by Andrea Howe | Feb 21, 2024 | Monthly-ish tips
This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.
Sometimes you take a communication risk with clients and get rewarded with unexplained silence. For example, you might call for no other reason than to say hello, leave a message when they don’t answer, and then never hear back. So, what if anything should you do about that? In 2018 I wrote about an unconventional way to break the silence, then not long ago I was on the receiving end of a very similar strategy … and hated it. This post is dedicated to what I learned from this experience.
by Andrea Howe | Jan 2, 2024 | Monthly-ish tips
This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.
And … we’re back. It’s “new year, new you” time for us all, which means that any resolutions resolutely declared are within days of faltering, according to psychologists who say we all typically backslide after the first couple of weeks. Relationship-oriented resolutions are no exception. So, I’m once again reprising my plea that we all try something a little different this year.
by Andrea Howe | Nov 15, 2023 | Monthly-ish tips
This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.
I had a really great experience with a customer support person not too long ago, via chat no less. It wasn’t because they were uber-friendly (which oddly tends to annoy me); it was because they did something really simple and distinctive early on that relates to the more rational side of trust-building (which is where most are more comfortable anyway). And few of us do this enough—or consistently enough—with our own clients, whatever the communication medium.
by Andrea Howe | Sep 25, 2023 | Monthly-ish tips
This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.
Today’s tip is my first “post reboot” tip. While deciding what to write about it occurred to me that there’s value for us all to consider how a good reboot is especially beneficial to anyone doing the rewarding—and sometimes tiring—work of a service-oriented role. (Consultants and more, you know who you are.)
by Andrea Howe | Nov 13, 2022 | Monthly-ish tips
This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.
My spouse and I were recently on the hunt for a favorite electrician for house stuff—one that would finally be our “go to” to call on, after having tried several. This one came so close. And then they made a trust-related mistake that had nothing to do with the quality of their work. I recognize the mistake as one that a lot of sellers make, especially in professional services. Do you?
