C L I E N T  T H A N K   Y O U

Two of the areas central to Martin's customer service philosophy are modifying your marketing to fit in with the way clients make decisions; and getting some "CDs in with your Lexus" (If you haven't heard Martin speak and "CDs with your Lexus" doesn't mean anything to you, please go to the ARTICLES section of this website and click on the article "How to generate repeat and referral business without spending any more money").

The "client thank you" seminar does both.
If your clients are in business, they care more about THEIR business than yours. Therefore, the BEST way we can add value to their business is to contribute to their bottom line profitability even if it's not directly through the purchase of YOUR products or services. Hence, the "client thank you" seminar.

You invite your top clients (see invitation later in this section) to a seminar to say thank you for their past business (not an inducement for their future business). I present for about an hour ideas and strategies that will help the audience improve the bottom line of their business (You brief me as to the make up of the audience and I customise my material so that all my examples are relevant to the needs of the people in the room). The seminar is full of humour and I am not as hard hitting as I am working with a group of salespeople or managers because the purpose of this event is the creation of goodwill rather than changing the behaviour of the audience (talk to me about this area and we will get the tone of the presentation right for your clients).

After I have told the "CD Lexus" story, I say to the audience "It's pretty unusual for a business seminar that I haven't spent a lot of my presentation promoting the host of the seminar. When XXXX asked me to present to you he asked me to focus totally on YOUR needs and bottom line and leave him/her out of it. Basically, I am just a CD with XXXX's Lexus and it gives me great pleasure to practice what I preach on his/her behalf."

There is no selling in my presentation or by your people at the cocktails, lunch or breakfast at which you run the seminar. Your clients, who are expecting to be sold, are not sold and they are very pleasantly surprised by this.

So where is the return on investment on this seminar?
That comes AFTER the event!

I give you permission to record my presentation and make duplicate copies for your clients. You offer these to your clients, free of charge, as a further value added of the evening. A week or two later you deliver the CDs personally (with your branding all over it as they are likely to pass them around) and that is the time to ask for incremental business, testimonials or referral business. The timing is prefect for this as they are psychologically indebted to you from the evening because they were expecting to be sold and weren't and then you gave them a gift of value (recording of the presentation) on top of this. They are thinking how wonderful you are and what can they do for you in return - and you are telling them what they can do for you - and that is incremental business, testimonials, referral business or whatever else you value in the business relationship.

Later in this section you will find testimonials from companies who have run the seminar for their clients so you can get an idea of the results you can expect from yours.

As a matter of professional ethics, I will not run the seminar on behalf of more than one company in the same industry in the same market i.e. if I run the seminar for you, you can rest assured I will not work with your competitor so my "thank you" seminar will be a value added that can't be duplicated by your competition.

DRAFT INVITATION

Dear SS.
We at XXXXX realise that clients like yourself have been responsible for the success of our business and we wanted to do something special to show our appreciation. Recently I saw a presentation called "Making Profits in Changing Times" by Martin Grunstein. I got so much out of the presentation, I have decided to bring Martin to you at our expense. On X date at X time in X venue, Martin will present "Making Profits in Changing Times" to a select group of our clients and referrers. I would like you and a friend or colleague to be amongst that group. I would also like you to be our guests for refreshments following the presentation. In the presentation you will learn:

• How consumers make purchase decisions. How that is different in the current economic environment and how to take advantage of that.
• Reasons to do business with you that have nothing to do with price.
• Alternatives to discounting that keep your bottom line healthy.
• The difference between recognition and bribery.
• What creates loyalty and referral business and what doesn't.
• A post-sale client recognition programme to generate loyalty and referral business.

Martin comes highly recommended. His work with over 500 Australian companies across over 100 industries has made him Australia's most in-demand speaker on Outstanding Customer Service. He has also worked with professional sportsmen up to international level in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer taking teams from losing to situations by teaching players the mental side of their game. And I guarantee you won't be bored! Martin's presentations are full of humour and in his spare time he has written comedy professionally. Please note, the evening is totally complimentary and there will be no presentations by me or anyone trying to sell you anything on the night. I look forward to seeing you there.

Best regards,

XXXXXXXX

P. S. To help us with catering would you please RSVP by X date.

I believe, depending on the relationship you have with your clients, you need to allow three to four weeks from the invitation to the seminar itself. A lot of people won't RSVP and I have a system of follow-up to get the maximum number of people there and to minimise the drop-out rate on the day. I can also help you with a system of follow-up after the event for maximum results.

I hate to sound unromantic about this but I have run this event for twelve years; it is the most lucrative thing I can do for my clients; and I know how to help them milk it for all it's worth.

