the business of our business
This section of The Rea Report is dedicated to providing readers with a glimpse behind the curtain at Rea & Associates . To read past articles in this series , visit www . reacpa . com / business-of-our-business .
minute meeting per week . Or maybe monthly 30-minute meetings is more realistic . Either way , set aside time on your calendar for COPs , otherwise they won ’ t happen . Set a goal of discussing each customer for 10-15 minutes . You can even set a timer to keep yourself on track and keep the conversations moving . Also , don ’ t forget to include anyone who has a relationship with the customer .
• Document action items . COP meetings will likely uncover additional conversations that will need to take place ( either with other people in your company or with the customer ) and action items . Keep track of these as you go to allow meetings to be productive and actionable .
• Talk to your customers . Get their feedback about everything discussed during the COP . Work to understand the struggles they ’ re facing , ask whether you ’ re meeting expectations , and check-in regularly to discuss longterm goals .
• Remember the goal . The goal of these meetings is NOT to sell additional products or services ( although that may happen as a result ). COPs are not about being self-serving . If you take this approach , the customer ’ s needs won ’ t be your top priority and it will show . The ultimate goal of the COP process is to ensure that your entire team understands the customers they work with – their goals , challenges , and expectations – in order to provide them with the best service possible .
Since implementing the COP strategy at Rea , we ’ ve noticed new levels of collaboration among our client service and specialty teams and stronger client relationships . And while we ’ ve always prided ourselves on our ability to provide a range of valuable strategic solutions , our COPs have elevated these efforts even further . If you ’ re interested in learning more about the process we follow for COPs , reach out to your Rea contact for more information .
THE COP PROCESS REQUIRES
CLIENT SERVICE TEAMS TO
MEET REGULARLY THROUGH-
OUT THE YEAR TO BRAINSTORM
STRATEGIES THAT CAN HELP
DRIVE ONGOING GROWTH FOR
OUR CLIENTS . YOUR SERVICE
TEAM , ALONG WITH RELEVANT
INDUSTRY OR ADVISORY
SPECIALISTS , DISCUSS THE
CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE
OF YOUR BUSINESS .
15