How to Keep Your Promises and Your Reputation

How many people promise to get back to you with that quote, order, report or anything else for that matter and actually do it?

I'd say that most people do not deliver on their promises! Therefore they do not realise that the ‘trust' element and their credibility goes down the drain.

If they lose your trust and credibility how would they treat other people? Would you refer business to them, feel confident that they can look after an important client or be responsible for finalising a special project?

The Cable Installer
Last week I decided to finally purchase a home entertainment system. Being a person who doesn’t like to waste time visiting the relevant stores and gaining so many conflicting opinions as to what would suit my needs, I rang a local retailer and asked them if they had someone who could come to my home to see our situation and then make suitable recommendations.

I was referred to an installer who regularly purchased goods from the store. He wasn’t contracted to this company, they just had his business card at the desk.

Normally this could be risky as there was no recommendation from the retailer that this guy was either good or bad, however I decided to call John anyway.

I was nicely surprised. John was easy to deal with and he acted very professionally, more so than so many other ‘professionals’ I’ve dealt with over the years.

Here’s what made him stand out:

1. He answered his phone in a professional and friendly manner.
2. He spoke with confidence.
3. He arrived at my home at the agreed time.
4. He was dressed appropriately and didn’t smell. (I’ve had people turn up to sell me something who needed a lesson or two on hygiene).
5. His mobile phone was switched off . Unlike many people I meet with, Paul obviously realised the most important person at that time was me and being interrupted by someone calling him on the phone would take his attention away from me (the prospect).
6. Paul listened to what I said. He understood what I wanted.
7. He was knowledgeable about the products available.
8. He promised to contact me the next day with his recommendations.

And to top it all off, he produced a paper diary and wrote everything in it! I was impressed…I knew at that point he wouldn’t let me down.

True to his word, John contacted me. In fact he sent an email listing all his recommendations and costs. He also suggested I look at the equipment first.

Now that I had the recommendation in front of me, I headed off to the local retailer, was able to check out the specific equipment and was completely confident to make the decision to purchase from John.

I also checked out similar equipment to ensure I was getting the best deal (that was easy to do now that I had a specific list of my requirements). All it took was a couple of phone calls.

I rang John, confirmed my order and by the time I write the next newsletter, we’ll have our new system installed…with no hassles (I hope)!

The Telephone Salesman
In contrast to John, I wanted to update my mobile phone and spoke several weeks ago to Jason who ran his own business in this area. Jason promised to contact me with suitable recommendations.

I never heard back from him…and that was in December! I happened to run into him recently and he promised to get back to me. Again, he let me down.

On both occasions Jason didn’t write anything down. So guess what’s happened? He’s forgotten… and unfortunately for him, he’s lost a sale.

If an opportunity arises where someone needs a mobile phone, I wouldn’t refer Jason. If he’s this slack before you buy, how good will he be when something goes wrong with the phone?

I wonder how many other opportunities he misses because he doesn’t use a diary and more importantly, know how to use it.

Jason works long hours and for the time he spends in his business, he’s not achieving the results he wants. It’s easy to see why.

Why Do People Over Promise and Under Deliver?
From what I observe, people make promises verbally and then do not write the details down immediately in their diary so they can remember to follow up. As long as they look in their diary and take action, there's no chance of them forgetting!

It's as simple as that. Research shows that we have 50-60,000 thoughts running through our brain each day! How can you remember everything? You have to write it down.

For those of you who love technology, you can still follow the same rules as using a paper diary.

If you want to know how more about how to successfully use a diary and gain more business

See our book “Get Organised-Get a LIFE!, part of The Getting Started Pack. We’ve included a whole section on how to choose what suits your needs and how to use them.

The Final Word
John the cabler made it easy for me to buy. He did what he said he would do. Although I knew nothing about him, the way he presented himself gave me confidence in his ability.

Of course, I’ll be referring him to everyone and if you live in Melbourne and need someone to set up and install your home sound system just send me an email and I’ll pass on his details.

It doesn’t take much effort to stand out from the crowd and actually keep your promises and reputation. Now that you are aware of this, what can you do differently? What changes can you make?

Do what you promise, otherwise why bother in the first place?

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Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's No. 1 Productivity Coach.  She's also a dynamic presenter and a leading business and life coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!"

To subscribe to her free ezine visit www.office-organiser.com.au

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