My mother just returned to California from an annual summer trip to New York. She came back with a story of bad salesmanship, with a dash of broken promises.
The offender: The Renaissance Hotel in New York. A four star hotel near Times Square and Broadway.
A few days before they departed for their trip, my mom got a e-mail from the hotel (nice) confirming their visit (nice) and asking if there were any special requests that she had for her visit (nice). So, she requested milk and cookies upon check in, since they were getting in later in the evening.
She got an e-mail back from the hotel (nice) confirming her special request (really nice).
A lot of "nice" from the four star hotel...about to be blown apart by neglect.
My mother and her friends arrive. First, the room they reserved and had a confirmation number for wasn't available (not nice). And, they check in people didn't seem to care much (not nice). And, there was no milk (not nice). No cookies (not nice). No apology (not nice). And remember...it was the hotel that prompted the request in the first place!
The sales lesson: As sales professionals, you make promises to your customers. You promise a delivery, you promise a call back, you promise service, you promise personal service...sales professionals make a lot of promises. What happens when you fail to deliver? You ruin everything you worked for. You cheapen your otherwise awesome product. And, people like me with an audience (there are more of us than you think) talk about you.
Delivery what you promise, folks. Your customers expect it, and your product/service/company/business deserves it.
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