12Servicing

When I used to speak about servicing, it was about spoiling or “wowing” the client with service, terms I used consistently for more than 25 years. However, I learned over time that servicing—and in the process, retaining—your employees, is just as important. It's been said that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients, and your business will take care of itself.

You may have the most competent employees in the business, but if you're not actively working to retain those people, you're going to lose a lot of time, money, and market share. In the previous chapter, we covered the notion that you're not a leader without people. In this chapter, we'll get into exactly what it takes to keep your people, and that process begins and ends with service.

Service Begins on Day One

The thing about a first impression is that you have only one chance to make it. That's why my goal was to give my employees a fantastic first day on the job. Many of us have worked at that one place where we've shown up and it's clear that the boss forgot we were starting that day. There's little more awkward or off‐putting than standing around in a scratchy new business suit while our manager tries to scrounge up a spare chair and a folding table to park us in temporarily, then waiting ...

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