Recently I have been noticing that it is nearly impossible to get any sort of reasonable customer service anywhere. While this can be insanely frustrating when trying to do business, it can also make YOU a bundle if you capitalize on everyone else's shortfall.

See, because service is SO bad if you and your staff simply follow a few rules you can very easily look like a hero!

1. Have a Live Person Answer Your Phone: Once I was at an office where an automated attendant answered the phone. We quickly changed that to the assistant he already had working for him and the feedback was amazing! Whether you're an independent agent or not, remember people (especially these days) are looking for a *relationship* with YOU. When they call into the office and they get an automated system, they feel like they are one of many. In an ideal world, it's always the same person answering the phone - someone they feel connected to and they feel comfortable talking to when you're not available.

2. Do What You Say, Be On Time, Say Please and Thank You, Finish What You Start: These rules come from one of my mentors - Dan Sullivan. They are self-explanatory and we all know them but the KEY is doing them.

Do What You Say - Do not OVER promise anything. If nothing else, under-promise and over-deliver. This is a sure-fire to never let your clients down.

Be On Time - If you have a hard time making appointments on-time, schedule more time in between them. I have a client that recently relocated out of state and where his meetings used to take one hour, they now take an hour and a half. Nobody likes to be stuck waiting on someone else.

Say Please and Thank You - I don't think it's necessary to expand on this too much but when was the last time you thanked for clients for being clients? Just food for thought.

Finish What You Start - See the next bullet point (this one is MISSED so much that it gets its own paragraph).

3. Finish What You Start - With the majority of us being "Quickstarts" (log onto kolbe.com for a full description) following-up is not one of our strong suits. However, this can make or BREAK the deal. Ever lose the sale after the sale or worry about a lawsuit? "Call Them Before They Call You" is one of my slogans. It avoids so many headaches and people getting upset. If someone has pending business with you, call them with a status each week. If you process service work in-house, it's your responsibility to follow-up with the client. Ideally, if you have an assistant, they need to be excellent is this area. If you don't have an assistant, you need to get one. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! 4. Be Organized - Again, something that the majority of us probably don't excel at but need to be. Imagine this, when a client calls in you're able to access all of their account information with a few clicks on your computer. Most of us have the technology at our office to have this but we're just too busy to utilize it (scanning the documents into the system or establishing the daily downloads for values). If you have paper files, they need to be organized and coded as well. In addition to ease of operation for you and your staff, this will greatly help you if a client is disputing something with you (or if a client brings a lawsuit against you).

5. Stay Connected - ALL of your clients should "hear" from you monthly. This can be through a newsletter (probably the easiest way), ezine (an email newsletter), personal note or any other form of contact. Stay in the front of their minds - it shows they're a priority to you and keeps them updated on any happenings in the market or at your office. Remember people bought from you because of YOU - relationship is huge if you expect and/or hope to receive referrals from clients.

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