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Use yesterday to have a better tomorrow. Here are three questions you can respond to to use as a guide to make tomorrow better.
1. What clients do you dread getting a call from?
There are two reasons you could dread calls from a client. Either they want to complain; or you are behind in delivering what you promised and they are asking for it. If the client has a complaint and it is something you knew about, then you should have headed it off by calling them first. Bad news should be dealt with quickly. Further, when you make the call, you pick the time; when the client makes the call, you need to stop what you are doing to answer it. Also making the call shows you are on top of what happened and gives you the opportunity to explain the problem and why it won’t happen again. Of course, if you don’t have a clue what they are calling, then that is your bad, and you possibly are not in control of what your firm is doing. If you are behind in a delivery, then you should have called when you knew you would not meet the deadline and set a new one that you’ll be able to meet. There should be no other reason to dread a client’s call which are really opportunities being presented to you.
2. What staff person do you never want to have lunch with?
If you do not enjoy having lunch with a staff person, how do you think the client feels about having lunch with that staff person, or interacting with them? Occasionally the staff person does not speak well, has nothing to say or is a bad listener. These should be recognized and then you can arrange for speech or soft skill training. If the staff person is a very bright back-office person, then maybe you shouldn’t push the lunch, but if that person works for you there might be something you could learn from them over lunch. Also, lunch could be in a fast food or pizza restaurant and not take much longer than a half hour. The gesture can be very rewarding without prolonging a possibly unpleasant encounter. Bosses are distanced from staff and a one-on-one casual lunch can be quite rewarding. Try it!
3. What clients are more than three months past due with their fees?
Your fees are your salary and clients who delay paying are restricting your living and your practice’s growth, are not appreciative of what you do for them and are ungrateful and treating you disrespectfully. Why would you continue working for such people? Also, part of this is your fault. You should never let clients fall behind unless there are very special circumstances the client is undergoing. It’s your money. Act like it is!
Use these three questions to do a short retrospective; figure out the reasons; correct them where possible; BUT do not let these situations continue.
Have a happy holiday and New Year!
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