I just had an imaginary conversation with my old boss from when I was in sales. Here’s the scenario:
I’d been working hard to close an order with a large corporation. It was a big deal—a real big deal.
Not only would I profit from it, but my company would be delighted with the revenue it would bring in.
Here’s how our conversation went:
JILL: Hey, boss. I just closed the deal at Big Company. They’re going to get over a thousand of our systems—one for every office in the country.
Next year, they’ll be expanding to their global offices. It’s a gold mine. Everyone in our company will get a big bonus.
Boss: Super! I knew you could do it, Jill. You’re the best we have here.
JILL: Thanks. I’ve been closing big deals like this most of my career. You can always count on me.
Boss: Let’s get the paperwork going. We need to inform manufacturing so they can ramp up production.
Plus, with the size of their order, we’ll need to staff up our customer support organization to meet their schedule.
JILL: Absolutely. We’re really going to enjoy working with their team, too. Great people! The kind you can count on. I like them a lot!
Boss: Great to know. It should make things easier. Now about that paperwork. Let’s walk it up to the Senior VP and show it to her! She loves seeing signed contracts.
JILL: I don’t have the contract with me right now. But let’s just get things going. It’s a done deal. They bought everything I suggested.
Boss: So it’s not signed yet, Jill? Deals aren’t deals till they’re signed. They’re just promises that can be broken at any minute. We can’t just assume …
JILL: Don’t worry, Boss. I trust them. They’re good people. The kind you can count on.
Let’s tell everyone on the team. They’ll be so excited about their upcoming bonuses—going right to their paychecks.
Boss: Jill, I think we need to talk.
Personally, I love it when people trust my judgment. However, in my experience, trust must be earned by delivering on your promises.
Think about It!