A few years ago I decided I wanted to do something really nice with my son. I booked a trip to Los Angeles and purchased floor tickets at the Forum to see our favorite team, the Dallas Mavericks play. I decided it would be nice to stay at the hotel where the Mavericks stay when they travel to Los Angeles, so I reserved a room at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey. I would recommend this hotel to anyone. Here’s one reason why.
After arriving at the hotel and checking in, we entered our room and found a nice handwritten card with four warm, freshly baked cookies.
That’s it!
It was simple. Unexpected. Concrete. Credible. Emotional.
It met five of the six principles mentioned in the book Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath that are essentials to making ideas sticky (memorable). It worked, and is something neither I nor my son will forget.
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey understood there is no greater value in the sales process than the discipline of adding value. It was expected to get great service. It was expected to be clean and fresh. It was not expected for us to arrive and receive a personalized welcome card with a gift certificate and four fresh baked cookies.
As in any relationship, the better in tune you are to your customer’s pain (wants) and needs, the more easily you can meet that person’s needs, which develops trust. Rather than looking at how you can sell your customer what you want, ask yourself, “Am I selling or providing value?”
When you sell without providing value first, there is no trust, which creates tension and resistance.
When you provide value first, trust will rise and tension will decrease. This leads to acceptance.
If you want more business, quit selling and begin adding meaningful value. It’s your repeated actions over time that lead to less tension and more trust and more sales.