Just saw that one of our father’s published a blog post on his firm’s website that references Camp Cody. Pretty darn neat. And, for the record, we had him up on one ski by the end of the summer!
How to Blow Your Customers’ Expectations Out of the Water
Scott Weighart, Director of Learning and Development
What organization doesn’t want to turn their customers into fans for life? That doesn’t happen to me very often, but it happened today. My wife sent me a link to a photo album posted today by Camp Cody in New Hampshire, where my son is currently spending the week. The photo album totally astonished me. When we dropped my son off on Sunday, a counselor told me that the camp took pride in really teaching kids how to do things. Sounded great, but I wondered how that might translate to results
Well, the gist of that photo album was that the camp counselors learned that my son attempted to waterski at another camp this summer… and that he failed to get up on skis all 14 times that he tried. The counselors apparently seized that as a personal challenge. They posted 32 photos (!) of my son as he received detailed instruction on the dock, put on his equipment, got more coaching on the boat, and then got in the water. More photos showed him struggling to get up, falling, trying again… and finally succeeding with an enormous grin!
I was blown away—feeling really good about my son’s accomplishment and even better about Camp Cody. Those pictures told me so much more than any brochure or sales pitch could have said about the camp’s expertise, caring, and perseverance
But it also told me something about what all smart organizations do. They become fascinated—and maybe even a little obsessed—with their customers’ problems. They take customers’ challenges and break them down, showing how they can be solved step by step. And they revel in their customers’ successes
This is also why consultative selling is such a successful practice. Too many salespeople waste their prospects’ time by blabbing about their company’s size, history, and products or services. But those salespeople who drill into understanding their prospect’s problems and their impact—showing their curiosity and expertise in the process, challenging what the prospect knows about the problem—those are the salespeople who really wow people. Whether you’re selling something or looking to satisfy someone who is already a customer, the key is applying your knowledge and experience to solving people’s problems
When you do, you’ll win a fan for life by blowing their expectations out of the water.