What have you done to be unforgettable in your customers’ minds?

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot recently, but in a slightly different context.

I just got back from the memorial service my family held for my Dad. He passed away this winter after a two year battle with cancer.

It was an incredible event and an amazing opportunity to honor an unforgettable man.

He was unforgettable because he had such a big personality and he was a hell of a character. As I thought about all the things that made him unforgettable, I couldn’t help but reflect on how a few of those unforgettable characteristics led to him being a wildly successful salesman.

For more than 30 years, he was one of the top sales reps at Footjoy golf.

Of course, he had an amazing product to sell, but when he was given his territory in the Northwest, it was the wild west. It was his to build from the ground up.

He covered Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, and needless to say, because his territory was so big, he couldn’t see the hundreds of accounts he had on a weekly basis.

In fact, for most of his accounts, he only saw them a couple of times per year. It would have been easy for his customers to forget about him.

But what he did instinctively was brilliant. He made himself unforgettable.

Here’s how he did it.

 

1. His Name

First, his name was hard to forget, Speedy Nash.

I mean, come on, do you know of anybody else named Speedy? That’s a good start but he didn’t choose his name so I can’t give him full credit for that.

 

2. He Made People Want To Be Around Him

As mentioned, he had an enormous personality.

When he visited his customers, he made every one of them feel like they were the most important customer he had. He told great stories, jokes, and asked about his customers’ lives. He genuinely cared about them. They looked forward to seeing him and that helped him out a lot.

His booming voice, his laugh, and his attitude were unforgettable.

People like doing business with people they like. And people loved doing business with Speedy.

 

3. He Had A Unique Way Of Doing Everyday Things

This seems ridiculous but my Dad had a way of doing subtle things that got people’s attention.

For example, when he paid for things, he paid with $2 bills. Nobody did that. Nobody does that.

And there’s a lot of people that probably have never seen a $2 bill before. So when he paid for something with a $2 bill, people remembered.

 

4. He Dressed Impeccably

When Speedy drove up to an account, people could recognize him from hundreds of feet away before he even got to the clubhouse because of the way he dressed.

In an industry flooded with polos and ugly golf pants, he didn’t dress like he was going to the course, he dressed like the gentleman he was. In a blue blazer, khaki pants, finely polished Footjoy dress shoes, and with a colorful tie that stood out.

His ties were the equivalent of the Dude’s rug from the movie The Big Lebowski. It tied it all together, his outfit that is. (Pardon the tie pun).

It was his uniform and people took note of it. While his competitors all looked the same, he rose above and stood out.

 

5. He Had A No Bull Sh*t Style Of Speaking

Let me set the record straight, Speedy was a master bullsh*tter when it came to telling stories and joking. And I mean that in the best way possible. He could command a room and wax poetic on nearly all things and he certainly had enough opinions for all of us.

But when it came down to telling his customers what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear, he did it every time. His words could be sharp but he never pulled punches.

He told them the truth, and guess what? His customers loved him because of it. He told them when they were making a bad decision. He told them what they should do and wasn’t afraid to tell them even when he knew it would sting. But that’s why they loved Speedy.

He was an advisor, not a seller to them. He was a partner in their business.

He helped their businesses succeed which in turn, helped his business succeed.

That’s why they remembered him.

•••

Some of this may seem mundane and inconsequential but it wasn’t. It worked. It made him unforgettable. It made him stand out. And because of that, he built an incredible business.

So now that I’ve come back from memory lane, let’s get back to you.

What have you done to make your business unforgettable?

What’s your $2 bill?

What’s your blue blazer and colorful tie?

Is it your customer service?

Is it the way your product works?

Is it the way you add value on a consistent basis for your customers?

Once you figure out what your $2 bill is, you need to communicate it to the world and let them know about it.

Talk about what your customers want.

Talk about the problems in your customer’s lives that are holding them back from success.

Paint a picture of what their life will look like after they use your product.

And show up consistently and add value.

If you do that and communicate it in all the places where your customers come in contact with your business, they’ll remember you.

Add in your Speedy Nash flair, and you’ll really have something special.