TESTIMONIALS

“Martin is a revelation!  It is so refreshing to hear the how the little things you do can make such a big difference in the way we relate to our customers.  Our session with Martin was delivered to our customers as an open invitation and we received unexpected thanks from many of them about what a great idea it was to run such an event.  I would recommend it to anyone!”                                                                                     Kevin Grey, Managing Director, NT Technology

"WOW is the only word which comes to mind after your thank you seminar for my company ReConnect Communications. Martin, I am happy to tell you after the response from my customers and my staff, you have proven to us the old saying "you get what you pay for". But if you book a Martin Grunstein thank you seminar you get a whole lot more. In fact we would go so far as to say you're cheap (in the nicest possible way). I would like to personally thank you, Martin and we look forward to booking you again next year."
Tony Love-Linay, Managing Director, ReConnect Communications

"Over the past few months Martin Grunstein has presented the theme "Grow your practice with outstanding patient service in changing times" around Australia for our customers...ancillary health service providers. We have received good attendances to all presentations and positive feedback from all sessions with many comments like "Martin was sensational" and "Brilliant presentation" . HICAPS has found Martin extremely professional in all dealings and his presentation style is not only energetic but also draws great enthusiasm and spirit from his audience. He has been a great asset to us."
Greg Millane, CEO, HICAPS Pty Ltd

"Thank you for the excellent presentation held last month on THE FUTURE OF RETAILING. It was very well received by both our retailers and our centre management and head office teams. Your insights were invaluable and provided us with a great deal to think about. We appreciate your contribution to the retail support program at Chadstone Shopping Centre and look forward to continuing our relationship in the future."
Matthew Norden, Retail Manager, Chadstone Shopping Centre

"From talking to my clients who have had the chance to attend Martin's seminar, the biggest thing they have taken out of the experience is how complex we make our marketing/selling process and how relatively simple it should be. Martin is very entertaining and an extremely worthwhile investment."
Peter Jenkins, Manager, Southern Cross Ten

"Martin came to FINANCE CONTROL to address our 22 staff during a morning end of year session. Later that day Martin presented to 35 professional businesspeople in our strategic partner Xmas function. The feedback from both sessions was fabulous. We often talk about the client experience to our staff and partners but to have someone else talk about it makes a much bigger impact. Martin's delivery is professional, entertaining and a great business investment."

Paul Rawson, Joint Managing Director, Finance Control

"Martin's simple and effective techniques had an immediate effect on our shopping centre's perception of customer service. Just a day after his insightful presentation, I observed a number of shops implementing his ideas in a very positive manner and everyone that was lucky enough to witness his presentation gave us great feedback with a smile."
Nick Hunter, Manager, Ballina Fair Shopping Centre

"I wanted to thank you for an amazing presentation to our clients. I found your talk informative, entertaining and hilarious. The feedback from our clients and staff was all positive and many commented that you were outstanding. I received a number of emails, texts and phone calls saying how much they enjoyed and learned from your presentation."

Richard Korda, Managing Director, Zenith Finance

"We opened our business directory to map out where we were going and then put in the Martin Grunstein CD to entertain and provoke our A class clients. Having 75 clients attend your presentation was the first time we have stepped outside our business and actually put something worthwhile back in for our clients. The response to the evening was fantatstic. Our feedback sheets indicated you and the evening were an outstanding success and our clients appreciated your informative presentation. Whilst not the immediate intention, several clients approached us on the night with fresh inquiries for investments. I thank you for assisting us in helping our clients and I certainly would recommend your services to anyone servicing business clients."
Troy Edmondson, Edmondson Financial Resources

"The impact your presentation made at our National conference last June had lasting effect on our sales team. The impressions and enthusiasm you generated translated beautifully into the tailored presentations we set up for some of our customers. The response to these presentations has been most gratifying and has taken our relationship with them to another level. This was due in no small part to the value they perceived we offered in extending them your services."
Allan Shearer, Sales Director, The Continental Spirits Company ( a division of CUB)

"We were delighted with the immediate feedback from the workshop and have been inundated with calls from participants wanting help to action their newly found strategies for business growth. Their reaction has been overwhelming and is testimony to the simple, clear message that Martin has to deliver. In the word of one of our clients 'We were very impressed with his amusing, yet down to earth insights into every day business, especially from a customer's perspective.' Thank you, Martin. I am left in no doubt that our objective of forging closer business relations with our clients has been achieved."
Glenda Sinclair-Gordon, Operations Manager, Provet Queensland Pty Ltd

" I would like to say than you for your recent presentation at our "thank you" breakfast for our special and loyal clients. We thoroughly enjoyed it and think it is amazing how you can deliver a speech for over an hour without referring to notes and still make it entertaining and educational. We thank you for taking common sense marketing strategies and explaining them in a very enlightening and enthusiastic way. We have had very positive feedback from our clients."
Laela Hansen, Power Hansen Business and Wealth Strategists

I can honestly say that in over thirty years in business such an evening as our client “thank you” seminar, without so much as a brochure or a product being sighted, has been one of the best expenditures of part of my promotional and advertising budget ever. I would highly recommend the same to others businesses that wish to develop and strengthen customer relationships.
John Duncan, Managing Director, Office National Broadmeadow

Feedback from our clients, accountants, solicitors and strategic alliance partners has been incredibly positive. Without doubt, the euphoria and subsequent results from this exercise has far exceeded any previous “keeping in touch” seminars, workshops, product promotions or one on one presentations we have previously organised in our eight years in the financial services business.
John Killick, Managing Director, FSB Financial Services