The RIVIAN Bánh mì

While munching on the Bánh mì I had for lunch today, I clicked on a video in my Youtube feed about Rivian, the EV company specifically making off-road (recreational) vehicles. Business Insider talks to Brian Gase, chief engineer of special projects and the 4th employee at Rivian. He made this statement:

“Our philosophy is: Always always always under-promise and over-deliver!”

Brian goes on to say “We want to tell you we are going to do something, we want you excited about it, and then we want to just blow you away with what we actually did”

Having a retail sales and retail management background (before and during my Uni degree), my first manager, who was a true died-in-the-wool salesman, gave me this piece of advice: “Corey, the most important thing a salesperson must know is, ‘always, always under-promise and over-deliver’.” This stuck with me over the coming years and I take it with me into every job I’ve had since.  

Don’t misinterpret this philosophy, the idea behind it is the following:

1. Customer/Client care - when you are talking to a potential customer and discussing your services ensuring they know your company’s the one they need to partner with, your staff are going to deliver, they can trust you etc. etc. You need to keep to this philosophy throughout the process.
2.  Drive to deliver on the contract/deal you’ve made: you’ve told the customer what your service/product does for them, now is where you go the proverbial extra mile. Show them in the service you provide, the value you’ve built into the transaction, the above and beyond you went to. 
3. It’s actually a selfish joy -well for me anyway- to truly surprise the customer with the extra you did for them and will continue to do. You will have built a relationship that should keep that client as the magical return/loyal customer.
4. The customer will be a part of your sales staff, spruiking you, your staff and your company to others and recommending you!

When your staff are talking directly to your customers this must be a part of their company mindset, it should be natural, intuitive. 

Now there are a few things to watch out for here, you must still be honest as this philosophy will not work if you are being secretive or misleading. 

When you are in the part of the sales process where you must agree on timelines and deadlines you must ensure your client is aware; No Deadline is 100 percent finite. You ensure they are aware you will do Everything In Your Power to ensure the deadline is achieved, however, there are always going to be elements of the sales process that are out of your control. And while you may have contingencies built into contingencies you “can't control the weather”.

The customer must be kept informed when a problem occurs letting them know you are on it and have those contingencies you are falling back on to deliver to the deadline. Your honesty in this process ensures they are kept informed. So that when you deliver on time you are that amazing guy, who gave them what they needed when they needed it!

This is something I have made all my staff aware of, and I regularly hear them working with our customers following this philosophy and it makes me smile. At TPR Media we will always do our utmost to provide this experience and we are always learning and developing our process to ensure we will always excite you and blow you away. 

https://www.tpr.media/ https://rivian.com/ https://youtu.be/oqO_508it14?t=240