A lot can change in six months. If we didn't know that before, we sure did learn it over the last six months, RIGHT?! And that's especially true of how we live at home today. We're homeschooling, working, Zooming, vacationing - all at home. That can be really frustrating, especially if our homes aren't working FOR us. And you know if you're feeling that, your CLIENTS are definitely feeling that. It's the perfect time to check back in with former clients, to refocus with new clients, and to market differently to potential clients. And here are the 3 questions I would ask every one of them!

1. How Are You Doing?!

Everyone - and I mean everyone - is feeling stressed and anxious right now.(Meeee!🙋‍♀️) Your clients are no different!! Just reaching out to ask them how they are, and to really listen to them, is a great thing. And you may learn a lot. For example, one client may say she's doing ok, but she's just so frustrated trying to work from home while her son is also having school at home. Giving her a bit of free advice about how to rearrange things is a great way to continue to build that relationship with your client. We all need to just care about each other more right now, right?

2. What is frustrating you about your house?

If you sent an email out to your clients saying something like: "So much has changed - what is frustrating you about your home right now?" I can guarantee you that you would get some quick responses. It isn't that you didn't do a great job for former clients, for example. They weren't having a schoolroom in their living room when you worked on their house before! Maybe they're cooking more than EVER and they need a redo. Or maybe they want a home theater room where they can all have some fun together. They may even just want a tweak to their outdoor spaces so they can use them more months out of the year. This one question will really tell you a lot!

3. What can I do to help?

Ask this question without the expectation of getting a job or making money off that client. I don't mean that you WON'T get some business - I just mean that it should be a more altruistic question. So much of retaining clients and getting referrals is building a solid relationship that is based on trust and honesty. This is one of those moments where it's good to really reach out with caring. Now of course I'm not telling you to bend your boundaries so you're suddenly doing a room for free. If things DO slip into that zone you can always tell your client that you're happy to send a proposal to her. More than anything, this is about relationships and awesome customer service.

To help you with your client relations, please download my FREE Guide to How to Keep and Retain Clients!