ABCO Payroll Services®

By Roger Reynolds

Usually it's the little things that get you the sale or lose you the sale.

Did you park in the customer parking spot right in front of the prospect's business? Did the prospect encounter an automated answering system when he called your office? Did you call the client to congratulate him on an achievement?

Dale Carnegie talks about this in his book, How to Win Friends & Influence People written in 1936 and still in print. It's not a new concept, just something we don't always think about.

Whether we are selling payroll services or insurance, our products and services aren't that much different than our competition. Many times you're selling the same policy from the same insurance company as your competition, so it comes down to those little things.

Below is an anecdote that illustrates this point (Adapted from Presidential Anecdotes, by Paul F. Boller, Jr. Penguin Books).

MAKING DECISIONS

William McKinley, the 25th U.S. President, once had to choose between two equally qualified men for a key job. He puzzled over the choice until he remembered a long-ago incident.

On a rainy night, McKinley had boarded a crowded streetcar. One of the men he was now considering had also been aboard, though he didn't see McKinley. Then an old woman carrying a basket of laundry struggled into the car, looking in vain for a seat. The job candidate pretended not to see her and kept his seat. McKinley gave up his seat to help her.

Remembering the episode, which he called "this little omission of kindness," McKinley decided against the man on the streetcar. Our decisions – even the small, fleeting ones—tell a lot about us.

So, remember it's the little things that can make a difference...