There are some statements that are used to death, that when I hear them I
simply roll my eyes (or gag). Statements like:
“Our company exceeds client expectations.”
“We offer value-added services.”
Or my personal favorite:
“We go the extra mile for our customers.”
Even the worst companies on Earth make these statements and plaster it all
over their marketing materials and website, and pepper them throughout their
conversations and presentations with prospects and clients. The irony? How can
you possibly exceed client expectations, by promising you will?
The only way for anyone in your organization to be perceived as a “winner” or
champion in the eyes of your clients is to over-deliver. And that starts with
under-promising.
First, I want to make a clear distinction. I am not advocating that you
promise a “lesser quality of service” to your clients. I am merely suggesting
not promising the world on a silver platter. And after the service has been
performed then communicate back to your client how you specifically went well
beyond what standard service providers would have not normally done for them.
How will your client feel about the job performed then? Elated!
Here’s an example:
Let’s say I am a contractor hired for a job of constructing a new addition to
a house for a new client. In the hiring process, I learn what really is
important to the client is having the job completed by a specific date, June
1st, because the client plans on hosting a high school graduation
party for their son. The completion date is extremely important and is
communicated as such throughout the initial hiring conversation.
So rather than promising the client that “the job will be completed 3-4 weeks
in advance, and will exceed your expectations,” but simply “we will provide a
quality job completion on-time by your desired deadline of June 1st.”
However, the goal for your team is to have the job completed before then, and
when you meet with the client for the final approval targeted on May
25th, which is 7 days ahead of schedule, the client will be thrilled.
The final step is to communicate specifically how you and your team made this
job completion ahead of schedule for them, and how seriously the team valued
this importance. Here’s an example:
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I am certainly glad to hear you say how much you both
like the new addition. We ran into a few instances that made it seem as if your
original target date would be difficult to meet. For example, the carpet you
selected was difficult to order and had a long delay for arrival, so I
personally called the manufacturer to express how important it was that we
receive the carpet from them more quickly than the intended delivery date. They
were able to expedite the order and I asked my team to work quickly upon its
arrival so that we remain on schedule for you because I know how important is to
you to be able to host the planned graduation party for your son. And low and
behold we were able to complete the job to your satisfaction a week ahead of
schedule for you.
Also, I wasn’t sure how experienced you were on planning events, so I took
the opportunity to create a basic floor plan of the new space so that you can
maximize it to your preference. I hope this helps you in planning your
event.”
Talk about hitting a homerun! The client is satisfied that the job has
been completed, is ecstatic how the team performed to make it all happen ahead
of schedule, feels that their needs were heard and valued by everyone involved,
and received an additional token of value with the event floor plan template. By
delivering more than promised, the overall experience is championed and leads to
the likelihood of recommending your services over others.
If you liked this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter.
