Fiercely Protect Your Time

Being easy to work with is SUPER important...but there is a fine line between doing what's right for customers, and using your time wisely.

I remember one time in particular where a rollstand didn't come in with a monitor that had been ordered. The customer asked me if they could borrow one from my trunk inventory. My first instinct was to say yes, of course!

But then I realized it was a four hour drive each way to drop it off...AND pick it up. Two full days out of my life. My local co-worker really encouraged me to help them out, but I kept remembering some advice a wise mentor had once shared with me: "Katie," she said. "Whatever you do, you must fiercely protect your time."

I called the customer back and explained that I didn't have enough inventory but that I would do everything I could to expedite the delivery. You know what the customer did? They laughed, and then replied, "Eh, it was worth a try. No worries. Thanks for working on the delivery."

And that was it. I just saved myself TWO working days that I could be prospecting, doing quotes, etc. They were perfectly fine with my response and it didn't hurt our relationship at all.

Every single day, you must weigh the risk and reward for every request you get, from requests within your company, to customers, and everyone in between and always remember to fiercely protect YOUR time.

What would you have done? Would you have driven to deliver the rollstand? Share with me in the comments!