At the company where I worked, there was this old, road-weary salesman, Jim. He was subtle and kind of a loner. A man of few words. One day I asked if I could buy him a Coke as I had a question.
I unloaded on him about an upcoming meeting I had off-site where I got to tell a customer that through no fault of my own, things were not going as planned and shipments would not be occurring as required.
I went through my whole presentation with Jim. I had really worked on this speech, and frankly, I was very proud of it. It had 10 main points and some follow up questions, etc.; took about 5 minutes for me to cover all the bases. But I knew I was still going to get an chewing at the meeting….
Jim nodded approvingly as I spoke and once I finished, Jim said, “One question, kid.... Why all that blabbering on and on?”
I asked him what he would say in my place.
“Mr. Customer. The widgets are late getting out of the factory and they won’t be shipped for another 3 months. We are sorry for the delay. It was unforeseeable and we will work very hard to get the shipments as soon as possible. You are MY priority.”
“Phil, people can take the worst news you can imagine if presented to them in an open and honest manner. Be straightforward. They will then trust you.”
I often wonder where Jim is now… He truly gave me a million dollars worth of insight for the cost of soda-pop.
Phil
Phillip Anderson
Owner/Broker
New Portland Home
(503) 789-8701 Direct
www.NewPortlandHome.com
