DO YOU DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL………?
Have you ever had a time in Business when you had an agreement with a client to ring you or e-mail you, or for you to ring the client back at a certain time, and they haven’t adhered to the timeframe?
How did it make you feel?
You set aside the time and the other party wouldn’t or didn’t honour that commitment. You have wasted some valuable time that you could have done something else with, had you known they wouldn’t communicate with you. Do you feel disrespected – you weren’t important enough?
Now in fairness there will always be exceptions – but I’m not talking about the exceptions. With exceptions people, will normally ring or e-mail at the earliest opportunity to let you know why they couldn’t ring or e-mail you at the time prescribed.
I’m talking about those Business Owners who don’t value your time, or theirs. I’m talking about Business Owners who won’t receive your phone call when you ring at the designated time, or don’t phone you back when you are waiting. Those people with an attitude that their time is more important than yours.
Two things I really value from prospects or existing clients or customers is:
1. Open and honest communication,
2. Do what they say they will do.
This means getting work in at the prescribed time, or returning phone calls within an appropriate timeframe, or at the designated time you had both arranged.
It is important to start any relationship with clear outcomes and expectations. Being honest and doing the right thing is about integrity. This is just a small thing. But it can often give me an incite as to the priority the Business owner places on improving themselves and their business.
If they’re not so bothered about doing what is right, how do you know this won’t manifest itself in the relationship you have, when you are purchasing the product or service they are offering. These small ‘tells’ at the beginning of a relationship lets you know a huge amount about a business owner and how they run their business.
Really importantly it is about courtesy and values. Doing the right thing.
In fact values are ‘the rules we live our life by’. The value test is – Would you you apply this value if no-one found out you broke it, or if it cost you money or embarrassment?
Courtesy is about thinking of the other person, not just yourself. Courtesy is about respecting the other person and their time.
It also lets me know the Business owner has a self management problem, not a time problem. They are not managing themselves or valuing their time to do the right thing. This will catch up with them in the long run. Imagine if you’d taken that phone call or replied to that e-mail. It is one less thing to worry about. So have the courtesy to take the phone call and say no thanks if you need to. Or reply to the e-mailing the same way. It may be a little awkward, but at least its dealt with and you have respected the other persons time as well. That is beneficial and respectful for both parties, because it is one less thing to deal with, and you don’t have to think about it any more. The decision is made.
Now I get it. Some people don’t want to make the phone call or send the e-mail, because its awkward, or seems confrontational. They’re going to say no to the other person. But courtesy dictates that you have the strength, determination and guts to have that conversation. People with values do.
I often hear people say, “I know my rights!” My question to you though, do you know the responsibility that goes with those rights?
So next time, do what you say you will do. Don’t hide behind excuses, or hope it will go away. This reflects on you and shows the type of person you are. Front up and stick to what you say you will do.
