To my way of thinking, a person doesn’t have to be an expert to be proficient. While some of our customers and clients may expect us to be “the best in the business”—most will settle for a high level of proficiency. So, what does it mean to actually be proficient in our home businesses and how can we get that way?
In order to be proficient, one must have a reasonably high level of expertise. Having some aptitude and a solid understanding of what your business is all about is important. Being able to explain your products and services and understanding how they can better the lives of your clients and customers are the basics of good customer service. This doesn’t mean that plenty of folks cannot be successful in businesses where they aren’t naturally talented experts, but we have to learn enough to be proficient.
Sometimes, we can get away with a little bluffing and winging it, but overall, proficiency and having some adeptness at our business operations and product knowledge IS important. So, how can we get more proficient? Stay current on industry trends and technological advances. We can also try to stay current on what is going on in peripheral businesses and industries so that we can understand how it affects the work we do. Make sure that you understand how your products work, or the full advantages of your services so that you can share that with clients and customers. It also helps to learn from mistakes and other’s experiences so that we can apply that to problem solving with our own customers and clients.
In general, I have found that people don’t expect me to be a genius or know everything there is to know about what I do—but it does help if I know more than my clients (or at least as much).
Also: Watch Out for Just Getting By