Last week I took a friend from Hong Kong to Chick-fil-A for the first time. As we placed our orders, I told the cashier it was my friend’s first Chick-fil-A experience. The man smiled and said, “Welcome to Chick-fil-A, it’s on us today.” My friend was ecstatic. “Really? I have never had something like this happen to me before!”
On a recent Freakonomics podcast, author Warren Zanes retells the story of when Bruce Springsteen played a few songs with his band, The Del Fuegos. Zanes says he retold the story of Springsteen’s kindness a million times, becoming a “one-man promotion machine for Bruce Springsteen.”
Recently the AE staff went out on an impromptu lunch. This is a rare event, for most days we eat lunch at our desk between meetings. As lunch ended, Angelos took the bill and bought all eight lunches (Thanks Angelos!).
Do you want loyal customers? Do you want (free) referrals? Do you want a strong team?
Every book, podcast and course will tell you the same thing: the key to winning with people is to add value to their lives.
My friend will never forget the first time he received a free meal in the USA, and it certainly adds to the list of why I’m a loyal Chick-fil-A customer. Playing a few songs with another band created free marketing for Bruce Springsteen. All the little moments, when bosses thank me for my work or treat me to a meal builds my loyalty to them and the company.
Here’s your challenge: Every day for one week go out of your way to add value to one person’s life. Solve a problem, give a product away for free or buy a lunch. More often than not, these simple acts of adding value to the lives of others will return dividends to your business and personal life.
away for free or buy a lunch. More often than not, these simple acts of adding value to the lives of others will return dividends to your business and personal life.
