3. Thank people for their time
In sales, many times small and cheap actions can have a big impact.
I recently read an example of this: a restaurant owner would greet his guests at the door. With some of them, he would ask where they parked. After they told him, he would race over to where their car was parked and add a few more quarters to the meter.
The action cost him $1-2 at most. But it made his customers feel special. His restaurant received incredible reviews.
A former colleague of mine had a habit that was similar, but modified for knowledge work jobs. Every night, he would send out thank you emails to each person he had a meeting with that day. This included new people he talked to in addition to close colleagues that he spoke with every day. In 18 months working together, I don’t think I ever had a meeting where he didn’t thank me for my time after it.
I’ve since developed a habit around this as well. I’m not perfect, but every evening I try to send thank you emails to the people I had meetings with (and also send an email to people I have a meeting with tomorrow).
I suppose this isn’t as much of a clean problem:solution like my first posts. But framed from other perspectives, perhaps it is:
A business problem: oftentimes the difference between a potential customer choosing you over a competitor is them simply liking you. A solution: use every opportunity to be courteous and useful to them.
A personal problem: time is the only resource we can’t replenish. A solution: Developing a habit of thanking people for their time keeps it at the top of your mind, too.