First off, this post was inspired by my last post which I am sorry to say – I will not be posting an interview with a network marketer. I sent off my questions but never received a reply. Oh well, it happens. The lack of response did get me to thinking how being a flake can affect your business.
No one is perfect and when you work for yourself, it is easy to blow things off more so than if you have to answer to a boss. I have done it a few times and looking back, I’m sure I could have handled the situations a lot better. However, do you ever consider how much your reputation will suffer if you are a constant flake?
Of course people will stop trusting you and stop referring your services. When you promise something and don’t deliver, it places you in a bad light. We all get busy and drop the ball every now and then, but let’s take a look at how you can avoid becoming a flake in your business.
- Don’t Bite off More than You Can Chew – This is easy. If you are already booked up with projects, don’t take on more until you know you can give them the time they deserve. When you aren’t able to complete projects, you’ve not only wasted your time but the client’s time when they could’ve went with someone else.
- Don’t Make Empty Promises – This can happen in casual situations where someone may ask you for your help and you say yes just to be nice. When the time comes to make good on your promise and you can’t, it will make you look unreliable.
- Reply to Those Emails – I even have trouble sticking to this one. It can be hard to reply to everyone when you receive tons of email every day. It is important to reply to your clients because it makes them feel secure and it establishes you as a trustworthy person.
- It’s the Little Things that Count – What you think may be insignificant can be a big deal to someone else. I am guilty of pushing off easy items until the last minute. I’ve learned to just take care of them right away. Quick turn-arounds will please the client.
- End It – If there are clients that you cannot deal with anymore, end the working relationship. Chances are if you are holding on, you will keep putting off their projects, making yourself look bad. Put an end to the relationship and you will feel so much relief.
Everyone can be flaky once in awhile but it helps you and your business to try and avoid it as much as possible.