st in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspireThe car was drop-dead gorgeous. It had a beautiful dark blue exterior and the interior was brown - very sporty - with a 6-speed manual transmission too boot. There was no use denying it. I was in love. I probably reduced my negotiating leverage immediately by falling in love with it; however, at that point I just wanted to see it in my driveway.

The love affair was tempered, slightly, when the salesman handed me the key. It was bent like the leaning Tower of Pisa. The salesman didn’t dare try to bend the key back into place because it certainly would have broken, which would have sent me to another dealership. He promised to order two new keys, so I bought the car and left.

They never sent any keys, nor did they communicate with me again. Weeks later I still had this goofy-looking key in my pocket. Whether he realized it or not, the salesman made a commitment to me, and I placed my trust in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspire

gotiating leverage immediately by falling in love with it; however, at that point I just wanted to see it in my driveway.

The love affair was tempered, slightly, when the salesman handed me the key. It was bent like the leaning Tower of Pisa. The salesman didn’t dare try to bend the key back into place because it certainly would have broken, which would have sent me to another dealership. He promised to order two new keys, so I bought the car and left.

They never sent any keys, nor did they communicate with me again. Weeks later I still had this goofy-looking key in my pocket. Whether he realized it or not, the salesman made a commitment to me, and I placed my trust in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspire

aning Tower of Pisa. The salesman didn’t dare try to bend the key back into place because it certainly would have broken, which would have sent me to another dealership. He promised to order two new keys, so I bought the car and left.

They never sent any keys, nor did they communicate with me again. Weeks later I still had this goofy-looking key in my pocket. Whether he realized it or not, the salesman made a commitment to me, and I placed my trust in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspire

left.

They never sent any keys, nor did they communicate with me again. Weeks later I still had this goofy-looking key in my pocket. Whether he realized it or not, the salesman made a commitment to me, and I placed my trust in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspire

st in him. He failed to deliver. Part of “Hitting the Grand Slam” with your customers is respecting that your customers have choices, and always meeting their intangible needs. Winning, profitable companies constantly inspire customer confidence by their actions, and always conduct business in a trustworthy manner. They keep their word. Commitments that are kept create repeat customers, and repeat customers create profit.

Here are some tips for meeting a customer’s intangible needs:

•Follow through! It has been my observation in life that people who do not keep small commitments don't keep big ones either. Customers watch what we do, rather than what we say, because actions, as the old saying goes, speak louder than words. Think about it. If somebody says to you, "I'll call you tomorrow" that's a small commitment. If they don't call you tomorrow, then they have broken a commitment. You will take what they say after that with great skepticism.

•Always act in an ethical manner: From the top of the company to the bottom, always do the right things. Every so often, when I was running my family’s retail wine