Within 6 Days…

Written by on August 24, 2010 - 2 Comments
Categories: "Biz Soup"

I recently had an experience with a business person who finished up our meeting by saying “you will definitely hear back from us within 6 days”.

Hmm…Interesting, I thought. “Six days” isn’t a typical response, nor would it have been my expectation. The “6 days” made it really stand out and ‘cemented’ in my mind.  Prior to that, I really didn’t know what to expect as far as a ‘decision time”, but their promise gave me a clear expectation.

Funny thing happens when someone says “6 days”…you find yourself looking at the calendar as you check your inbox. Afterall, they set up the expectation.  I didn’t need a response in that time frame, but that is what they promised. They could’ve said 2 weeks or a month, and that would’ve been ok with me, but they didn’t.

So what happened when day 7 rolled around and I had no email? I was irked.  Now that it’s been 13 days?

I am REALLY irked!

The truth is, I don’t really care what the decision is. I am truly not attached in any way. So why am I so peeved?

Because a promise was made I guess. Because I didn’t create the expectation, they did, and then they didn’t honor it. Maybe that sounds silly, but it doesn’t change how I feel.

Now I have NO desire whatsoever to do business with them, even if it may benefit me. None…

Good reason? Bad reason? It doesn’t matter really. Starting off a business relationship with a sour taste in your mouth is never a good thing.

So, what can I learn from this? What can we all learn?

Don’t create an expectation and then not live up to it. That sounds pretty simple. But think about it…

How many times do we create that expectation when we really didn’t even need to?

The old adage is “under promise and over deliver” and yet how often do we promise something that a customer or prospect doesn’t even expect?

I’m not saying that I have never gotten back to someone as timely as they might have expected, I am sure that I have. The difference is the ‘creation’ of the expectation. In today’s world there are some who expect a reply within hours, others within days.

The point to think about is how WE create it, and how we honor it.

Integrity means ‘doing what you say you will do”.
It doesn’t mean you have to do anything in a certain time or way, but if you say you are going to do it, do it!

It reminds me of years ago early in my real estate career. My grandmother (a Broker of 30 years) sent me a referral. I had set an appointment for 4pm on a Saturday, and realized after my prior appointment ran long, that I would be late. I called the woman to tell her that I was on my way, but would be a half an hour late. She told me ‘not to bother’ and went on to chew me out!

I was mortified! With my ‘tail between my legs’ I hung up and called grandma. I wasn’t sure which I felt worse about: the women hating me, or letting my grandma down. All I knew was I felt like a 7 year old who just did something she knew she was in big trouble for!

When I told my grandma her response was “what were you thinking????”
I started to explain about how I didn’t know the other appointment would take so long, blah, blah, blah and she interrupted “NO, what were you thinking giving her an exact time?! You are in Real Estate honey, nothing happens on time! Never ever promise someone an exact time! Tell them you’ll be there between 4 and 5, and make every effort to be there at 4! But if something happens, you can still honor your promise and be there by 5!”


In any case, it was a great bit of wisdom then, and now.

Not just about time, but about all things. Stuff happens, life happens…

Plan for that and know that what you expect your self to do, may not be what they expect. They may not expect a fancy written proposal for example, or they may not expect you to meet them in person or follow up within twenty minutes. Some do, some don’t. So simply let them know what to expect!

I read somewhere many years ago “our disappointments are in direct proportion to our expectations”. How true that is! Give your clients or prospects the ‘gift of clarity’ and let them know what to expect, and then honor it!
No matter what! Even if you have to call and say “I don’t have the answer yet”, they will appreciate and respect you for that.

The key to business these days (IMO) is being:
Real, Relevant and Remarkable

This is just one way (and an easy way!) that you can be remarkable!

Please share your thoughts!

(Originally posted by HeatherO on inside919.com)

 

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  • http://www.goodfaithinvesting.com/ Shae Bynes

    Great post, Heather! I could see if they responded on…let's day 7, 8, or 9….but by Day 13 the likelihood that it was a serious personal issue that kept them from being responsive is much much lower.

    Real, Relevant, and Remarkable. I like that.

  • http://heathero.com HeatherO

    Thanks Shae!