Set expectations

Have you ever seen one of those episodes of Star Trek where the Enterprise is in seriously deep trouble and the captain calls on the head of Engineering to come up with a miracle? It happens quite often.  If you've watched more than four or five episodes you probably know what I 'm talking about. And each time the response is something to the effect of "I'll do my best captain but even under normal circumstances it would take twice as long as the amount of time that we have in order to get it done"

But every time, Engineering pulls through and gets the job done in the nick of time. How does that happen? Well, because that's how the script is written of course, but what's the "real" reason?. In one of the movies though, the secret is explained. And the answer is to always overestimate the amount of time that it takes to get the job done by twenty to thirty percent. That way when you get it done in less time, you look like a miracle worker, especially if you managed to pull through in a highly stressful situation.

There is a powerful lesson to be learned here that we can use in our everyday lives. People have expectations. If you fail to meet those expectations, they find that they have less and less need or use for you. If you meet their expectations, the status quo is maintained and they continue to have use for you, until someone who comes along that is better. But, if you consistently blow their expectations away, they will be so pleased with your work that they will actively advertise your services to others and do everything that they can to get you to keep working for them as well.

So, set their expectations. Tell them what the average amount of time to do the job is. Tell them that you can probably do it in ten percent less time and then do it in half that amount of time. Or throw in a couple of optional things as freebies. It's a little balancing act. You want to make it look like nobody can do what they want done in the time available, but that you are still the best man for the job. Whatever it is, go over the top. Do it better and faster than your competition can. And then, don't brag about it, but do let your customer know, that you did the best job possible because you value them as a customer.

It doesn't matter if you are an auto mechanic, if you run a print shop or if you do telemarketing for a living. No matter what product or service you provide the community, if you do a higher quality job, in less time at a competitive price, your services will always be in high demand.

If you don't go out of your way to set up the expectations that other people have of you, people will make up their own based on assumptions that they have about you and they will hardly ever be as good for you in the long run. And this works in every area of your life of course, not just work. People should know ahead of time what to expect from you in a given situation so they know whether or not they can count on you for whatever it is that they happen to need at that moment.