CHANNEL WISE
Are you making good on your promises?
Here are five strategic steps to help you say what you mean
and mean what you say.
Promises, Promises
By Beatrice Mulzer
BUSINESSES AIM TO PROVIDE excellent customer service by implementing process improvement programs and
other guidelines. But even so, initiatives stall, employees disengage, and work goes undone. Why does this
happen? Could it simply be that poorly crafted commitments are the culprit?
Taking a closer look at any business,
you will find that it is driven by promises. Employees make them to their
colleagues, to management, and to the
company as a whole. Management
makes them to the company and its
employees. And the company makes
them to its employees, partners, vendors, and customers.
In this network of promises, there are both customers
and providers. A manager who agrees to assist an employee with a particular request becomes a provider, for
example, while the employee plays the role of customer
until the request is satisfied. People continually commit
themselves to action through promises and verbal declarations; it is therefore critical to cultivate these commitments in a systematic way. Here are five strategic
steps to help you do just that:
3. Ensure that the commitment is voluntary. The most effective promises are made voluntarily. Avoid saying yes to
every request just to please the customer. Make use of counteroffers, such as, “What you are asking is not achievable,
but this is what I can do for you.” A counteroffer shows an
Executing commitments in a system-
atic way will help you avoid stalled
initiatives, unproductive employees,
and incorrectly executed strategies.
BEATRICE MULZER, VICE PRESIDENT OF SMB NATION
active interest in, and anticipated engagement for, helping
the customer succeed. If free will was exercised when making the promise, a person will feel compelled to fulfill it.
4. Be precise. Acknowledge who will do what for whom and
by when. Vague promises are quick and easy to give, but will
often result in misinterpretation. Precise promises keep the
provider on point and the customer satisfied.
1. Make promises in the open. People strive to make
good on promises made, monitored, and completed in
public more often than on side deals made in private.
Promises announced in front of customers, peers, or employers can’t easily be forgotten, backed out of, or only
partially executed. A publicly made promise puts people’s trustworthiness and reputation on the line.
5. Understand what matters. Be sure to have the customer
explain the rationale behind a request. Once a provider understands why the promise matters, he or she is more likely
to continue executing that promise, even if there are roadblocks or conflicting demands.
2. Use concise and active communication. Conversations
between the customer and provider should flesh out what
the customer wants, and how the provider will fulfill that.
Conversation should be clear and focus on divergent
views to come to a common understanding. What should
I do? What will you do? As a provider, set up two or three
rounds of questioning to get clarification on a request,
and get back to the customer within 48 hours.
Employ these five steps internally and use them externally when engaging with partners, vendors, and customers.
Executing commitments in a systematic way will help you
avoid stalled initiatives, unproductive employees, and incorrectly executed strategies. It will also help create a company
that can deliver what it promises.
BEATRICE MULZER isvicepresidentof SMBNation
(
www.smbnation.com) and executive editor of SMB
Partner Community magazine. Shecanbe reachedat
beatricem@smbnation.com.
