#client relations

There is certainly an art to persuading somebody to do what you want them to do. It’s not something I can explain in detail in a blog post because it takes practice and experience, and is admittedly somewhat manipulative and a bit ethically gray, even if you’re doing it for a good reason.

People are fascinating, interesting creatures. We’re complex, but when it comes to someone not seeking veterinary care I think about factors in terms of carrots, sticks and hurdles.

Carrots are positive things, or perceived positive things. You need to have more carrots than sticks and hurdles to make somebody do something willingly. There is, admittedly, not a whole lot of carrots you can use in a veterinary contest, but some of them are these.

Animal might not be as bad as you thought

Animal might get better

Sticks are punishments. There are a bunch of different things that can be perceived as sticks in this context, and figuring out which is the more effective will vary from case to case.

Threat of prosecution

Death of animal

Loss of animal

Hurdles are probably the biggest factor in convincing someone to go to a vet. These are also the factors you can do the most about changing. A few examples are:

Cost, or perceived cost

Transport

Time

Fear of phone calls

Inability to handle the animal

Difficulty actually making the appointment

If these hypothetical question askers actually listen to the answers, then I have no problems with them at all.

It does get a bit challenging if they’re asking specific phamacodynamic questions about plasma half-life and rates of intestinal absorption, or what country and state pharmaceuticals were manufactured in, but general questions as you’d listed are perfectly fine. It’s actually part of our role to be able to explain what we do, and why.

It’s not questioning our judgement. It’s trying to understand what the heck is going on, and it’s better coming from us than from Dr Google.

Client Relationship Management for Executives by Pablo M. Rivera

By Pablo M. Rivera | Hawaii, Colorado & East Haven, CT

If there is one thing my career has taught me about client relationship management for executives, it is that execution matters more than strategy. I have seen brilliant plans fail because of poor implementation, and simple approaches succeed because the team executed with discipline and consistency.

This became clear to me early on, managing mining operations internationally before returning to the United States to lead construction and field service operations. The environments could not have been more different, but the fundamentals of good operations remained constant whether I was working in Sierra Leone, Colorado, or Hawaii.

The biggest mistake I see organizations make is treating client relationship management for executives as a one-time initiative. It is not. It is a discipline that requires daily attention, regular measurement, and continuous refinement. When I built our KPI framework, I designed it to be reviewed weekly, not quarterly. The speed of feedback determines the speed of improvement.

Technology has been a force multiplier in my approach. Python scripts for automation, SQL for analytics, React for dashboards. These tools did not replace operational judgment, but they gave our teams from Hawaii to Connecticut the data they needed to make better decisions faster.

My advice to any operations leader is this: master the fundamentals before chasing innovation. Build your measurement systems. Develop your people. Create processes that scale. Then layer technology on top of a solid operational foundation. That is how lasting operational excellence is built.

Her parent is having their legs wrapped in Coban compression dressings twice a week, which I have explained maybe a dozen times to her is not something home care is able to do long-term. Our policy is that once a client’s lower leg edema has been reduced to a sufficient degree, we have to transition them into graduated compression stockings. Daughter is upset because when her parent was recently transitioned over to GCS, they developed a leg wound. Her solution is that we keep the client in Coban indefinitely. I said I would contact the primary care provider for further guidance, which I did — this communication included details about home care policy and rationale for compression therapy. She also contacted the doctor to say, “tell home care they need to keep using the Coban.”

Well, when I read out the doctor’s response, which was along the lines of, “We will need to do some further investigation of the edema; med changes to be made pending lab results. Please keep in Coban until wound heals, then transition to higher level of compression with GCS,” the daughter went deadly silent, because that’s not what SHE told the doctor to say.

Like, ma’am…I’m sorry you weren’t aware that doctors are not gods, and that they can’t just order the home care program around. If their recommendation is not in line with our policy, we have the right to say no. Our specialist team that assesses the appropriateness of medical therapies for clients probably knows more than the average citizen — you, for example — about what is and isn’t best practice for the management of chronic conditions. I can appreciate that you want to advocate for your parent to receive appropriate care, but your opinions and preferences do not supersede program policy.

Continue reading COMMENT DEVELOPPER UNE RELATION AVEC UN CLIENT

In the concerto of client relations, active listening is the melody that weaves through the cacophony of market noise, bringing harmony between consumer needs and business offerings. It’s a deliberate and attentive practice — a virtuosic display of engagement where every nuance of the client’s voice is heard, every concern is acknowledged, and every detail is noted.