Don't Lose the Expectation Game

Probably the most important thing we do in business is manage expectations. If your customer expects a hot meal, it better not be cold. If they are expecting a white sedan, a blue coupe will not do. Whether or not you can ‘make good’, get them to accept what they didn’t ask for, is irrelevant. They won’t be back and they tell others not to use your business. In fact, an unhappy customer is seven times more likely to share their bad experience than a satisfied customer. It’s reality.

A lot of business people focus on the pleasantness of an interaction as their basic method for meeting customer expectations. Others focus on the price of what they offer. But if you don’t take a step back and ask what the customers really want from your business, you may be emphasizing the wrong aspects of your business.

Rule 1: Customer expectations rise with price. If you’re selling thumbtacks, it’s pretty simple to know what your customers want. They are purchasing on price or function. If you have a smile on your face when you sell, it’s even better.

If you’re selling legal services for a multi-million dollar transaction where both sides are a little distrustful, what are the expectations? Great skills are a given. So is a successful conclusion to the deal. But there are many other factors that make up your customer’s expectations. Do they want you to be open with the other side or limit the amount of information given? Do they want a phone call before every interaction? Do they expect status reporting? If these elements (and many more) are not known before the engagement starts, you can close the deal successfully, get the client what they want and never get a referral or hear from them again.

Rule 2: Never surprise a customer. This, ironically, can be a good or bad surprise. For example, I was on a billion dollar project that had monthly status reviews with the client. These were a big deal and took two days. One of the customer’s people made a comment that the participant presentation packs would be better if they were in color. The person coordinating the meeting made up the next set in glorious color. 80 sets consisting of over 100 pages. The bill was over $2,200 dollars. The customer’s VP saw the color sets, found out the price and accused us of wasting money. Nobody on their side had asked for them. There was nothing to say.

Of course, surprising a customer with less than they asked for, or something different, never, ever works. If you see that something like this may occur, get in touch with your customer as soon as possible. They won’t be happy, but you will ensure the best possible outcome.

Rule 3: Set Your Boundaries Early and Often. Your job is to receive the greatest payment you can for a product or service. The customer is looking to either extract higher value or lower price from you. A lot of businesses don’t help themselves in the sales cycle by hinting that there are additional value adds that come along with a purchase. A copier salesperson may say that the lease includes delivery, but leave out the detail that programming to get it on your network can only be done by their lone technician, who’s overworked and contemplating suicide. You may have gotten a great deal on the machine, but you’ll remember you couldn’t get to it for a week.

The solution is to be clear and consistent about what is in the deal, what is out of the deal and what about the deal may be unexpected for the customer.