Step Three - Prove Me Happy!

on
There's a powerful satisfaction that comes from meeting a person's expectations, or even exceeding them. This week I had the pleasure of staying at a local bed and breakfast in Durango, Colorado. The Country Sunshine (love the name) is a classic, Aspen-trimmed, large cabin that's tucked away within the San Juan mountain foothills. Like all bed and breakfasts they serve, well, breakfast. And the food is amazing! But, what exceeded my expectations...? The desserts! Each night, the purveyor serves up some of the most amazing sweets I've ever had! Along with a little wine or brandy, the dessert, the conversation and the views totally exceeded my expectations. I spoke with the owners, and that's their secret - always under promise, and over-deliver. And this struck me as an Enterprise and Project sales executive as a key attribute during the sales process.

The dessert from the Country Sunshine!


Let's assume we can utilize the Country Sunshine model in a presentation, or document outlining the project plan. The normal stuff would be in there...
  1. Header detailing your company's ideals and perhaps values when taking on projects like this
  2. A well-crafted outline of the project - what you are actually delivering 
  3. The specific line items they are paying for
  4. Risks, roles and time lines - who could screw this up, if they didn't do their job right
  5. Charts and supporting documentation
  6. And something that says: 
    1. We can do all of what you are asking faster than you had expected
    2. We can do all of this, and more, via mobile app
    3. We'll throw in a trip to Mexico once this project is done! 
 If you didn't get it, #6 is the surprise. Think about this... What if the next large Enterprise deployment included a trip to Mexico! What if the company baked into their profits a trip to celebrate the project conclusion. Would that exceed expectations? Um yep! If you can't do this, and not every Enterprise deal can, try something to excite the and surprise. At the very least your customer will appreciate the attempt.

Comments

Post a Comment