Follow Through

May 24, 2010 1:03 pm

Braun Mincher

Braun Mincher is the author of “The Secrets of Money: A Guide for Everyone on Practical Financial Literacy”. This blog entry is from Chapter 10 of his book, Your Keys to Financial Success and the 12th of 20 entries on this subject. For more on Braun click here.

People often ask me how I have been so successful in business. There are obviously a number of variables that have helped make me successful, not the least of which has been some good luck. I have never had a problem getting customers or having enough business. Am I a great salesperson, in the typical stereotype? As I’ve said before, no. What I do, though, is I just make it easy for people to buy from me. No matter what the business, I am knowledgeable, organized, focused on meeting the customer’s needs, exceed expectations, and most importantly, I follow through on my commitments. I do what I say that I am going to do, and people appreciate this.

Here’s a mantra for you all: Under-promise and over-deliver.

Some people get a lot of business by promising the earth, the moon, and the stars. Sure, that will get you a client—but can you deliver? Probably not. So what have you accomplished? You’ve gotten yourself a client … who will never do business with you again, and who will bad-mouth you to everyone he or she knows. That’s the sort of thing that kills a businessman’s reputation, and along with his reputation, his livelihood.

If you cannot be over to install a piece of equipment at someone’s office on Tuesday, don’t say that you can. Tell him when you can be there and DO IT! Does this mean you should be lazy and unambitious? Heck no! It’s about being realistic. Yes, you certainly should knock yourself out in order to please a client; in order to get a contract or make a sale. But know your limitations. Some things simply cannot be done, or simply cannot be done by you for a certain price on a certain timetable. Always try your best, but remember—if you promise something for 3 pm and you can get it done by 2 pm, you’re a hero. If you promise something for 3 pm and you get it done by 4 pm, you’re a loser. Better to be a hero.

The follow-through also rolls down the hill to the lowest member of your team if you have one. I know some great salesmen who, after they make the sale, are quickly onto the next one. That’s great, but only if the other people—the rest of the team that provides the actual service or delivers the product—also do their job correctly. Imagine what it feels like to be hung out to dry. That’s what happens to the super-salesman who thinks that follow-through is “not his job.”

Technically, he may be correct. If his job is to make the sale and it’s someone else’s job to deliver the product, he’s right—and he’s wrong. It matters not to the customer which person dropped the ball. The customer relies on the person he first interacted with—or that person’s boss—whether that person was the screw-up or not. And finger-pointing doesn’t cut it. Accepting responsibility is what matters!

So yes, no matter where you are in the supply chain, your reputation is on the line and it is up to you to make sure the follow-through goes according to the promises you made.

There are many ways to do this. If you are the boss, then there are butts to kick and heads to make roll. You are empowered to fire and hire until you get a support team on board that can consistently make your company look good.

This is not a time for being Mr. Nice Guy. This is how you make your living.

If, on the other hand, you are just a cog in a big machine, it is still your reputation that’s being judged. You are still empowered to check and recheck that things are going well down the line. Maybe this does mean that you have to take a few minutes here and there out of your selling schedule to make a few phone calls to make sure everything is on track.

And yes, if things are going awry, you may need to make some loud noises. If you find dead weight in your supply chain that is making you look bad, you may have to climb up the chain of command to make higher-ups understand where problems are occurring. You have to be your customer’s advocate.

Will this make you popular with your co-workers or sub-contractors? Often times not. But you will earn people’s respect. When you do the right thing, the right people will notice and reward your behavior.

Another tip, though: Don’t forget to add the sugar with the medicine. If you become known to your co-workers or sub-contractors only as “the pushy guy” or “the demanding guy,” they may start to dislike you so much that they begin to sabotage you on purpose. Balance things out. Thank people when they do a good job for you and make you look good. Little gifts can be a nice touch sometimes, too. Also, those business lunches and breakfasts I keep talking about—if you can’t find a client to do them with, think about that co-worker or sub-contractor who you’ve been riding a lot lately. Maybe buy them a Happy Meal once in a while. Spend some non-work face-time with them. Let them see your likable side. Learn more about them. The best way to get favors is to trade favors. By learning more about what they do, maybe there are some things you could do to make them look good as well. And when that happens … you’ve got a good thing going on!

I learned the importance of follow-through from my father, who was in the construction business. He became so renowned for it that someone once made him a plaque that said: “We Do What We Say We Are Going to Do.” It’s simple, it’s basic, but I can think of no greater goal for a business or a worker than this.

There’s another twist to the phrase “follow through.” I recently participated in a charity event where people were invited to test drive a particular brand of car. For every mile someone test drove, the car dealer contributed a dollar to charity. I thought this was a great idea. It raised money and awareness for a worthy cause, and it provided the car dealer with extra exposure—a win-win all around.

Well, I showed up, test drove a car—a brand of car, I might add, that I’ve driven and owned before and tend to like a lot and—came right back to the lot … and went home. No one tried to sell me the car! People, listen to me and understand where I’m coming from: I was IN THE CAR. I was DRIVING THE CAR. If you’re a car salesman, isn’t that the toughest obstacle right there? And lastly, I was easily pre-qualifiable as the kind of person who might want to buy that particular car. Yet no one even asked me if I was interested. No one asked me if I even liked the car. No one made a move to make a very substantial car sale to me. I even wandered around the lot another twenty minutes. Not a single human being so much as said “hello” to me. So I left.

Follow through. If I owned that car dealership, I would have had scalps on the wall of the salespeople who dropped the ball like that by not following through. Lack of follow-through is when you are given an opportunity to make a sale, to get a client, and you don’t even try. What’s that all about?

What’s the famous line: ABC – Always Be Closing? Every salesperson at that car dealership had been handed sales openings. Would they have closed them all? Of course not.

But to not even try? That’s just crazy and lazy. Life gives us all opportunities and chances. When opportunity knocks, answer the darn door. Answering the door is the follow-through.

Not a week goes by in my life when I am not looking to do business with some one or some entity. We all have needs.

I’ll need a person to provide a particular service, I’ll get a recommendation from a friend to call a certain company, I’ll place the call, I’ll leave a message … and then I’ll wait and wait days and days for someone to call me back. Are people so wealthy that they can just turn down business? If so, God bless ‘em. I know I can’t be that way. This never ceases to amaze me. If you’re hungry, act like it. Look at every tip or lead you’re given as a raw steak and you’re a hungry mountain lion. Pounce on it; follow through.

Listen to Braun speak on Financial Literacy.

Braun Mincher with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business News

Braun Mincher talking about Financial Literacy on Fox Business

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