The majority of my working life has been centered around sales of dental equipment – everything from consumable materials to large capital equipment.
One of the suppliers we engaged with sold a very expensive brand at the very top of the market. Their equipment had all the bells and whistles and was truly impressive if you were fortunate enough to get the full demo, as I was. A lasting memory I have of the dealer whom I worked with was that he always invested so much of his heart and mind into every customer. I’ve sat through trade shows - as all of us have over the years - and seen enough to observe what is good and what is clearly bad. The thing that forms my lasting impression of this particular supplier is that he would invest time with every customer, whether a student 2 years into her degree, or a mature client who had been in practice for a couple of decades. I recall his admirable presentation to students who still had years before graduation, and for over an hour he took them on the royal tour of his product.
Why did he do that? I believe it was because he saw everyone as a customer and also because he believed everyone deserved the best. Whether an individual could afford it or not he believed they deserved it!
On Father’s Day I took my son into a prestige car showroom in Auckland that represented Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Bentley. In a way we had a similar experience to that offered by my friend in the dental business. Dressed in our Sunday best of black t-shirts and jeans we hardly looked like customer material. However, the salesman allowed us to climb into a Lamborghini and feel the sensation of sitting inside one of these incredible vehicles. He invested time into us and made us feel great about his brand.
His only cost was some of his time, and he made us feel special. It begs the question; are we able to see the potential beyond today in everyone we have transactions with? Would it change the way we speak to them, treat them and our beliefs about them? Would it change our world?
The greatest investment we can make is in the life of another person. Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others.
