How are You Giving Your Customers a Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience?

Last week I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I ate (well, dined) at The French Laundry outside Napa, California.

How do I explain the French Laundry? If you like your gourmet meal served in 87 micro-sized servings over the course of several days, but you are also into dinner bills that are close in value to that of a Manhattan mortgage payment, you’ve come to the right place.

Seriously, the French Laundry isn’t a meal; it is a full-blown experience, a production worthy of a standing ovation. Every bite was worth savoring, every detail taken care of. Little surprises dotted the evening from start to finish, from the salmon tartar “ice cream cone” to the world’s most exclusive butter to that final s’mores truffle at the end, the staff has thought of everything.

Yes, it was expensive. Errr… very, very expensive. A three-star Michelin experience typically is just that. But how many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities does one get?

The fact is, that I will forget how much I paid, but I will remember the little things:

  • The napkin came clipped with an old-fashioned French clothespin, embossed with the restaurant logo. You get to keep that as a souvenir.
  • They gave us a very small tin of shortbread cookies, a little edible trinket to remember the evening.
  • The hostess gave us a copy of the menu for the evening, a reminder of our fabulous meal.

The three things I just mentioned cost the restaurant, I dunno, a few bucks maybe? But those little charms provided memories that will last a very long time.

What are you doing, in your presentation or your follow-up, that is enhancing your customers experience and making for a more memorable occurrence? You’ve been working with a customer for some time but you can’t seem to get them over the edge. What small little token – tangible or intangible – would send a message that says, “You’re special”?

  • A car seller might send a key chain.
  • A Realtor might send an aerial photo of a home.
  • A Mary Kay representative might send an unexpected sample of a new product.

Get creative. How can you stand out with something small but meaningful?

Get it right. Get the sale. Change their world.


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About the Author: Jeff Shore

Jeff Shore is the Founder and CEO of Shore Consulting, Inc. a company specializing in psychology-based sales training programs. Using these modern, game-changing techniques, Jeff Shore’s clients delivered over 145,000 new homes generating $54 billion in revenue last year.