Small promises with big payoffs

A coffee shop I visited in New York had a sign on the counter that said “If you don’t like your drink, we’ll make you a new one. No charge.”

That costs them nothing to promise, and only slightly more to follow through on.

I’d bet that promise creates many more positive impressions than the number of free drinks they actually have to make.

Small promises with big payoffs are everywhere when you start looking.

For over a decade, I’ve had a policy that if a freelancer or small consultancy does work for my team, I pay their invoice as soon as I get it.

Most of the time, that means on the same day. Next day at the latest.

This is an inexpensive promise to make. Most invoices of this sort aren’t big enough that the cash flow gains of waiting until the end of the Net 30 period are worth it.

But the goodwill you create when you reply to an invoice email within an hour or two with “payment sent, thanks” is huge.

It’s not enough to make you a dream client, but it goes a long way. 

And the best clients get the best work.

Small promise. Big payoff.

Len