I was doing an extensive consulting program for a major insurance company when I found myself saying, to the trainers I was training, “A thousand details make the difference,” between producing outstanding success and marginal respectability.

A thousand? Isn’t that overstating the case?

Not at all.

If you are a successful person at any level of business I assure you that you know at least 1,000 more things about your job than anybody else. And it is these things that make you as capable as you are.

I can also say that you probably don’t KNOW that you know 1,000 more things. You just do them, automatically, reflexively, and routinely, but the routine is invisible to you.

A consultant or a coach or any professional in the knowledge business differs from you inasmuch as she knows how to organize her know-how into a package that can be delivered to a novice, bringing that person up to speed, fast.

Let me give you an example from my experience as a call center director, and later as a sales and customer service consultant.

Where do you want to locate your desk as a manager or supervisor? Actually, you want two or more desks: one in a private office, where you can coach people in semi-privacy and get your work done; and the second in the calling area, so you can hear what’s going on, second to second.

Should you greet every rep at the beginning of every shift? Absolutely! You want to monitor their nonverbal behavior. Are they smiling, tired, sad, enthusiastic, friendly, unfriendly, glad to see you, hiding something?

Moreover, you want to show they matter, as individuals, and no memo or silly plaque on the wall will have the same impact as your toothy, validating grin being there for them as their work is about to begin.

Plus, you make yourself accessible to any news or concerns that they have. What better time to hear these things?

What is the ideal color scheme in a call center that is doing outbound selling?

Orange and yellow.

Did I make my point?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.