It is a sad state of affairs in professional services. Many are real pros that use their ingenuity and creativity to serve their clients. Sadly, some professionals fall short. Here are some reasons why:

  • They don’t stretch themselves. If they haven’t done it before, they don’t want to do it. Or even hear about it. The adult version of  putting hand over ears and yelling, “nah, nah nah.”
  • They don’t change their methodology or format.  Their reports are about as user friendly as a DMV form, full of jargon and references to professional requirements. They never take the time to look at their work product from the user’s perspective. This is regardless of profession. Think about the undecipherable pile of paper that is your tax return.
  • They hide. Many professionals never even meet a client, happy to limit contact to e-mails and the occasional telephone call. Here’s what I have learned: meeting face to face creates a relationship. And relationships result in referrals. Lots and lots of referrals.
  • They don’t give a whit about the client’s needs. Many times a client’s need can be met in a 10 minute telephone call. But you can’t charge $5,000 for that, can you? Actually you can (and should) because you provided a valuable service and solved a problem almost instantly. But that is a conversation for another day.

So are you a real pro or not? Tell me about what you do to become a better professional every day.

Professional Development Diagram