The willingness to walk two miles with a customer instead of the one that was required is what helped to bring my customers back again and again. No wonder my repeat business was 65 percent. It’s what made me number one. Doing more then what is expected is what gets and keeps a sale. That’s the way it works with a product or service. Selling yourself again and again becomes far easier when others see how willing you are to go out of your way for them—asked or unasked. Repeat business is what adds up to success. That’s why being a second-miler paid dividends to me all of my selling life. You see, each time we reach out to do more than what is expected, we add just a little more positive goodness to the world.
Here are Ten Second-Mile Rules for Success. If you stick to these rules you’ll soon see how much better things will go for you, how much better you’ll be at selling yourself.
*If you’re a salesperson, make one extra prospecting call each day. Or two.
*Work a little longer at the office or the shop than you need to. Or, come in an hour earlier.
*Do something useful around the office, or house, or apartment without being asked.
*Give a little gift to someone special even though there’s no occasion for it.
*Give a little gift to someone not-so-special; it may make them feel special for the first time.
*Go out of your way to help someone; just be there when he or she needs you the most.
*Pay a compliment to someone each day.
*Take a load off someone’s back instead of being on someone’s back.
*If you’re a student, put in a little more time with the books. You might learn something.
*Do something for someone, or some cause, without expecting any pay for it.
You should always do more than you’re asked to do if you want to sell yourself successfully. Put forth a little extra effort. Go out of your way to help someone. You’ll be stretching yourself in a way that’s good for you when you walk that extra mile, when you put out that extra effort, when you hang in there just a little longer. The more you reach out by extending yourself, the more people you’ll influence for good.
The same holds true for personal relationships. They are the ones who energize the person within you and give you purpose each and every day you’re on this planet. They are the reason you do what you do. Never miss an opportunity to let them know that. You want to be remembered, respected, and loved for something you did in someone’s life that made a difference. Whatever that may have been, you were there for them. You made an impact. You’re a winner in their book. They’ll never forget you. No extra effort, no bending over backward to help somebody, no gesture, however small, is ever lost.
