Customers are business people – they know that change happens. They know that plans are modified. Changes don’t make customers question our RELIABILITY – surprises do – whether good or bad.
Wall Street is an example. When companies announce earnings that are worse than expected their stock can understandably see a sell-off. But the same is true when earnings are much better than expected. Why? Investors want corporate leaders to know their business well enough to accurately forecast results such that they create a no surprises culture. When performance far exceeds forecasts, investors question management’s knowledge of their business. These are surprises that increase investor’s risk, which can reduce perceived stock value.
Customers are investing in us and, like Wall Street, they hate surprises. What are the essentials for creating a no surprises culture?
Be unreasonably accountable – Customers expect us to be there when the unexpected happens. Whether we caused the situation or not, a powerful tool for earning lifelong customers is to take accountability for the best next actions that ensure the customer’s successful use of your products and services.
Be appropriately responsible – No matter how hard we try, we make mistakes that cause unexpected situations. Products don’t perform as expected, we don’t hit milestones, our work causes issues for other suppliers, etc. When that happens we need to overtly accept responsibility and show that we have a course of action to address the issue. This doesn’t mean we take responsibility for others’ mistakes.
Be predictable – Early in a relationship we often want to be overly responsive in ways we can’t maintain. By doing so, we set unrealistic expectations that make us unpredictable over time. Under-promise and over-deliver remains a necessary adage.
Always anticipate – Respond to the customer’s needs before they ask. When we’ve taken the time to understand our customer, their industry and how we can serve them, we often are better positioned to foresee potential problems. The issues can range from products to politics, and we often gain a different view from the outside versus what our customers perceive from the inside.
Humbly communicate good news – We absolutely want credit for things we do well, but we get more credit when we allow the customer to find it themselves. My dad used to say, “If you have to ask for recognition, you don’t deserve it.” I’ve also found that things we consider to be good performance are often things the customer just expects. Asking for recognition is like asking the customer to thank you for allowing them to buy your product.
Overtly communicate bad news – We always want to be the first to communicate bad news about our performance. It shows that we’re going to be proactive about finding the solution, and it eliminates the opportunity for the competition to mischaracterize our issues. If the competition raises something to the customer that we haven’t already communicated, then it’s a bad surprise. If we communicate it first, it’s old news.
Being dressed down will dress you up – Customers are people too, and when we make mistakes they may want to blow off steam. The benefit is that customers are often most honest when they’re angry. This is when we get the opportunity to deeply understand what is most important to them so that we can better anticipate in the future. When we can be dressed down without falling apart or becoming defensive, the customer feels listened to and after they cool off we’ve gained additional respect that dresses us up. We gain respect because we simply listened and learned, in a heated situation.
When a no surprises culture becomes habit, we’re well on the path to winning lifelong customers – the lifeblood of enterprise selling.
©2015 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
