Deferred gratification, according to Wikipedia, is the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. It is considered a personality trait that is important for life success. We have all been taught to work hard so that one day, we won't have to.
However, therein lies a problem: we don't know how long we can defer gratification to, ie. we don't know how long we are have to live.
In finance, there's the concept of the "time value of money" which means due to compound interest, it's always wise to start accumulating and investing early in life. Einstein said "The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." As a result, some of us try to save what we can, deferring gratification from the fruits of our labor, and try to build towards a better tomorrow.
Unfortunately for some, due to illness, accidents or other unforeseen calamities, tomorrow never comes. They deferred gratification dutifully most of their lives and yet they never get to enjoy the results of their sacrifice. On the other hand, there are those of us who didn't save enough and was unfortunately blessed with long lives (especially with the help of modern medicine). The money soon runs out before the end of their years and hugely affect its quality.
Therefore this big unknown : the length of our lives, plays tricks on us all. Should we work hard, live thrifty and save as much as we can for a better future that might never come? Or should we seize the chance when we are young and enjoy all the sweetness there is only to face the prospect of a long old age in bitterness and destitute?
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Customer Service - we talk about it endlessly. We write stacks of business books and articles on it. We all stress its importance to bottom lines. Almost every CEO presents themselves as strong advocates of remarkable customer service. Every company tells the world how much their customers are number one. Most of us have our favorite stories about some idiotic customer service rep somewhere and certain ridiculous mistreatments as if we would have done better. Yet very few of us actually want to be in Customer Service. While most of us grew up aspiring to save the world, to be a doctor, to run our down business or to be fighter pilots, very few of us aspire to be Customer Service Reps. We all have our ideas as to what we call outstanding customer service, but it's always someone else's jobs.
Customer Service is an entry level position in a lot of companies, largely staffed by the unskilled and often regarded as such not only by their customers but by also their colleagues in other "real" departments. Some companies outsource it all together to some other parts of the world. What message does that give to their clients and to the people working in these companies? People believe in what you do, and not in what you say.
Customer Service is a universal obsession and not merely a separate department in truly great companies. It's EVERYONE's job, regardless of which station they are at. We get paid to service clients. It matters not that whether we are in Accounting, Marketing, Sales or Human Resources, we exist as a business only if we have customers. Customers pay us and no one else does - THAT is the bottomline.
What is the basic rule to good Customer Service? It's the Golden Rule, common to all major religions - treat your customers as you want to be treated yourself. Now if you can then see the world as your customer sees it and go one step further to help her out, we are starting to talk about remarkable customer service. Why should everyone do this? Customers pay us.
Mention "salesperson" and most people will conjure up a picture of a sweaty and pushy salesperson who talks nonstop. They look at everyone as a mark.
That's because salespersonship is an art that is vastly misunderstood, especially by most of those who works the job. We think salespeople are pushy because we don't see the best salespeople. The best salespeople are "invisible" - you don't notice them at all. That's because the best salespeople don't sell, instead they help you buy. They help you discover what you need and what you want to achieve, they suggest solutions that fits and they help you work out how these solutions pertain to your goals. You remain in control throughout the process, you work out the suitability and you decide on the purchase. You are sometimes nudged but you are NEVER pushed.
Hence, although you made the purchase, you were never sold. The best salespeople therefore doesn't fit the usual image of a what a salesperson is. The best salespeople are just seen as very helpful, very sensitive and very smart people.
The best ones you don't see.
My favorite book on selling : The New Conceptual Selling
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A working man's view of management, sales, customer service, technology, work and life.
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Deferred gratification, according to Wikipedia, is the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. It is considered a personality trait that is important for life success. We have all been taught to work hard so that one day, we won't have to.
