Back in 2006, I started an expedited shipping business called JT Hotshotting with my father. Since the inception of the company, its grown exceptionally well over the past 6 years.
Many people ask me how we’ve gotten as many clients as we have. Simply put, my answer is always “word of mouth”.
I realize that may not have a lot of meaning to some people however it has a lot of meaning to me and has gotten my company to where it is today.
So what does that have to do with indifference?
There are 2 kinds of indifference; rudeness and arrogance being the first kind and the second is having so much confidence in your service/product such that a potential customer should either do business with you on your terms or just move on – I practice the latter.
My business makes a promise to its customers when a hot shot order is put through. The promise is that we guarantee an on time delivery or you simply do not pay. We are good at what we do and we always exceed our clients expectations.
For example, we get a large volume of phone calls with people looking to beat us down on price quotes. Even though we aren’t the cheapest nor are we the most expensive, we never budge on price. The phone call usually ends in them telling us that they’ll call back after we’ve explained why our price is the way it is and how we can help their company or situation like no one else can. 85% of the time they call back and agree to deal with us at our price.
Once we’ve impressed them with our stellar service we usually garner another 2 clients on average. You see, it all started with playing hard ball in the beginning, but delivering big in the end. The new customers who get referred to us always say things like,”I heard your service was unparalleled” and “I know you’re a little more expensive than the other guy however you appear far more professional and have a track record of doing exactly what your customer needs you to do”.
To Summarize
The point is that you should never let your customers or potential customers walk all over you. Be a little indifferent, stand your ground and charge your price but make damn sure that you deliver on your promises. This will attract new business and more invaluable referrals down the road. I’ve had the experience in the past that if you become too nice with your customers, they become unprofitable and problematic.
I’ve also noticed that people tend to be naturally attracted to others who conduct themselves with confidence and indifference. Perhaps its the need for them to be a part of what’s happening or to get a piece of whatever good is going on.
