Purpose or Process - Pick One!

In my last post I wrote about a cab driver who instictivly upsold me 800%. Now the opposite, but still a great sell. I am currently in Bangkok, presenting at a conference. Yesterday I had a day off to fulfil my tourist duties with my wife Lorena.

A taxi driver said he would drive us around all day if we would visit two stores recommended by him. The deal is that he gets 5 litres of fuel per referral. We agree to go to a massive Jewelry manufacturer that sells to the public.

As we entered, we were asked where we live. We were then invited to a bar for a free non-alcoholic refreshment. Within 20 seconds, an English-speaking host takes us for a private tour, through the manufacturing centre and into a massive room, full of jewelry.

Our host did not leave us the whole time. The host explained the manufacturing process and she explained how to judge good jewelry. More importantly, she made us feel so welcome. Each host was speaking to their client in the client's native language. Our host asked questions, allowed my wife to try things on, and on, and on until the host understood my wife's taste. She removed pressure by saying it was OK not to buy. After half an hour, we settled on a ring, paid our money and left.

We knew what was going on, yet we bought. Lorena said to me later that if it weren't for the service, she would have walked in, looked around in amazament at the quantity of jewelry, and left without buying.

The point is that this service was totally programmed, from the taxi referral, to the refreshments, to the questionning, to the tactile experiences. We knew what was going on, but all we felt was amazing service, service that led to a sale.

If you do not have a solid organisational Purpose to give people general boundaries for their intuition, make sure you have a solid Process. Without either, you won't serve, and you won't sell.