Customer Crises Are NOT Your Crises

There will always be things happening in the lives of your customers; and while it's always good to empathize with them and try to understand their motivations, their crises should not become yours. That may seem hardnosed, but you're running a business, not a charity. Just because something's urgent to them doesn't automatically make it so to you. You must get this straight. Your customers will never call you after they've made money to say, "Man, that was a hell of a bargain…I'm doing really well. Do you mind if I send you guys some more money?" But they will call you to beg and plead if something happens in their lives that has nothing to do with the functionality of your programs.

Let me re-emphasize this: Just because something is urgent to someone else does NOT make it urgent to you. If I wait until April 14 to do my taxes, then shuffle a box full of papers into my accountant's office, he's not going to automatically respond to my sense of urgency. It doesn't matter if I jump up and down, swing from the chandeliers like a monkey, and shout until I'm blue in the face about how I need him to prepare my taxes right now. That would be ridiculous; and for my accountant, my plight isn't urgent. Nor should it be. It's up to me to get my taxes done on time, in an appropriate manner.

The same goes for our customers. We want to help them and serve them the best we can, but we can't be responsible for their lives. The sooner we can orient them to this reality, the better, because this is how life really works. Don't believe me? Then try this experiment: stop paying your rent or mortgage, utility bills, and taxes. Instead, send your creditors long notes explaining all the reasons why you can't pay. Then see what happens. Will they to sympathize with you? Are they going to say, "Oh, that's okay, we didn't really want those payments anyway"? No, they're going to do what's in their own best interests. They're going to follow through to ensure payment.

So this begs the question: Why are you any different? Why does a good story get a quicker refund? My assumption is that when customers buy my programs, they're going to implement them and get results. We're not here to be around for refunds for when something goes wrong financially in the customer's life. The program isn't a "receipt for a deposit on file." It's a money-making program meant to be used as such.

The more you can communicate this to your customers, the better. You don't have to be rude about it, but they do have to understand and participate in this reality.