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Reap Rewards with the Right Reputation

Guest post by: Dave Ferguson

Article Overview: We’ve all heard the old cliche, “Under-Promise and Over-Deliver”. It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Today, in these challenging economic times, many people tend to promise prospective customers more so they perceive the value as better than what a competitor can offer. Those same people also enjoy over-promising to make themselves feel more valued. Do they not think these actions will come back to haunt them? The overall point I’d like to make today is that we cannot build a reputation for ourselves or our company by what we say we can do. We build good reputations by delivering what our customers need.

Reap Rewards with the Right Reputation

We’ve all heard the old cliche, “Under-Promise and Over-Deliver”. It’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Today, in these challenging economic times, many people tend to promise prospective customers more so they perceive the value as better than what a competitor can offer. Those same people also enjoy over-promising to make themselves feel more valued. Do they not think these actions will come back to haunt them?

The overall point I’d like to make today is that we cannot build a reputation for ourselves or our company by what we say we can do. We build good reputations by delivering what our customers need.

Assuming you agree with me that it’s important for entrepreneurs to build and keep a good reputation. Here’s how I coach clients on doing exactly that:

· First of all, don’t try to seduce your prospects by over-promising goods or services to them. When you do this you open yourself up for failure. You actually should try to reduce their expectations and give yourself some freedom to adjust where necessary. When you under-promise, you have the opportunity to continuously impress your client. When you over-promise, you can potentially stress yourself out and look like a liar.

· Keep your word but don’t make it your motivation to deliver. If you are one of those people that are always in the “promise mode”, slow down and consider some other options. Now, I’m all for giving and keeping my word, but I can’t guarantee results unless my client is fully engaged and actually capable of following through on what we’ve jointly developed.

· Don’t let “busyness” drive your work style. Many people try to show people how important they are by how busy they are. Manage your workload and use effective time management practices, but don’t be an expert in “busyness”.

· Deliver to your customers because you have the passion to do so. Don’t do it just because you said you would. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, find something to do that you can enjoy.

· Be creative and deliver more. Go in with the attitude that what the customer or client asked for is just the beginning of the relationship. This creates and opportunity for both of you to evolve and who knows, you may even start helping each other grow your respective businesses.

· Keep you customers informed if you’ve learned something in the process that is totally unrelated to what they’ve hired you for. Its good business and can actually be worth a lot to them…..and you.

· Deliver something extra without asking them if they need it. There is no promise here, just delivery!

· Create your own style and deliver your product and/or services uniquely.

Today, there are many people desperately trying to grow their business through what I call desperate measures. They will put down the competitors, cut their price to the slimmest margins, and quite frankly lie to prospective customers. If you stay clear of these mistakes and move forward with the techniques I’ve described today, you and your business will be much better in the long run.

If you build a reputation with this foundation you will be able to sustain the toughest of storms and competition. Of course, having a good coach as an accountability partner can’t hurt either.

Have a great week!

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Article Tags: business, cliche, competitor, economic times, economy, leadership, prospective customers, reputation, reputations, rewards, success



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