This is part of my Standard Operating Procedures, or as they say in the E-Myth, my System. It’s important to review these with your team occasionally. When your clients see a standard ethic with your team, they know they can count on you for the bigger stuff.
1. Arrive early or at least on time. Make your appointments so you can be there about 10 minutes early. If you’re running more than 10 minutes late, make a call to let them know when you will be there. 80% of success if just showing up, according to Woody Allen.
2. Shake hands and greet everyone with a smile. It sets the tone that you are there for business and makes our clients feel important.
3. Wash your hands after using the restroom. If you have a cold, wash your hands more frequently or use hand sanitizer.
4. Don’t overbook yourself. Be realistic and reasonable when scheduling your time and completing your tasks. If a client asks for something additional while you are there and you already have something else scheduled, ask if you can come back to complete it.
5. Minimize mistakes. A huge part of business success is simply avoiding mistakes.
6. Avoid political discussions. Everyone has an opinion about the government, religion and the weather; keep your soapbox speech to yourself. You are there to help the client with a technical computer related issue not sway their views on the world.
7. Listen to them and ask questions to help you know the history of the situation. You may find the answer to the problem or at least a direction to start when you take time to hear the whole story.
8. Don’t sweat the small stuff. The client may not always be right but it is our job to at least make them feel that they are. If they are not right, find something that they are right about and agree with them.
9. Document changes immediately. If you are going to send them something, send it now. If you are changing something let them know.
10. Grow with each opportunity. Some engagements will stretch your technical skills. Some engagements will stretch your business skills. Grow and learn something from each engagement. Be able to say “I learned something new today!”
