My first ever client-facing role was terrifying, to say the least.
I just didn’t even know it at the time what I was getting myself into.
It was only later, after the round of training happened, that I realized, “oh, no, this might be out of my league…”
Only it wasn’t. I just wasn’t giving myself enough credit.
I still remember at my last round of interview for the job, one of the interviewers telling me: “Don’t worry if it takes a little longer than expected, you’ll hear from us. You’re exactly what we’re looking for.”
😱
Just like any role I had before, it was “sink or swim”.
Five clients at all times, +/- one at some points.
Internal and external meetings with each client’s team.
Show up and give the database updates.
I quickly realized, I had no communication skills up to that point.
Before this opportunity happened, I had communicated inter-departmentally because I had the opportunity to work as part of a quality assurance team, which basically just “fixed” problems all the time. 😍 It was probably the best time of my career.
Anyway, so there I was with a huge learning curve, to rise up and deliver what the customers needed. And I did.
I rise up to challenges!
I learned:
– how to prepare for the meetings
– what the crucial updates needed to be
– how I was going to delicately communicate it all
– keeping in mind what the customer was looking for
– being ready to share additional insights / details
– and always always taking notes and documenting conversation
In addition, I’ve learned I need to upskill in this area, consistently. It doesn’t come naturally to me. So I seek opportunities to do so.
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