How to Handle Your Mistakes

It happens to of us. As careful as we try to be, occasionally we make a mistake.

Of course, different mistakes have different consequences. But I’ve found that if they are handled with thoughtfulness and sensitivity, mistakes can strengthen our client relationships.

Here’s an example of how I handled a mistake I recently made with one of my clients:

Each week, Pete sends me the text for his newsletter and a link to a recording of him reading it. Recently, I forgot to update the link, so the newsletter was linked to the prior recording.

Pete has a large email list; this mistake went out to over 4,000 readers. And I knew that a mistake of this type would bother him a great deal.

Here’s how I handled it:

First, I took ownership of the mistake once he drew my attention to it. I said “Pete, I’m sorry that I made that mistake.”

Next, I acknowledged how he felt about it. I said “I know how much you care about the details of your email newsletters.”

When I reflected on what had happened, I realized that I changed the sequence of how I did the work that day (vs. the other 50 times I’d done his newsletter). I had been interrupted midway through and had not gone back and reviewed everything from the beginning.

I remedied this for the future by creating a checklist of all the steps involved in creating Pete’s newsletter. Then I told Pete about the checklist.

And, just for good measure, for the next several weeks, when I emailed Pete with a test of the newsletter, I also mentioned that I checked the link for the recording. I wanted to assure him that I cared.

If you make a mistake, own up to it, no matter how large or small. Then see if you can put processes in place to avoid something similar in the future. That makes you a better virtual assistant and builds trust with your clients.

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A business workflow and productivity expert with 25 years of experience, RocketGirl Solutions Founder Belinda Wasser is hired by small businesses on a contract basis to act as their part-time, “business manager.”

In addition, she is the Founder of the VA Connection, a professional online community with the goal of educating and connecting independent virtual assistants around the world. Join her free online classroom here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevaconnection/