Establishing and Maintaining Trust and a Good Reputation:

It’s a competitive world out there and these days it’s even more competitive because of the current tumultuous economic environment. Money is tight and consumers, when they do choose to buy, are more careful about making the right choice about when and where to place their confidence along with their dollars. 

Every independent businessperson is looking for some way to enhance their business or create a competitive edge. Gaining that edge requires no expenditure of money nor does it involve learning new technology. Long before people communicated via iPhones, Blackberry devices, laptops and Web sites, successful, savvy business people knew the basics of creating and maintaining long-term customer relationships - face-to-face meetings, candid communications, and striving to deliver that which you promise when you’ve promised it.

In our high-tech world it is easy to lose sight of the simple business practice. In my opinion, no bit of tech has been able to replace good old-fashioned, customer service and hard work. The basic rules of good customer service are pretty much as old as human relationships and, despite the passage of time, they remain as constant as old fashioned common sense. 

Always answer your phone, even if you are busy.

I have found one immutable truth about any business: if you answer your phone you get more business. When a client calls they are usually armed with a few names of possible service-providers given to them by friends or relatives. The harsh truth is that if you do not answer your phone they will immediately move on to the next person on their provider list. The businessperson who answers the phone will nearly always get the business. I think the trend of pretending that you’re busy, and therefore successful, by letting your calls go to voice mail is foolish.

If you absolutely cannot take the time to talk, at least answer the phone, express your thanks for their call, and schedule a time to phone them back. There are going to be times that you absolutely cannot pick up the phone but, if you make it a habit of following this simple rule you will find yourself rewarded with more business and happier clients.

Never fail to make it to your appointments.

This rule is a simple extension of the answer-the-phone rule. If a potential client calls you and you fail to make an appointment with them while you had them on the phone, you may as well have not answered the phone at all.

When a potential client calls they want only a few simple things out of the initial contact, and they normally don’t want have to call you more than once. Here’s all they normally want:

They want someone to answer the phone.

They want to know that you can do the job that they need to have done.

They want to how soon you can help them.

Your caller does not want to wait for you to call them back in a couple of hours after you have had a chance to check your schedule. If you have to call them back with your schedule they will most likely have already found someone else who did know their schedule and was eager to help them.

Over the years I have employed a whole host of sophisticated scheduling devices from Palm devices to the latest iPhone, but I have not found anything that can replace plain old paper.  Yes, I said paper! Sure, it’s low-tech, but a paper calendar has never once failed me. Paper does not run out of batteries, fail to connect to its network, or break when you drop it. 

To make sure I do not lose out on potential business, I carry a quick-glance sheet of paper that has my schedule on it for the coming three weeks. If a potential client calls me I know I have my paper calendar in my pocket so I can immediately schedule them for the next available appointment — no calling back, no lost business!

Under-promise and over-deliver.

As I stated previously, an unmet expectation is your worst enemy. Every time you tell a client that you will do something and you do not follow through, your standing with that client is greatly diminished and the potential for further business is irrevocably damaged.

As president of my condominium homeowner’s association, I deal with contractors on a regular basis. I am responsible for selecting companies to provide services ranging from simple lawn care to major construction repairs. I find it puzzling that most companies, whether they be large or small, do not follow this simple, important business rule. I would estimate that less than ten percent of the service-providers that I have dealt with in my five years of being president of my homeowner’s association have delivered what they promised within the budget and time-frame they promised.

Always set up a reasonable expectation in the mind of your client from the outset of the transaction. It is always better to tell your client it will take twice as much time as you think it will, and then get the project done in half that time; your clients will then be impressed with your work instead of being upset with your lack of timeliness.

Always say thank you.

This is the one your mother taught you but as adults we seem to forget how important this simple rule really is. Everybody, regardless of how important or busy they are, likes to be thanked, even more so if they are responsible to providing you with business.

Sometimes a simple phone call or e-mail will do the trick. However, I prefer mailing a good old fashioned handwritten thank-you card. Again, sometimes a low tech solution is best. 

A common complaint I hear from other business professionals is that they simply do not have time to write thank you cards. Poor time management should never be an excuse for not doing the simple things that ensure repeat business. However, there are ways that you can cut down the time needed to send out thank-you cards. You can use an online card service or do what I do and make some preprinted messages that fit most common business occasions. When the need arises, simply slip a preprinted message into a blank greeting card, sign and address it, and just pop it in the mail.

While Dale Carnegie once warned us to expect ingratitude in others, you do not have to be the one who appears to be ungrateful.

In his book “High Trust Selling,” Todd Duncan states that “all sales happen because of trust — the higher the trust the greater the (potential for) sales, in the end, all trust is the result of one thing: consistent genuine service.”

The truth is that you never know where business is going to come from, or who a satisfied client will refer to you. I have meet my best current clients based on referrals from former satisfied clients. Remember the basics; it’s well worth the effort.