Good Business Habits: Be Friendly On Purpose

Have you ever walked into an establishment and felt like the person who was supposed to be helping you didn’t care about you or your business? They may not have been mean or surly, but they certainly didn’t make you feel like they were glad to see you or was happy to serve you. This can happen within a business too, and when we deal with our fellow martial arts instructors and others in our schools (our internal customers). These are the people we are supposed to support and serve within our organization.  It's important to keep that in mind and put that mindset into practice.

Here are the three habits of "friendly on purpose" that we want you to keep in mind:

1. Be the first to say “Hello” or “Good Morning.” If you can’t help someone right away, let them know that you’ll be right with them.
   
   
2. Smile, even when you’re on the phone: people can hear the smile in your voice!
   
   
3. Be sincerely interested in them. Make eye contact. Shake hands if appropriate. Let your customers know you are very glad to see them.

Remember that your students have choices about where to spend their time and money---and who to hire as a martial arts instructor.  Being friendly shows respect to those with whom you deal. People will continue to do business where they feel respected.  Make the effort to put your best face forward when dealing with everyone.  Be friendly on purpose!