Speed Stuns
(From the Archives, 2004) Some posts from “yesteryear” are worth pulling out and running again. With all that’s keeping most business people busy these days, this one seems timely.
I was chatting with Paulette Ensign of Tips Booklets the other day and she shared with me a conversation she recently had with a client on response times. Her client had spoken of his approach regarding response times, ending with the statement “Speed Stuns”.
He’s right.
Most clients find a quick response surprising. They notice it – and it immediately sets you apart. There are plenty of opportunities for speedy responses:
- emails (try same day responses)
- voice mail (same day – even if just an acknowledgement)
- commitments made at networking events to call and set-up a lunch together (next day)
- commitments to schedule a meeting (same day – if it needs to be coordinated, send acknowledgement and projected timetable)
- commitments to send materials or other follow-up items (get them in the mail same day).
With all the delays, back burners, good intentions and so forth that one experiences today, when a client gets a genuinely quick response – even a simple acknowledgement – it stuns them.
It happened to me recently.
I filled in one of those little forms on a website with a question I had. I really needed to get that information right away but response times from forms on many websites are known to take several days, if you ever hear anything at all.
I fully expected to have to wait.
I couldn’t believe it when I got a response from a live person within 10 minutes.
Speed Stuns.
Try it sometimes.