One of the essential parts of being a good salesman and for that matter a good person is to keep the promises you make. When we get married we make promises to each other. I like to think those are for life. We try to keep those promises every day. It is difficult to do. There are promises you make to co workers and to your boss and to your children and to friends. Of course these can be very important or just something you said to one of these people without any real intention of making good on the “promise”.
For the sake of this article I want to focus in on the promises you make in business. I remember when I was a food service rep. I had a route. I would call on the same customers every week. I would meet with the person at each restaurant who placed their food order for the coming week. We sold food and disposables and we also sold equipment large and small. China, small wares, etc. What is a promise in this instance? I would be talking to the customer and they would ask me to bring them a brochure from a smallwares company, or a china company, or a knife company. I would say sure. I will have that for you next week. I might spend an hour with this customer and we would discuss many things. There was always a risk that somehow I would forget to bring the customer that brochure or catalogue that they requested. In the grand scheme of things, who cares, what is the big deal. The customer mentioned it in passing, so what if I don’t bring it next week, is the world going to end. There is always the following week… right? No, let us stop right here. When that customer ask for that brochure and you said you would bring it to him the next week… you made a promise… a commitment and you would find out that the one thing this customer will remember from that call was that he ask for the, brochure. You better have it the next time you call or have a good reason for not having it.
All you really have in the sales business is your word, your integrity, your honesty. There is no promise that is too small or too insignificant. When you told him you would bring it to him the next week you needed to write it down somewhere and make it a top priority to have it for him when you saw him next. Keeping that promise is part of who you are. Who knows, it might have been a test to see if you were a man of your word. Maybe it was not important to the customer. He might even forget that he ask. Can you take that risk? I think not. I always felt that when I made a promise it was absolutely incumbent on me to keep that promise. When I made the call on that customer the next week and presented him with the brochure, it not only felt good to me that I had kept the promise, but many times it would surprise the customer that I had followed through on his request. That small gesture can endear you to your customer and set you apart from your competition.
The greatest compliment that a customer could pay me was to say that I never have to worry about Bob, when he tells me he will bring me something, he will bring it, because he does what he says he will do. Seems simple enough, seems easy enough… it isn’t. But it is so important to gain the trust of your customers. Be careful to recognize when you have made a promise, write it down, and make sure you keep that promise. There is no insignificant promise…and there is nothing more important than keeping those promises you make. I cannot speak for you but I want to be that person that my customer, friends and family can count on, rely on, and is someone whose words and commitments and promises mean something.
So far we have spoken about essential traits of a salesman…passion, persistence and now making and keeping promises. We are building a profile. We are identifying the things that I believe can serve you well, not only as a salesman, but also in the way you live your life. Nothing I am saying is complicated, much of it is common sense, but the people you will deal with in your personal life and in your business life will respond to you in a positive way if you demonstrate these traits.
