This may sound like a simple concept but from my experience it carries a lot of weight. People want to do business with people they like.
Think about good and bad business and personal experiences you have had. If a restaurant has great food delivered by an unfriendly server, will you have a good memory of that restaurant? Maybe not. In turn, if the food doesn’t turn out to be the best but the server does everything to make your experience wonderful, you might choose other places as well. If the restaurant consistently provided great food and terrific service, that place will become one of your favorites.
We will be celebrating the 23rd anniversary of our Redlands CPA firm on October 29, 2013. When we first started our business, we learned early on that we had to do our best to balance our technical expertise with providing personal service to our clients. We wanted to challenge the reputation of accountants as impersonal “bean counters” that thought that solely numbers dictated how we did our work. Using the restaurant model, if we delivered great food (technical accounting, tax and financial consulting skills) and great service (friendly and caring approach), we would be successful. 23 years in business has proven our model to be correct.
Whether you are in business for yourself, work for someone else, or want to add value in any of your business or personal relationships, create that mix of being someone that can be counted on and be as likable as you can. Over time, it’s amazing how business and friendships get drawn to you by taking that approach. For me at least it is more fun than just counting beans! For anyone, it will make your Life Less Taxing.
