Brief Overview

I screwed up BIGTIME. And one person immediately reached out to help… and it’s the reason we’ve spent over $40K with him. I’ll tell you what he did in this episode

• Download as an MP3 by right clicking here and choosing “save as.”
• RSS feed for Marketing Your Business

Backstory

I was working late at night. I was in a creative flow and when I get into those moments, I don’t want to stop. This particular evening, I didn’t get to bed until 2:30 a.m. The problem, was that I had to wake up early. The next day, we had a whole bunch of things scheduled as a family and we were down to one vehicle because my Mini Cooper was in the shop (I know, not shocking!).

So, we were down to one vehicle and the game plan was to get the kids up early, drive Amy to the gym, get the kids to school, go back to pick up Amy, and then start the day. Anyway, I’m trying to get the kids in the car (which was in the garage). Things were feeling a bit tight, so I decided to pull the car out of the garage to create a bit more space. As I’m pulling the car out, I wasn’t thinking, because the back door to the vehicle was open and as I backed up, it smashed into the top of the garage.  

After taking the car in to get serviced, I took a picture of the damage and posted it to Instagram. A little while later, I get a direct message from a friend who owns a Ford Dealership where we originally bought the car. He reaches out and says “sorry to hear about the accident. Do you need a car? If you can get down to the dealership, you can have one of the brand new Lincoln’s. You and your family have been loyal customers for years, and if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

Big Ideas

So Much of the Sale is Made Before the Sale. [06:35]

I’ve talked about the long runway in previous episodes. The long runway is about connecting with your audience — both at the head and the heart. It’s about showing up when your customers need you, it’s about demonstrating the value that you can provide. Kyle has done this over and over and over again. My wife Amy always says that Kyle makes a point of  coming up and saying hello, asking about how we’re all doing as a family, and just connecting. She just feels taken care of when she’s there. So she’ll drive 45 minutes, just to get serviced by Kyle, even though she could find another garage 5 minutes down the road. Why does she do this? Because of his extra touch, the connection he creates, and the generosity in the way he does business.

Opportunities to Care are Everywhere [08:25]

I smashed the windshield, I felt like an idiot, and we didn’t have a vehicle. My wife literally had to take the kids to school in a taxi. Kyle saw an opportunity to care. He reached out and he offered his help.

There are opportunities to care, everywhere. Anytime someone is in a moment of need, it’s the best opportunity for you to show up. People don’t forget when they were going through hard times, and you were the one that showed up. Showing up when they need you the most, goes a long long way — and that’s what creates long-term loyalty. We have now bought 2 cars from Kyle, and we will continue to buy cars from Kyle because of that kind of generosity.

Memorable Quotes

“So much of the sale is made before the sale.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

MYB 062: Long Runway Works Like Crazy
MYB 023: The Worst Salesman Ever
MYB 032: The Bad Just Got Worse

Rate & Review the Podcast

Reviews for the podcast on iTunes and greatly appreciated! They help us build awareness for the show, which in turn allows us to bring value to more listeners like you. Not only that, but they help us better understand what matters the most to you so that we can constantly improve. If you received value from this episode, it would mean the world if you could take a moment and leave your honest rating and review. You can do that by clicking here.