Say what you do, then do what you say
Over the years, I've received a lot of testimonials, both from clients and business partners. While many of them vary in what they have to say, one testimonial in particular sticks in my mind, and has become extremely important to me over the years -
Back in 2008, less than 2 years out of college and in the mortgage 
business, I did some marketing to local agents - it's not easy being 23 years old and convincing industry vets to give you a chance and entrust you with their clients, but I was fortunate enough to get a shot from a great agent, and thankfully, I delivered. When asking him to share some words on the transaction we worked on together, looking for both positive feedback to share, and negative feedback to learn from, he shared the shortest testimonial I ever received. He said:
"John says what he does, and does what he says"
My intitial reaction was "duh, who doesn't?", but now that I've more experience, I realize the impact of that statement. I don't believe in lip service. I never have. Don't tell me, SHOW me. Now when I consider business partners to work with, I look primarily for people that 'do what they say'.
Do you return calls? Even if it's a quick "Oh hey, can I give you a call back?", do you? Or do you forget? Habitually? Do you say "I'm swamped right now, can I give you a call tomorrow?" and then email 2 weeks later apologizing for forgetting? Sure, it might not be a huge deal between you and I...but in forgetting to call me back, I can only assume you'll forget to call back any referrals I send your way. For this reason, I won't be sending referrals your way.
Do you keep appointments? Things come up. I get it. Kids get sick, other appointments get extended, traffic happens...I really do understand, but when it becomes more common to reschedule an appointment with you than to actually keep one, I can only assume you're frazzled and somewhat disorganized. Guess what type of person I DON'T want to trust my clients with? The frazzled & disorganized type.
You'll email me? Just recently, an agent came to my door while doing some door knocking. He asked for my card, and stood in my entry way talking 'shop' for about 10 minutes. At the end he said 'let's grab coffee, I'll email you when I get back to the office to set something up. Well, no email ever came. I.Hate.Lip Service. Either that, or he lost my card....ok, into the 'frazzled/disorganized' group. Either way, I'm not sure which agent(s) I'll be referring local business to, but I do know one guy that will not be getting any referral business...the one that wasted my time with lip service.
Bottom line, be considerate of others time, and don't BS anyone with worthless lip service. When I make an appointment, in person or over the phone, I'm going to be on time unless there are some major extenuating circumstances. If I tell someone I'm going to call them, I do...and I do it WHEN I tell them I'm going to call them. If I randomly meet someone and have a good discussion and get their card or info, you can rest assured I'm following up with at least an email. Why ask for someone's info and waste time out of your day with lip service without following through? You're wasting not only their time, but also your own.
I don't think I ask too much of others - simply to reciprocate the same level of respect and consideration that I have. Common courtesy isn't so common anymore, and I think that's something we should all work together to change.
Say what you do, and do what you say
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