During a conversation with a friend and client of ours earlier this week, I was explaining that for the last couple of years, we’ve built up our reputation by concentrating on “delighting” our clients rather than constantly watching the bottom line. To a certain extent this has paid off but as a result we seem to be constantly over delivering. By that I mean we scope the work according to budget, then pretty much ignore it during the delivery process and do what we feel should be done on top of what the client is actually paying for.
To be honest I was having a bit of a moan, saying that we really needed to improve efficiency and be stricter on what we can or can’t do within budget, making more time for internal projects and sales.
Now I have heard over delivery described as one of the key enemies of a small business like ours. However, my friend quite rightly pulled me up and said that going the extra mile for a client, as long as they appreciate it, is probably the most effective sales tool we have at Sumac. When push comes to shove and budgets are being cut, the company that constantly over delivers is going to be the last company to be knocked off the supplier list and the first company to be recommended.
Food for thought whilst we’re planning our sales strategy for the next year.