Keep your promises

I have been taking stock of a number of things lately as I try to build a customer base.  The sales process in some ways is not much different from the job hunting process.  My observation is that everyone could stand to remember a very important point in both areas:

Keep your promises.  Do what you say you are going to do.

How hard is that?  In the sales process, it helps distinguish you from your competition.  If your customer needs the answer to an expedite request or the need for some important product specifications, if you commit to getting certain information or commit to responding by a certain time, then you need to make every effort to do just that.   I have heard from many frustrated customers who hear nothing back to their inquiries or they are told they will get a response and then…..nothing.  Eventually they get to the point where their only recourse is to either bombard the supplier with phone calls and emails to multiple people or just constant requests.  Or the customer goes away entirely and goes to a competitor.  I still remember discussing this one time with a customer.  He actually bragged to me that his department decided to go on a revolving system.  Buyer A would place a call to the customer service rep, 30 minutes later Buyer B would place a similar call, then Buyer C, and so on.  He bragged that the supplier was forced to finally set everything aside and they (this customer) got what they wanted.  Is this really how you want things to go?

I hear from many job seekers their frustration with no one returning their calls.  They speak with people and are told they will hear something back.  Then nothing ever happens.  Eventually some of the seekers choose to move on to either a new contact or they just give up entirely.

The bottom line is that you will command more respect, get more business, and enhance your relationships if you just keep your promises and do what you say you are going to do.  Sometimes I may not have the answer by the time I promised.  But I have found that if I still contact my customer to even say, “I am sorry. I am still working on it but I don’t have the answer yet” that they appreciate that much more than silence.

What other examples do you use to enhance your image as a trustworthy and dependable resource?

SHARE THIS POST: