While I was writing about touch-points in a recent article it became clear that for a sole practitioner, they are the touch-point. Except for advertising and the business web site, they are the touch-point for sales, product and service, customer support, billing, accounting, technical support, complaints, and issue resolution all rolled into one independent business professional. Lots of hats to wear. I got to thinking, what do touch-points mean for a sole practitioner, and, do they matter in this unique business management case?

One benefit of a bigger business is that individuals with specific skills can be placed into specific roles. An individual that is very good at dealing with a customer under a level of stress might make a good customer and technical support representative. A good sales person handles the sales process and the customer experience with ease and knows how to work with a buyer during the course of the sale. For a sole practitioner, the majority of the common touch-points are in business areas outside of the specific professional service. This means that the touch-point experience for a customer of a sole practitioner may not be as good as the experience might be with a larger business that has specifically trained staff in touch-point areas, such as sales.

Equally problematic for a sole practitioner is when they make a quick change in their business role. For example, let's image an attorney working at their desk on some client matter. They are writing a legal brief for a case and their thoughts are on the details of that case. The phone rings and they answer. On the other end, another client is calling to get an update on their particular legal case. What's happened here? The attorney's mind was on a complex task, they now have to shift gears to support another customer, and have to recollect the status of that client's case. What is common, however, is that our mind isn't that good at immediately letting go of the prior thoughts and fully engaging in the required new set of thoughts. This attorney's mind is in between roles, wearing two hats at once, so to speak. In terms of a touch-point customer experience, this situation can lead to unintended consequences.

So here's the idea. When changing roles, as a sole practitioner, make sure you are fully engaged in that role and not distracted by some other ongoing activity.

As a sole practitioner it's vital that you convey yourself and your practice the best you can to your clients. The easiest way to slip is when switching roles. Here are a few things to consider:

• Set aside time that you commit to a specific role.
• Don't answer the phone unless you have to.
• If you're distracted by something, attend to that thing rather than jeopardizing the quality of a different role and task.
• Think through the business practice for a given role and make sure your performance meets your level of craftsmanship and quality.
• Make sure you have defined the touch-point roles well and your actions within that touch-point.

Each of us has certain things that we're best at doing. It's tough enough just doing what we're good at. Changing business roles is common for sole practitioners but can lead to problems especially if it's a touch-point situation where customer experience can be harmed. It's good to respond to your customer's needs but it's better to respond to their needs when they have the benefit of your full attention.

© 2009 R.D. Franke. All rights reserved.