Val Peterson is director of facilities management at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, and a past APPA President. He writes the Focus on Management column for Facilities Manager and can be reached at valpeterson@asu.edu

Accountability in a facilities management organization is a must. As a service organization we are fiscally and organizationally accountable to the governing board or regents, to the administration, to the chief business officer and perhaps others. It stands to reason, however, that those to whom we must be most accountable are our customers. The providing of satisfactory services to people within our institutions--administration, faculty, staff, students and visitors--is the primary reason for our existence. Selling the customer is part of our accountability.

Joe Girard is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's greatest salesperson. Joe is a car salesman. He maintains that customers "don't buy Chevrolets--they buy me." In today's marketplace people making major purchases must "buy" the person selling the product before they'll purchase the product. In other words, salespeople must sell themselves to their customers. In most cases, the services provided by the salesperson are as important as the product itself. Facilities management organizations can learn important lessons from the world of sales.

While we in facilities management organizations do not sell a product, per se, we do provide a service and in many cases we literally "sell" this service to our customers as chargeback work. Irrespective of whether or not customers pay for our services, we must, in effect, sell ourselves as individuals and as a service department in order to earn their respect, trust, confidence, and approval for the services provided.

Here's how to be successful in this area:

• Be the customer's consultant. Many of our customers have a vague idea of what they want, but need guidance in getting the desired result. In this instance we must provide professional assistance to guide their decisions. We must function as a consultant. The key to successful consulting is fact-finding. Ask questions, listen, and survey for information as needed.
• Have a high level of enthusiasm. Experts in the art of salesmanship agree that at least half of all successes in business, art, science, or politics can be attributed to enthusiasm. In fact, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Facilities management departments must be organized and structured to meet customer needs. Employees within the facilities management organization must themselves be "sold" on the organization and its ability to meet customer requests. Not only that, but staff should be empowered within established guidelines to meet those needs. Employees who are enthusiastic about solving customer problems and concerns and making the customer's work-a-day lives better are those who are most successful.
• Be extraordinarily organized. Humans are drawn to order. Customers, in particular, are more comfortable if work is done in an orderly and organized manner. In fact, they expect it to be done that way. For departments and individuals, the more organized you are, the more you are trusted. You don't need to tell people you re organized, they will know. Be on time. Workers should have everything they need when they arrive on the job site. One should never "wing it" on a service visit, since the customer's time is much too valuable for that. Always plan ahead and be prepared.
• Build a bond. Most people would rather do business with someone like themselves. However, no mater what a person's background or job, they can always find things in common with the customer. Be friendly. Be sincere and comment on shared interests. As Dale Carnegie said, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you."
• Focus on the customer. In the marketplace we buy from people who demonstrate that they care about us. Our customers not only want and need our services, they also want to know we care. It has been said that "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Start with little things such as using the customer's name (pronounced correctly of course). Take notes of what they say or request. Show interest in what they have to offer. Working from an understanding of the customer's point of view helps both you and the customer to become a problem-solving team. Take full responsibility to solve their problems or meet their needs.
• Provide your expertise. Expertise is proven by action, not words. Emerson said, "What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say." Don't tell them how good you are--show them. Be ready to provide your expertise. Experts are confident, even when facing a problem for the first time. You don't need to be an authority in all areas, but you must discover problems and recognize needs in order to provide good solutions.
• Build trust. Experts in human relations maintain that the mental impression you make on a new acquaintance in the first two seconds is so vivid, it takes another four minutes to add 50 percent more to the initial impression. Before you reach out your hand or open your mouth your customer's subconscious mind is processing years of imbedded information to determine if you can be trusted. Make sure the first "clues" say, "This person is trustworthy." Trust is absolute confidence in the honesty, reliability, and integrity of another person. Trust is hard to gain, easy to lose, and critical to your success.

  Facilities management organizations and staff who follow these suggestions will not only find that relationships with customers will be at the highest levels, but staff will also find more satisfaction in their jobs.