Have you ever called for a lawn service, someone to repair your car, paint your house, replace your roof and not get a call back? Obviously you’re not alone. Have you heard independent contractors complaining about the poor economy and how it’s hurting their business? Do you think these two scenarios just might be connected?
Responsiveness is critically important to the success of your business. It is the window through which your clients and prospects see you.
I received a recall notice by postcard about my Jeep Wrangler. It needed a part replaced. The postcard gave me the name of a dealer who would do the repair and the telephone number. I called and asked for service. No one answered. I left a message and asked them to call back. I did this three times. Right, I too wondered why. I also called the dealership’s general manager, left a message, and, correct, did not receive a return call. I took the car to another dealership. And just in case your wondering, I checked, the dealership was open and in business when I called.
One of the easiest self-sabotaging behaviors to correct is to return your calls. If you are in the personal services business, contracting business, or quite frankly any business, returning a call will be one of your easy to recognize differentiators. Why? Because many of your competitors don’t. You’ve heard the saying that half of what it takes to win is showing up. Well, returning a call is "showing up".
Our advice is simple, yet difficult for some to do:
- Return your calls. All of your calls and ideally within one (max two) business days.
- We do make exceptions for telemarketers (don’t waste your valuable time)
- If you cannot help the caller, recommend someone who can
- This also applies to email, since email is becoming more common as a way to contact a business.
Running a successful business is not easy, but by returning your calls you will use a no cost, low risk way to better position your business with your clients and prospects and distinguish yourself/your business among the rest.
Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest
If you enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it!
