Time for another Fast Tip Friday! This one's pretty quick! There are a lot of athletic events on TV every night and you see people and teams doing their best and trying to do whatever it takes to win a game, and every now and then you'll hear a commentator talk about this....
I think it's a really great idea for those of us in business development and customer service. The most important abilities that an athlete has to develop and keep sharp is:
1: There's got to be adaptability. If you don't have the ability to adapt to an immediately changing circumstance, you're probably going to find yourself in a situation that you're just not ready to cope with or you can't see your way out of it.
If your schedule changes at the last minute, if the weather goes south and your travel plans are changed, or someone that you had an appointment scheduled with has to cancel at the last minute, you've got to learn to be very adaptable to the new circumstance and the new time that's available or the new change that you've got to make.
So first and foremost, I think everybody should master adaptability. If you're too rigid, you're going to find yourself angry and frustrated at not being able to get things done. Work on your adaptability.
2: The second ability that I think is often overlooked in business is the ability of availability. If you're not where people need you to be, want you to be, if you're not available, you're probably going to miss a lot of opportunities to enhance your relationships, develop more value, become a greater resource or trusted advisor to the people you want to do business with in the marketplace. If you've got a customer service problem on your hands and you're not available, you're going to have some ticked off and angry people wondering where the hell you are when they need you most.
Making the sale sometimes is the easy part. Keeping the trust, being available, being able to help them when they need you the most is one of the greatest skills that you can develop as a business professional. That's my message for today. Pretty quick. A little bit of word twist. Always be adaptable, always be available and reap the benefits of both. Have a great weekend.
