The Easiest Things You Can Do Right
April 12, 2010 Blog by: Jennifer Price, Chief Operating Officer, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys+
One of the early lessons I remember learning from my dad was… be on time and do what you say.
The easiest way for me to consistently be on time is to sneak around and set my watch a few minutes ahead. Viewing each commitment to myself or others as an opportunity to deliver what I said I would—when I said I would, helps too!
If you look at the sheer number of things in a day that we all have opportunities to be on time for or to do what we say – it’s staggering! To me, it’s an issue of personal and professional integrity. Without systems or habits to step in and keep us on track it couldn’t happen.
When looking at law firm client service, there isn’t ANYTHING more important, or easier, than being on time (for your appointments, for the delivery of the plan, for the follow-up, etc.) and doing what you say you’ll do. In fact if you can time things so you’re a tad early, delivering a bit more than you promised—you’re the hero and you become the person clients can count on and refer business to.
Take a look at the systems that keep you and your law firm from “doing more than you promise.” Identifying the little things that are easy to address and pulling your entire staff in on how you can all make every client experience just a tiny bit better is a great conversation to start with!
Jennifer Price
Director, Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
(858)453-2128
www.aaepa.com
April 20th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Jennifer, I couldn’t agree with you more and I think it even goes further. Integrity isn’t just about keeping your agreements, it’s also about honoring your what you say. I’ve made mistakes and broken agreements, and I’m sure I will in the future. How I own up to those and get them handled to get back on track is also about integrity. There’s a lot more I could say, but I’ll leave it at that for now. Thank you so much for this post.