The Extra Mile

Credit: David Laufer

There’s no traffic jam on the extra mile. I’m sure I butchered that quote. We’ve all heard it, however. It’s part of every “difference making” manual or business book.

I’ll add this, “there’s no traffic jam on the extra mile because it’s full of obstacles, road blocks and hazards.” I lived it day in and day out for 42 years. I’ve got the scars and stories to prove it.

But the extra mile pays better!

I found myself on the extra mile by accident. I was working for a company that had “specialty” in their name. They were “XYZ Specialty Lithographers.”

One of my clients pushed the envelope with every project. They wanted to build a box inviting businesses to hold their meetings at a beach front resort. I was asked to build the box, cut sandpaper, glue it in the bottom and attach a furnished sea shell to the sandpaper. A furnished brochure would drop inside too.

Another time I was asked to build a box that held something that smelled like a cookie. Once again, a furnished brochure was placed inside. My coworkers and I had to figure out materials, structure, adhesion and shipping.

We were a commercial printer. We didn’t know how to do any of this stuff. We had to teach ourselves the space and figure out every detail. We were able to charge anything we wanted but it was hard! Not every idea worked the first time.

One day, in frustration, I said to the buyer, “I’m grateful for the work. It’s all cool stuff but why can’t I do any of the easy stuff? Why am I shut out of the brochures that drop into these kits?”

Her answer taught me everything. “You’re a specialty printer. Anybody can do that other stuff. It’s easy. People that can do the difficult things are rare. Do you want the brochures too?”

Message? The brochures were easy. She could collect bids and hand them off to anyone. These guys, as good as they were, weren’t doing anything special. They weren’t solving the problems that concerned the client. The customer was worried about the “extra mile” stuff. I was their go to person for anything difficult.

This experience demonstrated the value of taking on more complicated assignments. Anyone could submit prices. Having the best estimate isn’t selling. It’s bidding. Selling happens when you solve a problem.

This is what it meant to my sales. My questions were all about discovery. They were never about specifications. We talked about strategy, objectives and what a successful outcome might look like. Specifications came later. Specs are details that are determined on behalf of an objective. Objectives excite clients. Specifications don’t.

This is what it meant to my numbers. They doubled and then tripled. My margins did too. My price was simply the cost to deliver an outcome desired by the client. I wasn’t bidding.

I got the brochures. They were just part of the activity. I was a partner not a vendor. I was part of meetings early and often with some of the best brands in the world.

Here is a typical conversation. I’m sitting with a client at a large soft drink company. She has three-dimensional model (made from paper) of a haunted house on her desk. She says, “Bill, I want to make 2500 of these x feet across, x feet tall and x feet deep. They’ll sit on top of a skid of our soda in grocery stores. I want to pay $15 max for each one.”

I borrowed the model, did some math and determined that we could get her what she wanted but they would be $45 each not $15. I made a full-size prototype from cardboard in our plant. It was crude but impressive.

The client didn’t blink. The sale was made and the haunted houses went into production. So did sweepstakes pads and other pieces of the campaign. It was a really big sale!

If you follow me, you’ve read it before. You want to ask questions beyond the specs. Get to know your client’s life. Dig into why they print, what services they wish existed and what they would change about our industry. Then address those objectives.

Bidding will stop and selling will start if you do. You’ll be one a few rather than one of too many. You’ll be on the extra mile and that’s where the money is. It’s where the fun is too.

I think this photo is perfect for this subject. The OK to Walk dude is standing on his head. He’s jumping through hoops.

One my career long pals…a guy that kept me on the extra mile sent it to me. He saw it on a walk around his neighborhood in Atlanta. He’s a study that deserves lots of articles by the way.

I’ll add those to my to do list. I hope to see you on the Extra Mile. The view is spectacular!