Okay, the economy is unquestionably “bad,” but most of us still have to put food on the table, manage our business, and produce a profit. And even though the economy may go up and down, some things never change—one of which being, even in tough times, when most of us cut back on spending, nobody can completely stop spending. That means somebody is always buying and somebody is always selling. In tough economic times, you just need to make sure you are one of those doing some selling.
The key to selling success in these conditions is something that can be referred to as “exceeding expectations.” Quite simply, this is the means by which value is created and things get sold. You can exceed expectations in price, quality, or service—and possibly all three—but you must understand what it really means to exceed expectations before you can actually do it.
The first thing to understand is this: The expectations you exceed today become the seed for new opportunities in the future. This may seem obvious, but many people fail to connect today’s actions with future opportunities; they approach exceeding expectations as a one-off special event rather than a way of life.
Exceeding expectations is a foundational attitude and something you have to pursue daily. It is a proactive effort that is always looking for a way to express itself. Exceeding expectations is a completely voluntary activity and, when it becomes foundational to the way you think, it has the power to elevate value and become the seed for new opportunity.
It is rare for anyone to exceed expectations unless they do so on purpose. To exceed expectations on purpose means you have an understanding of expected performance, and you realize expected performance is in no way extraordinary. It becomes tougher when you realize exceeding expectations requires more effort to surpass what might be described as “acceptable performance.” The latter is in fact mediocrity, and mediocrity is usually the norm. The problem is, it’s hard to sell mediocrity.
Understanding how expectations are created is the first step in being able to exceed them in a positive way. Expectations come from our experience. As our experience changes, our expectations change, too. To illustrate how this happens, consider a tool that has changed the way we all work and communicate: voicemail. Prior to voicemail, when you dialed a phone number, your expectation was to hear a live person answer the phone. When voice mail first appeared, however, that expectation was suddenly shaken by an invitation to leave a personal recorded message.
The original intent and strategy of voicemail was to create a positive tool that would exceed expectations by significantly improving the speed and results of telephone communication. Prior to voicemails, the expectation of callers was to get caught up in a process that can best be described as message-slip phone tag. The message slips were created by switchboard operators and receptionists who handed the message slips off to the people being called. Typically, the message slips merely reflected the name and number of the caller, and the reason for their call was fairly short and cryptic.
As with most good ideas, voicemail as it was originally intended accomplished a great positive result. It enabled people to leave personal recorded messages for specific people, who could return their calls more efficiently. Voicemail helped synchronize telephone communication to the real-world work environment. The ability to leave content-rich messages allowed people to engage the purpose of their call much faster and reduce the time it took to resolve problems.
The above story reveals two things about exceeding expectations. First, voicemail in its real-time use exceeded the expectations of the businesses purchasing it, as well as the customers of those businesses who were able to use voicemail to communicate with the business. This created enhanced value for both parties, and changed the status quo of using the telephone.
Those facts give us a formula for exceeding expectations. If you can do something for your customer that not only exceeds their expectations, but also empowers them to exceed the expectations of their customers, you have enhanced your value tremendously.
So, if you’re concerned about the economy, take heart: There are still plenty of prospects out there who will buy your product or service, if you deliver enhanced value. The way to do that is to exceed their expectations. Do something positive in their behalf they aren’t expecting, and you’ll be rewarded in kind.
Tony Jeary is a success coach and the author of Strategic Acceleration: Succeed at the Speed of Life. For more information, visit www.strategicacceleration.com or www.tonyjeary.com.
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