Yoda and Other Jedi Mind Tricks
Relax your mind. It is time for another adventure of perception vs. reality. Ok, here goes.
I was speaking at a national event in the Northeast a few weeks ago and planned to leave later that day to fly home. I had a suitcase and briefcase with me, so I really wanted to keep them in my room until I was done with the speech since the ballroom was in the hotel. My speech was from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. So, I called the front desk the night before and asked them if I could get a little later checkout. I requested 1 pm. They told me the best they could do was 12:30 pm. This didn’t help me because my speech didn’t end until that time.
The reason for the 30-minute problem, you ask? Oh, they told me I was booked as part of a big group and, since we had a discounted group rate, there was nothing they could do. Wow, now that is genius. I did not mention that I was about to speak to 150 people OR that the topic was on my book about the importance of everyone in an organization playing a role in sales. I stood in disbelief, thinking of the great material they were giving me for my speech that day and how this hotel missed a super opportunity to make a customer happy.
Do you think the 30 extra minutes checkout time would have hurt the hotel? Of course NOT! Do you think that it might have been smarter if the person at the front desk had realized the GROUP rate = lots of people who might be hearing this story. My point is simple: In that person’s mind he was following the “rules,” but look what was accomplished. NOTHING, except bad PR.
We can all fall into this trap if we aren’t careful. A similar event happened to me when I was trying to book a tee time to play golf for a group of less than four a few weeks ago. The golf club, as it turned out, was not even busy. Even so, they had told me on the phone that they could not let two or three people out, but I was welcome to pay the full, four-person rate for them to guarantee a tee time. Unreal.
Folks, this stuff happens all the time. Here is the learning opportunity. The great companies of the world do not makes excuses, but instead make things happen and find solutions. It is like my good green buddy Yoda said. “It is either do or do not. There is no try!” Do you have a similar story?
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Ryan T. Sauers has spent nearly 30 years running, leading or consulting with printing, graphics, promotional and visual communications-related organizations. Sauers is CEO of two companies, Sauers Consulting Strategies LLC and End Resultz Inc. that among other things, owns magazines and is a media firm. Key areas of focus of the firms include sales training, marketing strategy, personal branding, leadership development and organizational change.
Sauers is a frequent national speaker and columnist. He has been recognized as one of the top 80 CMOs globally and achieved the top designation of Certified Marketing Executive through Sales and Marketing Executives International.
Sauers is an adjunct university professor teaching leadership and communication courses to current and aspiring leaders. He is a Certified Myers Briggs, DiSC and Emotional Intelligence Practitioner (one of few in the U.S. to achieve all three rigorous certifications related to human communications, personality and behavior).
Sauers has completed his doctoral-level coursework in Organizational Leadership and is now (ABD - All But Dissertation) working on his dissertation on why some entrepreneurs and small businesses achieve initial and long-term success, whereas countless others do not.
Sauers is the host of the Marketing Matters radio show in Atlanta that later becomes a global podcast. He also is the host of the Community Connections TV show that comes out in video and podcast form. Sauers is the author of the best-selling books, Everyone is in Sales, and Would You Buy from You? More info at RyanSauers.com or call (678) 825-2049 or email Ryan@RyanSauers.com
