Good afternoon, Ed Reps!!
I hope your rental season is going as smoothly as possible! It’s always a busy time, and I know it gets hectic, so hang in there. October is coming!! In the meantime, may your inventory be plentiful and all of your meetings be exclusive!
I wanted to talk today about how we work with our educators, especially during this super-busy time of year. One of the things I want you to keep in mind is that your educators shouldn’t have to manage you. Especially as the school year gets started, one of the hallmarks of great customer service is being able to manage yourself and your operation without constantly relying on input from your directors. Let’s talk a little bit about what that looks like.
The first thing is simply keeping track of what’s happening. If you’re keeping a regular journal, that’s going to solve a lot of these issues, but you have to make sure you’re actually writing things down. Your director shouldn’t have to remind you what you discussed last week or what you promised to bring on your next visit. Walking into the band room and asking, “Hey, what did we talk about last week? What did I need to bring you?” is not a good look. It makes you look unprofessional and unprepared. Make those notes in your journal so that before you walk into the band room, you know exactly what you discussed, what you need to bring, and what you need to be prepared to answer.
The next piece is following through on what you promised without needing reminders from your teachers. Now, this happens to all of us. Things get lost, something slips through the cracks, and occasionally a teacher is going to have to ask, “Hey Chris, what happened to that trumpet repair I gave you two weeks ago?” It happens. Don’t beat yourself up when it does, but we can’t make a habit out of it. When you take your notes during a visit and make your list of orders to place, repairs to drop off, invoices to gather, and everything else that needs to happen, set aside a little time each day to work through that list. The goal is that when you see that teacher again, it’s handled. These little things only take a few minutes each day, but they make a HUGE impression on your educators because they demonstrate your reliability and your willingness to get things done for them.
Finally, when there’s a problem or an issue to solve, focus on bringing the educator an answer rather than simply handing the problem back to them. A great example is invoices and bookkeeping. Maybe you have an invoice that needs to be paid, but there’s no purchase order number and you need some information from the bookkeeper. Rather than walking into the band room and saying, “I need you to take this down to finance and get it settled,” see if you can handle it yourself. Walk over to finance or call the bookkeeper directly and ask for the PO number. If there’s a part that needs to be replaced, do the research and find the right part rather than asking the director to research it, figure out what they need, and then simply place the order with you.
These extra steps really set you apart from your competition, especially from someone who may be acting as little more than an order taker and asking the director to do all the homework. The truth is, it usually doesn’t take that much extra effort. We just need to stay one step ahead of our teachers. During this busy back-to-school season, our educators have plenty of things to manage already. We shouldn’t be one of them. Take the extra time to manage yourself and your accounts appropriately, and make it easier for your educators to work with you.
Enjoy the rest of rental season, and we’ll be back here next week!