GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Expectations. One of the biggest frustrations I hear from my clients and other business owners is that they get feedback from a client that their (the client’s) experience wasn’t what they expected. Unfortunately, this is common in service-based industries. But why? Because the service provider has not taken control of the consumer’s expectations.

Let’s start by defining expectation:

My definition: a conscious or subconscious prediction of an outcome

Conscious = Active Subconscious = Passive

Example of active expectation: When I properly mix all the ingredients, I expect my cookies to taste delicious. This is an active expectation because I have taken the steps necessary to reach a specific outcome: delicious cookies!

Example of a passive expectation: When I go to sleep at night, I expect to wake up in the morning. This is a passive expectation because I haven’t put any thought into it..

How does this translate to business? Whose job is it to set your clients’ expectations? Is it theirs, yours, no one’s?

Here is the answer:

YOU are in charge of your client’s expectations when they work with you. You have to set your clients expectations from the very first encounter. If you don’t, they will develop them on their own. When you let your client develop their own expectations of you and your service or product, you leave them wide open for disappointment.

Listen closely - expectations lead to one of two outcomes: satisfaction or disappointment.

But how do we take control of our clients’ expectations? How do we ensure the outcome is satisfaction?

By communicating clearly and consistently through the entire customer experience. Also, never speak in absolutes when setting expectations. Give realistic expectations but ensure you have wiggle room just in case.

Let’s use an example of a real estate professional:

You help people with the largest investments they’ll ever make. If you don’t set expectations at the very first interview with a new client, how do you think that experience will turn out? It may turn out ok, but it is far more likely that your client will feel like their expectations were not met. If you leave too much room for the client to wonder what the process will be like, you leave them open for disappointment.

In your first communication with a new client, you should be laying out the whole process for them. Tell them the amount of documentation you will need and realistic time frames and deadlines they should expect. Most importantly, always pad any deadlines to give yourself room for unforeseen delays.

By “pad”, I mean that if an appraisal usually takes 6 days to get back, tell the client it could be 10 days. That way, if there are any delays, you have a 4-day window where they will never even know there was a delay because they are expecting that it will come back in 10 days, not 6. Then when it comes back on day 9, they are thrilled because in their mind, it has come in early!!

This is called UNDER-PROMISE & OVER-DELIVER. You must do this with every single client, 100% of the time.

Write it down: UNDER-PROMISE, OVER-DELIVER!

When you under-promise and over-deliver, you guarantee that you will not only meet your client’s expectations, you will beat them, and your client will have an amazing experience with you!

To reiterate, by setting your clients’ expectations in the beginning of your work together, you have created their predicted outcome FOR THEM! This means you have exponentially increased the likelihood of them being 100% satisfied with their entire experience!

If your client is 100% satisfied with you, what does that look like? For most business owners, it means repeat business, referrals, glowing reviews, word of mouth advertising (which we all know is the best type), and ultimately, growth of your business. All of that comes just from setting the right expectations at the beginning. Always do everything you can to eliminate the possibility for the wrong expectations.

We have discussed what expectations are and how to set them, but WHY is it so important to set them?

Do you want your business to grow? Do you want to be a successful entrepreneur? Do you want your clients to trust you? Do you want to create a reputation for yourself that YOU control?

If you answered yes to all of these, you have just answered why it is so important to set the right expectations in your clients from the very first contact. If your clients’ first impression comes from your website, then you must start setting your expectations there! If you have a busy, chaotic website that is hard to navigate, what does that tell your potential clients? If you have a minimal, simple website, what does that tell them? Is your website creating the impression you want?

As I have already said, if your clients set their own expectations, the end result is more likely to be disappointment. If YOU set their expectations, the result is far more likely to be satisfaction, provided you set expectations that you can exceed (refer to the under-promise and over-deliver section...make this your customer service mantra!). Since you are the one that knows what you are capable of, be sure to set expectations that you know you can meet and beat!

Need help knowing how to set proper expectations? Follow me on Instagram and click HERE to get on the waiting list for group coaching so you can be the first to know when enrollment opens. I can’t wait to help you learn how to set, meet, and beat the expectations of your clients!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao for now!