Welcome to the new world vocabulary: self-isolation, social distancing, virtual reality, etc. As we find ourselves in uncharted territory many are wondering what the new way of doing business looks like today. I have been working virtually from my home office for a number of years so to me there is not a huge change but for many I know there is. Therefore, I thought would share some of the things I personally am doing and what many of my business coaching clients are doing to serve and thrive in this new working environment to adjust and be able to continue to serve their clients.

Never before has it been more important for you to be there for your clients. This is the time to not simply deliver customer service, which is table stakes today, but to be delivering ‘customer delight’ and honoring the promises you made to your clients to be there in good times and hard times.

This article may be a little longer than usual but I wanted to try and give you as many of these tips as I can to help you to deliver customer delight to your clients and to work efficiently in this challenging time.

Here goes:

Setting up your work space – fortunately I have a dedicated home office but I realize not everyone does. There is one thing to keep top of mind if you are working with confidential information. You must make sure that confidentiality is maintained to the best of your ability. Putting things away each night, not leaving papers around that could accidentally been seen on a virtual call with clients, family, friends or handled by little children and become a coloring book are critically important.

Embrace working in the virtual world – I love coaching and connecting with people around the world this way. In the beginning, I must admit it was not my favorite way of doing so. Today it is a wonderful way for you to stay connected with existing clients, conduct financial reviews with them, meet new clients, network, etc. I personally use ZOOM (this is not a paid endorsement) as it allows you to do a one-on-one or connect with many people at once. Many people have told me how much they have appreciated being able to see each other instead of just talking on the phone. Being able to see each other also helps you build rapport with your clients as they can get a glimpse of your life and you get to know them even better in return. Meet their dogs, wave to their kids and spouses and embrace the opportunity to get to know who they are in a completely different way than you might have if they were just in your office or on the phone!

This is not the time for a hard sell approach – your clients are likely worried about their finances, their business or their home life and right now, they just need your help and support before anything else. This is the time for you to be the voice of calm and the steady ship, not the one who adds more stress or anxiousness to an already worrisome time. As I have reminded my financial advisor clients, this is a perfect time to offer their clients an opportunity to connect to ask the questions. It is also the perfect time to review the work you have already done together to reassure them that it will allow them to ride out the storm and stay the course.

Get creative – now is a perfect time to think outside of the box. What can you do differently now that you cannot be in front of people and everyone is stuck at home with time on their hands? Here are just a few suggestions I have been brainstorming with people:

• Children are stuck at home as well so get them involved by offering virtual reading hours to kids so that their parents can have some uninterrupted time to get their work done
• The same children can also read to seniors who cannot get out
• Engage your local music teacher and students to put on a virtual music concert for quarantined residents of senior or long-term care home
• Ask a local bakery that is desperately trying to stay in business to bake treats and deliver them to these homes during the concerts on your behalf. They can also bake and deliver treats to the front-line responders to keep their spirits up
• Ask your local restaurant owners to prepare meals for your clients, employees, family members and friends that can be delivered to their doorstep. Many food delivery companies are ready and willing to help and they can also deliver to the front-line responders as well
• When you stop at the drive through window to pick up a drink or a meal, talk to the people on the other side of the window for a few minutes as they are experiencing social isolation as well. Thank them and tip where or when you can as they will appreciate it
• Host a virtual coffee break or happy hour, inviting people to join you for a drink on webcam to chat, connect with others and have some social interaction outside of their immediate household. Incorporate some funny questions, trivia or a game to lift everyone’s spirits
• Engage other subject matter experts and hold a virtual webinar to educate others about topics or to share best practices
• Write handwritten notes to send to your clients who are staying safe at home and tell them how important they are and offer to help in whatever way you can
• I love the idea I have seen about postcards you can put in people’s mailboxes that they can then leave in yours so they can let you know if they might need help with getting groceries or need toilet paper! This respects social distancing but at the same time, lets others know people care
• Encourage family, friends to embrace the virtual world as well and find ways to make it easy for them to connect with you

This is by no means an exhaustive list and I am thrilled everyday by the ideas and ingenuity of people. Please share below if you have any other suggestions to help all of us get through this and come out the other side together.

Please take good care of yourself and your loved ones and stay safe and healthy. Let us continue to treat each other with kindness, respect and support and I can’t wait to see the change we will have made together in the world when this is over.

Take care,

Jane