The customer has gone out the door; he has just placed a large forward order for delivery next march. Can you be sure that he will get what he expects? Is your internal communication up to scratch? This article gives you some tips. Your company is only as strong as its weakest link - but it is up to you to check the strength of them all regularly!

Are you a team? Is your company an entity that operates smoothly, with everyone pulling in the same direction?

The most important thing is consistency. Does everyone understand your company vision? Who knows what the mission statement is. Do you have a computer usage policy, regarding what employees may or may not use the computer for?

Whether you are a one man band, outsourcing a lot of your services or a large company, it is vital to have procedures in place.

Let's take the small guy. He has an accountant, who does his returns. Is there a process in place to ensure that all invoices get sent out, all expenses properly accounted for, mileage and per diems claimed? Well there must be, so that the owner can effectively tell his accountant what he is doing financially in his business.

Check the following and see how you rack up;  

• Be consistent in what you say to all employees, across all channels of communication.
• Make it easy for employees to contact you, without fear.
• Respond to all contacts in a professional and timely fashion.
• Track all communications, and ensure appropriate processes are in place to ensure appropriate action is undertaken in all instances.
• Try not to allow fiefdoms to build up, and try to ensure that at least one other employee knows what they are doing, in case of accident, sickness or leaving.
• Constantly check how you're doing and is everything working, by asking your employees for feedback.

In order to communicate consistently with people outside the company, you first must learn to communicate effectively inside your company. You may want to check if everyone understands your company's vision and mission.

Have a company cook book, which makes it easy for new employees understand your processes and procedures. For that matter it would be no harm for existing employees including yourself to read it and have it handy.

Just make sure that everyone, who will be involved with that forward order we discussed, is going to ensure that the order will be correctly shipped to your happy punter!

Your company is only as strong as its weakest link - but it is up to you to check the strength of them all regularly!

This article was written by Peter Lawless, founder of 3R Sales and Marketing - www.3r.ie. For previous articles like this, visit 3R's Articles. Alternatively, subscribe to Success our free monthly Information Bulletin with sales and marketing articles.

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