"Honesty" and "Move From Ambition To Meaning"

Honesty and Move From Ambition To Meaning,

(from What Four Steps Make You The Exception To The Rule, by James Altucher)

James Altucher shared another great post on his Facebook page last night. I especially like his points on Honesty and Move From Ambition To Meaning. 

It's always good to be honest and advise a customer if something is really bad for him, or if something you sell is really not exactly a right fit for his needs, but something that someone else sells is. It's counter-intuitive, of course, and you lose short-term or instant money if a sale was made right there and then.  

Le me working on a bike.

For my day job, I work in a bike shop and have given counter-intuitive advice to customers quite a few times. But guess what? They kept coming back, and in fact, they bought even more things or sometimes even more expensive items from me. Short term loss, long term gain. The best gain is their trust. And that trust can only be earned with honesty.

Just last morning, another customer sought my advice and asked me via email, "Hey Theo, I'm considering Wheelset A, B and C. All are about the same price," and after a few emails back and forth, "Which one would YOU take?"

So I told him, if I'm going to mix some hills in my ride, I'll take Wheelset A, if I want something more aero, I'll use Wheelset B, and that I'll take B since my bike is an aero bike. He thanked me, and said he'll go for Wheelset B, which is what I recommended him initially (I have Wheelset A in stock too) some time last week.

As for ambition to meaning, now that I think about it, it was never my ambition to sell as many expensive bikes as I could. I found meaning in educating as many new cyclists (or those not in the know) as possible that they should get a bike that fits them. I wanted them not to make the same expensive mistake as I did when I was a new cyclist and got sold bike sizes that were one to two sizes too small for me. Or maybe even something as simple as how to wear their helmet properly. And also that while some brands offer lifetime manufacturer's warranty, they will also have to find out just how good a brand is at recognising and honouring any defects or design flaws, and how good and willing a shop is in helping a customer. 

There are many competing businesses out there, many marketing strategies out there, many ways to advertise out there, but perhaps the cheapest and most effective way to get customers coming back for the long-term (all other things being equal, product wise etc) is to be honest. 

Besides, honesty (and good service) also gets that much sought after "Word of mouth" marketing. So, why not conduct an honest business and service, today? I'm sure you'll love the long-term results.