Learning the Hard Way.

At Catapult, our business has been built on understanding what the customer needs and doing whatever it takes to make that happen.

It’s not a difficult concept, but it is a core building block of business that I learned early in my career, when I was working in sales. At a meeting with a buyer, he raised some issues they’d been having regarding quantities. They were small issues, but I was keen to offer a good and customer-focused service, so I listened and assured the buyer that I’d sort it, which I fully intended to do.

A couple of weeks later, I had another meeting with the same buyer, and this time, the small issues he’d mentioned previously had become a big problem. ‘You said you’d sort it out,’ he told me, ‘but it’s still happening.’ I’d over-promised and he was, understandably annoyed. So annoyed in fact, that he’d decided to take his business elsewhere.

I’d thought I was doing the right thing by promising him I’d sort the issues and ensuring he felt heard and valued. But I hadn’t followed through to make sure the problems had been fixed. The issues may not have been my fault, but I hadn’t kept my promise, so the loss of a customer was down to me.

I have never forgotten that important lesson, and what I learned gave me a unique edge as a salesman. I and have also made sure my own team understands the principle of delivering on your promises too. There are lots of salespeople out there who promise the earth and disappoint. That’s not customer service; it’s just paying lip service to doing what the customer wants. Sooner or later, it becomes clear to the customer that you are under-delivering. And when it does, you’ve not just let them down, you’ve lost their trust, and perhaps their business too.

From that day on, I have made sure that if I say I’m going to sort it – whatever it may be – I will make sure it’s sorted. If you can’t fix the problem or supply the requirement, it’s better to have that honest conversation up front and explain what you can do to meet the customer’s needs, rather than telling them what they want to hear and delaying the difficult conversation. Tricky conversations only become more difficult if you delay bad news and compromise trust.

Losing that customer by overpromising was a tough lesson, and I worked hard to win back his business, regain his trust, and win more business from him by going the extra mile to make sure I never let him down again. Sometimes it’s the knocks and what getting up from them teaches us that makes us better at what we do. But if you can get it right without learning the hard way, so much the better!