There are professionals with whom you can only have a professional experience unless you are being a total jerk. Enlightened ones who can handle the jerks we all deal with when we are not filling the role ourselves. Everything about them advertises professionalism. We all know them because we have all enjoyed experiences with them from time to time. It is most often a case of instant recognition. Some can fool us and do, into thinking they are not half as professional as they really are. There is a very positive psychological effect in allowing another to discover this side of you, assuming you are the humble professional. These are the people with tiny advertising budgets because word of mouth forces constant expansion of products or services provided.
The professional who succeeds in spite of amateur behavior is common enough we can explain it by karma. She is being rewarded in her business for the fine work she does in charity. You know the ones I mean. "How can they operate like that and stay or thrive in business?" The answer usually is a very high number of personal friends, which can never be discounted as an engine of success.
The amateur acting like an amateur is relatively easy to spot. He acts as though he couldn't care less about doing business with you or anybody else. He acts this way in total honesty. He could not care less about you and probably most others. He has found a formula for success and knows if he follows the rules of the formula long enough, he will succeed. Every thing in his behavior says, I really don't care. We know him as easily as the true professional. He is now the most common of the four types. He is not discouraged or enlightened by his failures. He finds someone to blame and tries a different formula.
The type which causes us the most grief is the amateur who acts like a professional. The one who invests heavily in advertising and appearances. We do business with this type all the time. We elect them to public office. Like his fellow amateurs, he could not care less about you or doing business with you. Unlike his fellow amateurs, he knows he will make a lot more money and do a lot more business if he can convince others he does care about them. The smiling, cheerful face of the compulsive liar and con man. He may be doing business legally, but will seldom do it ethically, because law and ethics are forever scrambled in the public perception. Adherence to law gives the appearance of ethical behavior. These are the ones who take us by surprise when the stakes are high and the truth is revealed. These are the ones we cross our fingers about, when we are seeking professionals. These are the ones we ought to test, early in a business relationship.
Complain about some aspect of the business. Do you get an apology, an excuse, or both? If we have tested a professional we will get an apology and a sincere effort to correct the problem. If we have tested an amateur, we will get an excuse, or an assurance that is never acted upon. Often we will be ignored entirely. It is a tremendous benefit as customers to see ourselves in partnership with the providers of products and services, regardless of appearances of success and professionalism. It is up to us if we want to promote amateurism or professionalism. Whichever we support, will become the most common and very quickly. It is our right to test. In the end, the customer IS right.
Ed Howes sought and found, knocked and entered. Now he sees things differently. To see more of what he sees, please visit http://www.justanotherview.com or do an author search here at Ezine Articles. Readers grow: wiser, better, faster.
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