Don’t Assume

Hey everybody. Drew McLellan here from Agency Management Institute, this week coming to you from Orlando, Florida where we're getting ready to teach some workshops. You know, if you know anything about AMI you know that every year we come down here and teach workshops in the winter. And so we are frequent Disney visitors. On top of that, I personally have been to Walt Disney World at least once a year since it opened in 1971. So I am a seasoned Disney veteran. But, they changed things here. They make new rules, especially post-COVID. And it's been interesting to watch how they have made some assumptions. Normally Disney is on top of all of it, but how made some assumptions about what we know and don't know and how they've actually left out some key information in getting us settled into our room, getting us settled into the meeting space because they assumed that we were so familiar with the parks and with the hotels, with the convention space, that we didn't need to be told some basics. I think there's a lesson in that for all of us. So, no matter how long you've had a client, no matter how long you've had a relationship with a vendor you've changed things along the way. And by the way, they're not thinking about us 24/7. They are not wired to remember every aspect of how they, how we work together and how things function when we are in collaboration. And so, one of the things you need to do is overcommunicate. Hey just a reminder, it's been about a year since we shot video together. Just want to remind you of how we are going to set up the day before, or Hey client, you know what? We have not done this kind of a meeting for a couple months, so just want to remind you, we're going to follow this agenda and this is the moment when we're going to be turning to you and asking for this information. So I just want to give you a reminder, a heads up that we're going to be looking for that, whatever it may be. No one is going to complain if you over communicate. No one is going to complain if you tell them something that they already know and you just presented in a way that it's a reminder, a refresher, a way to make sure everybody comes prepared. So do not assume. You know what they say about assuming and it is absolutely true. Our clients appreciate the fact that we are in control, that we are keeping them on the straight and narrow, that we are reminding them of how they need to show up at the meeting to get the most out of the meeting or the event or the video shoot or whatever it is. So, don't assume that they know, don't assume that they remember. Do your job, overcommunicate the details, and they'll let you know if it's too much. But I bet you, you don't hear that very often. So, when in doubt over communicate and repeat what you think they already know. Okay, see you next week.