Do you want your customers to spread good word about you? Do you want an exceptionally good reputation? There is a very simple and effective way to do it.
Deliver more than your customers expect and they will tell others.
People do not normally talk about the “normal.” They talk about when they received more than they expected. (Of course, they will also talk about when they receive less than they expected.)
When I had my car repaired, I had an interesting experience.
They called me from the auto repair shop:
“We’re just calling to find out whether the car is all right?”
“Whether the car is all right? Yes, it is,” I replied.
“Well, we just wanted to make sure that everything is working as it should.”
And what was my first impulse when I hung up the phone? I had to tell someone about it. Telling someone is a natural reaction when we have received more than we expected.
The Indians of the northwestern United States call this act of giving more than is expected a potlatch. (In short, a potlatch is an original gift-giving ceremony of the Indians of the northwestern United States, whose aim is to gain or maintain prestige. It takes place on the occasion of births, weddings, etc.)
Every company, salesperson, or professional should develop some form of potlatch. Many already do this in the form of birthday cards or other gifts with which they express thanks for cooperation with the company. An interesting thing about potlatch is that it grows. If you do not send a birthday card today, people will notice that it did not arrive and will probably miss it. So once everyone is doing it, it becomes “normal” and you have to take it a step further.
Potlatch is synonymous with caring. It is not something that comes “from the head” as a logical reason for getting something back. Potlatch comes from the heart because you believe in exchange number four as part of your personal integrity.
Levels of Service
Today’s society is weak at providing services. Have you ever walked into a store to buy something and felt as if you were bothering someone? And with this feeling, you said something like: “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’d like to buy this. I won’t keep you long; I’ll be out of here right away. I promise I won’t be coming back anytime soon.”
Occasionally, a real hard worker finds themselves in a situation where pressure is put on them to produce less! For example, Andrea works in a group of salespeople and decides to sell more than is expected of her, bringing exceptional orders into the company within a week.
The boss says: “That’s good.” Then she does it again. And she starts getting such results every day. Her colleagues start getting annoyed.
“What do you think you’re doing? We’ll have to sell that much every day too.” What are they really telling her? They are saying: “Next to you, we look incompetent. Your performance is raising our standards. We’ll have to work twice as hard!”
Product Quality
In order to continually achieve the type of exchange number four, you must deliver a high-quality product. A product—in order to be a product according to the preceding definition—must be complete and finished. Furthermore, a product is defined as “an object or service of high quality.” Well, don’t we have different levels and different qualities of products? Some products are of high quality and others are not as high-quality, right? This is incorrect reasoning. L. Ron Hubbard says that a product is “an object or service of high quality.” If it is not of high quality, it is not a product. It seems very extreme, but it establishes a certain standard, doesn’t it?
Why should there be some lower standard? Of course, you should have a high level of pride that takes into account that everything you do should be of high quality.
If a person wants to receive a higher-quality exchange, if they want to receive more exchange, they need to have higher-quality products and deliver more. This standard is also a sign of a professional. A professional produces products or services that meet or exceed professional standards. This is what actually defines who is a “professional.”
There is another factor of exchange that includes the amount or extent of responsibility you have for each part of the product definition. “A finished object or service of high quality in the hands of the customer” means that the product must appear on the market. The product must reach the market in order to be exchanged. Someone often produces an exceptional product, but it never reaches the customer’s hands; no real demand for it is created through advertising, promotion, or another means.
A person must also maintain their intention throughout this cycle—from creating the product or service through delivering it and ensuring that there will be an adequate and proper exchange in return.
A positive attitude is important in selling. Selling has a bad reputation. In some cases, it has come to mean “forcing something on someone that they do not want and cannot afford.” This is not selling. Selling was the primary force in creating American society. It was and still is an important connection between the producer and the consumer. The origin of the English word “sell” comes from the English sellen, which means “to give, to deliver.” It is the ability to quickly place your products in the hands of the consumer.
The entire product and exchange cycle can be projected in relation to communication.
By communication, we mean the mutual exchange of ideas between two people or terminals.
In life, a person would expect and receive an acknowledgment of their communication. In this case, it is not merely nodding one’s head as a sign that you understood, but an exchange in the form of money or favor, etc. The fact is that communication also relates to money!
You immediately understand why finances weaken when you realize that the financial system is a communication system and communication systems are the essence of what you do.
A person’s intention to achieve something is a key part of communication: it must exist for an exchange to take place. This also means having the courage to complete things and overcome all challenges. People who are courageous get results. They make things happen because they have the courage to cause them to happen. Of course, there are those who like to watch things happen and also those who merely wonder what happened.
Self-Robbing
I remember a case in which someone was delivering a product—a great product—and selling it for $250. He was not doing well at all. An analysis was conducted and he was told to double the price. This person had serious concerns about this advice because he felt that if he was not succeeding with the lower price, then why should he raise the price? He said: “I’m failing with the prices I have and I don’t have enough buyers. I can’t double the price.” The answer was: “You are creating an unbalanced exchange this way. You are selling below price.” Remember, the truth “is what it is.” That product was not worth $250 but $500. So people were not buying it because they had an inner feeling that it was worth more.
The low price aroused suspicion in them. They knew it was a great product, so why was he selling it for $250?
What did he do? He set its price according to its actual market value and had more customers than he could serve. Now everyone wanted it. Everyone felt that it was “reasonable.”
The solution is not—if you have a problem, that is—to simply double the price, but in certain cases it is sometimes good to examine this factor. Watch out for this type of unbalanced exchange—so that you do not rob yourself!
This article is based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard and Art Maren—I recommend purchasing their books.
Intended for study purposes only.
