Think about the last three external meetings your team joined. How many started on time, with everyone who was needed present?

None — people drift in, or we start without someone key

Walking into a client call, what does your team typically already know?

Who is on the call, what was agreed last time, and the one outcome we want

Roughly what was agreed last time and what the meeting is for

We skim the invite in the two minutes beforehand

Mid-call, a message pops up on a teammate's screen while the client is talking. What usually happens?

It waits — nobody visibly does something else while a client is speaking

A quick glance, then straight back in

They reply while half-listening

There's a side conversation running through most of the call

A client emails at 4pm with a question nobody can answer straight away. What normally happens?

Same day: we acknowledge it and say when a real answer is coming

We answer within 24 hours, even if the answer is partial

We stay silent until we have the complete answer, however long that takes

It sometimes gets missed entirely

Open the last email your team sent a client. Which is truest of it?

One clear ask, and the reader knows exactly what to do next

Well written, but the ask is buried a few paragraphs down

Long, and mostly about us rather than them

It has a typo, a wrong name, or a leftover line from another client

How does your team handle a client's name, title and preferred form of address in writing?

We mirror exactly how they sign off, every time

Usually right, with the occasional slip

We default to first names and hope that's fine

We have got it visibly wrong in front of the client

Your team is hosting a client for a meal. What gets checked before the booking is made?

Dietary needs, accessibility, and who is paying — all settled beforehand

We pick somewhere good and ask about food on the day

Your team is about to meet a client from a business culture they don't know well. What happens first?

Someone reads up on greetings, punctuality and how directly feedback is given there

We ask the client's assistant or a colleague what to expect

We wing it and rely on being polite

We assume our way is the normal way

A client asks for something that is routine where they are and unusual to you — a formal title, an extra approval step, a slower pace of decision. Your team…

Adapts to it, without making the client aware it was unusual for us

Adapts, though we grumble about it internally

Pushes back and explains how we normally do things

Of the things your team said out loud in the last client meeting, how many were done by the date promised?

Most, and we flagged the slips before the client noticed

Most, but the client had to chase us

We are honestly not sure what we promised

After a client meeting, who writes the recap?

Someone always does, within a day, with owners and dates

Usually someone does, at least for the important meetings

Notes exist somewhere, in somebody's file

How does your team talk about one client in front of another?

We don't name other clients at all without their permission

Anonymised examples only, never anything identifying

We name-drop to build credibility

We have shared details of another client's situation

Which is closest to your role?

I'm an external coach or trainer assessing a client's team

How Polished Is Your Client-Facing Team? The Business Etiquette Scorecard 🤝

Deals rarely die because of etiquette. They quietly erode because of it.

Twelve questions about what your team actually does — not what it intends — across four areas: meetings and presence, written communication, hosting and cross-cultural awareness, and follow-through. You get a score out of 120, a radar chart of the four areas, and a clear read on which one is dragging the others down. Takes about 4 minutes.

Best used by several people on the same team, separately. The gap between your answers is more useful than the average.