A local tradeswoman has developed a process for every potential customer – she communicates via email and phone to gage the scope of the project, she visits the location to verify details, she has a payment procedure that she always follows, and she gives a few dates and times for the customer to choose from. 

All these steps sound so obvious and straightforward, but yet, so few businesses have this sort of set procedure in place. No doubt, her particular process has developed and evolved over time as she’s been in business a while, but it’s an effective and efficient business operations process.

Too often, organizations make things more complicated than they need to be. Many tradespeople, for instance, when discussing scheduling, will say things like, “well, I’ll have to see, maybe next week…” This specific tradeswoman instead offers clients a few choices and lets them pick. It’s clear, simple, and efficient – the clients don’t have to wonder when she might be available and she has a confirmation of the dates she has work.

Streamline your processes for both your customers and your employees and you will have more time to spend improving the quality of your products and services.