The first impression you are disorganized could mean the loss of a sale. The first impression that you are organized could mean a promotion. This happens every day in business. You have all entered into an establishment and saw a cluttered desk. You have experienced a late service call. You thought to yourself, "Wow! They are really disorganized". You see organized professionals get promotions more than disorganized professionals all the time. Let's break it down even more.
In my personal search to find a quality auto restoration shop, I walked into several auto garages. I payed attention to the quality of work, customer service as well as the operations areas. I could tell the quality of work by looking at their desk. Was it messy? Was it disorganized? Did they answer the phone? Did they let things go? Did that translate that they would let my vehicle work go too?
Having a messy home desk or personal vehicle may not seem of much concern . But in business this can mean the loss of a sale. If a first potential customer sees a messy desk or disorganized commercial vehicle, the impression is you will lose their money or make a sloppy mistake. Everyone wants quality when they hire a professional. You get what you pay for certainly counts here. I have recommended several auto garages based on their quality of organization skills. I have switched auto garages after being left unattended for hours.
I was told once to not spend more than ten minutes in an establishment when you are looking for information. If they can not answer your question or establish their business goal within ten minutes, then they are wasting your time. That seems harsh at one end and yet it makes sense at another.
Overbooking is something many businesses perform on a daily basis. The cable guy hours are comical common time zone to many people but they do not just apply to the cable guy. The auto garage, dentist, electrician , plumber are just to name a few. This is hard on the professional who is running from one call to the next with very few brakes in between. This leads to burn out of employees and dissatisfied customers. You have to ask yourself if you want quality or quantity for your business brand. Shipping and product companies who guarantee delivery within 24 hours know the consequences of late arrival of products and services.
There are other areas of business that may concern a customer if you are not organized. Do you miss appointments? Are you late for an appointment? Do you hesitate on returning a phone call. These are not physical things but observational none the less. They are very important to customer service and again that is what people come to expect from a professional. The cable guy has a bad rap for showing up between an enormous window hour, but many businesses take on the cable guy hours because it works for their business. But it does not always work in the name of customer satisfaction.
Good help is hard to find seems to be the common phrase among business owners these days. Good help and an organized operation translates into a successful business. Happy customers and happy employees leads to more customers and business growth. If you get behind on appointments and push your employee to the limit, trying to catch up day after day has its consequences. Customers are far more likely to sing your praises thanks so social media. Employees are the same way. Both clients and employees want that gratitude feeling . So take care of your employees and your clients.
If you dont have time to do it right today, when are you going to find time to do it right tomorrow?
NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) stresses that if you are more organized, you will be more productive.
How do we do this? Make 2020 the year to be more productive.
Make a calendar: Make a year calendar of goals and priorities.
Make a weekly calendar of appointments and schedules.
Make a daily calendar of items to be accomplished and who will accomplish them.
Dont forget to take breaks and allow for emergencies appointments.
Clean your desk: Do not let papers pile up from a week ago. Have too many papers? Start with today's papers and work your way backward. A messy desk and piles of months worth of papers are different.
Make your phone calls early in the day and get them out of the way. Double check your appointments the day before? Dont let phone calls go to the evening. Same for email. Dont get into email other than to check on current work. Clearing out email is different than checking it.
Prioritize your accomplishments: If you are shopping for supplies, dont get into the internet for other reasons. The internet is endless time waster.
Shred is different than trash. Keep them separate and take time to shred regularly. Trash is always a priority and will often shrink a messy desk pile quicker than you think. Fold your shred papers, and at the end of the day go through them one more time and then shred.
Organize your office, your work staff and your schedule of appointments. Your work staff will thank you and your customers will appreciate you and sing your praises.
Your brand is what people say about your when you leave the room. So make being organized part of your brand. Prioritize your goals. Analyze your brand from a customer or boss stand point. How can you improve that first impression? You are human. Don't be hard on yourself. Ask for help if you get stuck. You've got this!