Functional Pathways has a twenty year tradition of providing excellence in rehabilitation.  Our clinicians have worked with thousands of patients and their families in a professional and compassionate manner to address their needs and improve their wellbeing.

As we move beyond the twenty year mark as an organization, we are working to make certain that we tend to our client relationships with that same level of care.  A result of that, is the creation of Functional Pathways’ Client Partnership Strategy.  This strategy is a multi-layered approach to engaging our clients, understanding their expectations and consistently delivering on those expectations.

The Client Partnership Strategy builds on the foundation of Clients for Life®, a proven approach to client retention that ensures a long term vision and a set of tools to ensure that we’re delivering on the expectations of our clients as they evolve over time. 

As I work closely with those of you who work closely with our clients, you’ll learn a lot about this approach and how you are key to its success.  To kick off our discussion, I’ve listed “The Ten Commandments of Client Retention” below.  They are taken from the book What Your Clients Won’t tell you and Your Managers Don’t Know, written by John Gamble, Principal with Tenacity.  As you read through these, think about how you work with your clients today and how we might improve our processes:

1. Client retention begins with the right clients under the right terms.

2. Start the contract according to the client’s expectations.

3. Expect your client to have expectations you didn’t expect they would have.

4. Always protect your client’s interests.

5. Client retention is not an event, it is a daily process.

6. When people change, everything has the potential to change.

7. Keep track of past clients throughout their careers.

8. The worst time to renew a contract is when it is due for renewal.

9. The end of a contract doesn’t have to mean the end of a relationship.

10. How you close a contract is just as important as how you start one.

Over the next several months, we’ll talk further about how we can make these common sense statements common practice within Functional Pathways.  If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].