Some time ago I had read one interesting article from an employee from a smaller Digital Agency in New York who was pleasantly surprised about the amount of research and preparation one of the prospective clients had done before he approached them for a business enquiry.
..…”But unlike most of the calls I’ve vetted lately, this guy really did his homework. He not only knew all there was to know about my company — even citing details about the client work we’ve handled in his industry – but he’d also read my AdAge blog, knew my personal interests and was genuinely interested in our agency’s fit. I felt like the pretty girl at the dance and was excited to have a meaningful conversation with someone who respected my time as much as he did his own” says the founder and president of a Digital Agency called ‘Squeaky Wheel Media’.
Here is the link to the blog

I think all who work in the services business face such different clients at various degrees of readiness and at various stages of their interactions. It does not matter if the client was interacting with a banking services business or an IT services company or even getting basic services like car-wash, what is essential and to note for me is to note and appreciate the work ethos an individual has(in this case the client). Work ethos is something which is very individualistic and often a softer element of evaluating individual performance. I think it should be a critical one and as critical as ‘Integrity’ in an individual. Great work ethos is a hallmark of an individual’s personality and it can contribute significantly to the way an individual progresses in his/her career.

Incidentally I read the article when I was having a similar experience with one of my clients and I appreciated more of what I saw. The amount of effort she put into her work while maintaining a good balance of time was truly inspiring. There are many aspects of our work life which are influenced from our professional training, our education, our schooling but the ones which are from our professional experiences if noted and well received will always have significant influence.

Of course a way to define what we BE is by observing WELL what we SEE and what we DO.