When I least expect it
And you will win my respect.
Disappoint me…
When you’ve set my expectations
And I will be hard to recapture.
Making promises and living up to them is extremely difficult because there are always extenuating circumstances beyond our control.
The goal should always be to under-promise and over-deliver.
But all too often sales people and companies fall into this trap. It’s in our nature to get excited at the prospect of a new endeavor and it takes incredible discipline and strategy to curb that enthusiasm. But this is critical when it comes to managing expectations and winning respect.
No promise is better than a promise not kept.
– When Apple launches a new product – it is full of surprises, and I respect that.
– When Virgin Airlines launched – it was full of surprises, and they won my respect.
– When 3M launches a new product – it is full of surprises, and I respect their innovation.
Alternatively…
– When a company announces the launch date of an innovative million dollar website, and it is delayed (with nothing innovative), it can only be a disappointment.
– When a software company makes promises about a new and better browser that pales in comparison to the market, I’ll be surfing elsewhere.
– When a salesman promises a certain level of success to a client, and comes up short, it destroys their credibility and trust.
We are living in a world that moves faster than any other period in history. A technological revolution. Innovative ideas spread like a virus. But only if the idea is innovative, remarkable and exceeds our expectations.