A standard operating procedure names how you (your team, your organization, etc.) complete standard or routine tasks. Depending on what your business is, that could include tasks within: prospecting, sales, inventory management, people organization, client relationship management, order fulfillment, communications and so on.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Standard operating procedures aren’t reserved for people operating in large organizations. Even if you work for yourself, you can still benefit from finding an efficient and effective way to do things, then documenting that process for consistency.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What does this have to do with building trust in business?
1️⃣ With clients, an SOP guarantees progressive business efficiencies because once they know and understand your procedures they’ll ask less questions and be able to hold you accountable to your delivery schedule.
2️⃣ Having an SOP allows you to output quality, consistently. If people like what you’re selling, they want that same product or service each time they invest in it. You delivering on that expectation builds trust.
3️⃣ An SOP sets you up to scale your business and quickly address evolving business needs and expectations. If your client calls and wants to increase volume because they like your product or service, you want to be able to say ‘YES’ and trust you won’t have to sacrifice quality to do so.