Living in the city, its critical to get a monthly parking pass in a parking structure in order to maintain sanity.  The lot that I happen to park in is a valet lot.  Its very convenient, except for one thing – tipping.

Like most people, its difficult to always have two to three single dollar bills on you every day.  I made it a point to always tip the valet guys as they were extra quick with my car – often bringing it down before other people in line.  It got to the point where I was walking out of my way each day on the way to the lot and buying random things at Starbucks in order to break change.  I suppose the upside is that I have an extensive coffee mug collection at work.

I finally told myself – enough is enough – this is ridiculous! I told the valet guy one day – listen, I always take care of you, but sometimes I do not have change.  I’m going to start tipping you once a week.  He nodded and said “No problem, boss.” The next day, he brought my car down at the normal speed.  I got in my car and thanked him and slipped him a twenty.  He was ecstatic.  You could see his eyes light up.  I reminded him that I was going to tip once a week.  The next day I did not tip.  He remembered our conversation.  The next day he did not bring my car down ahead of anyone else.  The same happened the following day.  By the end of the week it seemed like I was all of a sudden Mr. Scruge.

The funny thing is – I knew that first thing Monday when I slipped that guy a twenty that his morale would shift drastically.  Sure enough, come Tuesday, I was his most important customer of the day.

This situation reminded me of a conversation that I had with one of my customers.  He told me that by simply visiting their facility, walking around and shaking their sales reps hands, our sales would increase.  I thought he was blowing smoke – but he was right.  By walking through and shaking their hands, my brand was on their mind for the rest of the week.  When their customers called in, they made sure to mention that we had just made a site visit.  He was right – our sales increased. It wasn’t exponential, but it was absolutely noticeable.

Its difficult for people to realize opportunity unless its right in front of them.  Additionally, people will exert more effort when there are short term gains.  As a sales tool, this can be as simple as scheduling frequent face time with customers.  While we have a great product and brand, I know that some of my customers support my brand more than my competitors simply because I interact more frequently with them.

As for my valet guy?  He gets his daily tip.

I asked my assistant to go to the bank and make change for $100 in one dollar bills.  Needless to say the request was followed with an explanation.

-Mike