Deliver the Service
I just finished corresponding with someone who shared that she often felt that people worked hard to sell her something but then under-delivered on the service. It is one thing to sell a service and another thing to deliver it in an impactful manner.
Whether you work for someone else or work for yourself, the manner in which you deliver your services is vital to your trajectory. It is key that you do what you do in a way that people get what they need but also feel supported, encouraged, heard, helped and overall better off after their work with you than before their work with you.
Substance
Many service providers fear being selected. They want to sell their service, but they fear being selected because “What if I can’t deliver?” The premise of this approach puts the provider in the wrong frame of mind. It is the focus on one’s self that causes the service to lag in substance. When someone hires you to deliver a service, it is about them not you.
It is that way in therapy.
The same in coaching.
It is clearly the reality of training.
It is the heart of supervision.
What do you provide that is substantive? When you know the answer to that question, you can provide service based on the actual needs of the people you are serving. Then you deliver what they ask for and add value by providing what they need that they don’t know about. When you accomplish those tasks, you have a model for great service.
Delivering substantive content, information, facilitation, and presence will cover a multitude of sins. Providing great service is about substance, not about the perfect structures and systems. When you provide a valuable service, you will rarely lack people to serve. You won’t have to focus on sales. However, you do have to make sure people know you are around.
Be consistent. Don’t offer one service one day and a different one every other month.
Likability
Not everyone is going to like you and you are not going to like everyone. You don’t need everyone to like you in order to build a reasonably successful business. Reasonable success involves the ability to support yourself on the money you earn in your business.
People who are very likable also have people who dislike them intensely. Just think about anyone you’ve heard of in the public sphere – whether it’s politics, entertainment or big business. There is someone who many people agree is great, while you don’t like that person at all.
Notice how your not liking them is not hindering their success.
Also please note that wanting someone to like you is often a big turn off to that person. It reminds them of the neediest aspects of themselves and they end up resenting you or just low grade disliking you (with little understanding of why).
The likability I speak of is about liking yourself and liking the people you serve. When you like yourself you can bounce back from missteps with minimal harsh self talk. When you like the people you serve, you are genuinely happy to see them, hear from them and serve them. They feel that and it resonates with them.
Service Over Sales
- When you focus on delivering a great service over trying to sell people a great service you will find yourself liberated from the hamster wheel of a sales cycle.
- When you deliver a valued service people will talk about it and share.
- When you are good at what you do, people will recommend you for opportunities.
Trying to sell a service is like having a party and sending out invitations. It is nerve-racking when you think that perhaps no one will come to your party. It is upsetting because you might feel rejected and you are likely financially invested. One of the best things you can do is not have a party until you have enough meaningful relationships, so that invitations sent will yield enough party-goers to make your event one that you enjoy.
It is the same in business, when you focus on sales over substance…no one enjoys the outcome.
Copyright © 2018 Ruby Blow. All rights reserved.
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