Meeting and Exceeding the Customer’s Expectations

You might remember the Hunter S. Thompson quote, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.”

A potential customer describes a need and asks if you can solve it. Of course, you answer, “YES. May I send you a proposal?” It is likely, you and the customer are on the same page. You submit a spectacular proposal and get the sale. Congratulations!

On the other hand, what if the customer read your proposal and had a different expectation about the content? For example, you might have offered only your existing products, which did not match the customer’s need. The customer expected an outside of the box solution.

Should you go to the trouble of creating a custom solution proposal? Yes, if any of these apply:

This is a new customer
You fully understand their problem and offer a superior solution
The customer has no knowledge about your company or your product/service
Your product/service is not a commodity
The purchase is not a routine buying decision
You want the customer to see the time and effort invested in pursuing their business

Let’s look at the typical excuses for not customizing a solution proposal:

I don’t have the time
If I do all the work and still don’t get the sale, look at all the time I’ve wasted
Here’s our menu of offerings. If it’s not on the menu, it’s not available

Now, let’s look at the lost opportunity costs.

The lack of time and effort invested is obvious to the reader
The potential customer does not feel valued
This customer might have become one of your larger customers.

Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.