In the highest volume sold book ever, you’ll find a very important statement that goes something like this: ‘…if you’re asked to go one mile, then go two…’
WOW! Now that’s very powerful and very thought provoking.
So let’s take a moment and put this in perspective for us as businesses who are trying to create customer loyalty.
If you think about it, the “first mile” is, well, the transaction. That’s where we work with our customer (whether internal or external) and provide them with a proposal, a price (or commitment) and then if they accept, the solution. Now, pretty much anyone can go the first mile with a customer. This is relative easy and, for the most part, a pain free experience.
But then, there’s the part that separates the winners from the losers; the world-class from the average & ordinary; from customer satisfaction to customer loyalty and this part of the “second mile” is where the relationship is created.
As Jeffrey Gitomer says, “All things being equal, people want to do business with their friends. All things being not quite so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.”
If you want to “be friends” with your customers, if you want to build relationships with your customers that create your own personal ‘brand insistence’ where they don’t want to do business with anyone but you---even if they have to wait!---then for 2009, focus all your business on going the second mile with everyone you work with. Regardless of whether it’s a team mate, a vendor partner or with a customer…go that extra mile if you want to take your career to the next plateau.
Ever wonder why the best are the best? It’s because they are the rare breed that go the 2nd mile.
Until next time, remember “Your Success Is My Business."™
http://www.joeypeacock.com/
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