients may go well beyond just retaining them. You may become that rare service provider whom they feel comfortable supporting with powerful testimonials that help you to attract more clients like them. They may be happy to refer you to well-connected people within their network. Why? You always go the extra mile for them.

It’s largely your own actions that determine whom you’ll retain or lose. Reach out to your clients on a regular basis and demonstrate your commitment to making a difference in their business lives. You might make an even bigger difference in yours.

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