Laura DeVeau Smith, who is one of several owners of a company called Within Organics that sells organic cotton tee-shirts with affirmations (printed on the inside!), wrote this in her company’s blog:

Photo: Laura DeVeau Smith

Not too long ago Nikki, my Within Co-Owner, told me about a book called The Go-Giver. She also announced that she wanted to be our “Director of Customer Experience.”

I thought that was a very cool title, and really true to what Nikki was already doing.

Of course we are a company with a product, but the experience around that product is equally important – everything from posting inspiring quotes and videos on Facebook and Twitter, to handling shirt exchanges and answering emails. It’s all a part of what makes us Within Organics, beyond our clothing. It’s where we really get to interact with people, whether or not they are customers. And Nikki is the finest “Director of Customer Experience” I’ve ever seen. That girl truly, truly cares and pours her heart into every tee shirt she folds and ships and every newsletter she writes. It is an honor to work with her, and she constantly inspires me.

Photo: Within owners Laura, Amie and Nikki

While reading The Go-Giver, it became clear that Nikki had taken this book to heart. In a way, I’d heard it all before, but the way this book explained it got me really excited about giving.

Reading this book reinvigorated the way I look at Within and what we’re doing. We’ve always thought about it as more than selling a product, and now I truly understand what that means and what it takes. I’d rather wake up in the morning and say, “How can make someone’s day?” instead of, “How can I convince people to buy what I’m selling?” Ew, that second question is not the best motivator for me.

It was so easy to go out and test the theory by randomly giving, or contacting someone I hadn’t spoken to in a while and telling them something I always liked about them. It was amazing to watch how it spiraled into all kinds of wonderfulness, and I was touched by how the simplest gesture could make someone’s day.

It seems at the same time I started getting free help from respected mentors and in-demand consultants, as well as sincere compliments back from the people I had reached out to. It is so easy and so perfect and really the way the world should and can be.

A reader named Jim Armstrong, from Yuba City, California, wrote to us about something he did at a brainstorming session with a coaching group:

“I introduced your book and led the group through a discussion of the five ways of creating value,” said Jim. “We brainstormed ideas, and I challenged the group to use the welcome sign strategy used by Marie Jakubiak’s firm [described in Chapter 1 of Go-Givers Sell More]. Three of them took me up on the challenge, including Dan Ginnaty, who implemented the strategy within 24 hours.”

And Jim then forwarded a few notes from Dan, who runs GT Flooring in Great Falls, Montana, along with some pictures Dan took:

Got our Welcome sign up with the names of four people who might’ve been coming in today. One lady did show up.

Rose [an employee] said the woman backed up, read the sign, then proceeded to my office. She did not say anything to me—but Rose said it opened her eyes. Might just work better than expected. — Dan

… and the next day, another note from Dan:

We have a long-time customer who is building a new house. Her husband told me she would be stopping with plans, so I placed her name on the Welcome sign. When she walked into the store, she stopped, read her name, then backed up to read it again and smiled ear to ear.

After working with her for several hours (we’re talking about 5,000 sqare feet of carpet), we discussed the sign. I told her about our coaching program and the idea behind the sign. I explained that our business is very personal in how we work with customers, versus a place like Walmart that just herds them through the doors.

Her words were, “I always feel welcome here, but I have never felt so welcomed.” No more to say. My investment of $57 is paying dividends. — Dan

I hesitated to tell my story because I didn’t want to be seen as a braggart. In the spirit of The Go-Giver, I had to remind myself that this isn’t about me—it’s about the value my story may bring to others by sharing it. I want people to see that, more than just a nice concept and kind way of living your life, living the Go-Giver principles really does work. BIG TIME, in fact!

I loved reading The Go-Giver and got super excited when I first learned of Go-Givers Sell More. You see, it was this very concept that inspired me to start my company nearly four years ago.

Here is a brief video clip that gives a quick sense what I mean, followed by my story.

“They made fun of me…”

At 23, I began selling cars and spent the next 11 years with one Acura dealer. As an ex-insider, I can tell you that the car business, by and large, has done plenty to earn their not-so-stellar reputation.

And, I saw that as a wonderful opportunity.

I thought, “Wow, if my clients could actually enjoy what could otherwise be a very grueling process, I can really build something here.” I envisioned a long list of clients that would continue to buy from me over and over again and send me everyone they knew.

I’d been car shopping myself just four months before entering into this new career. A restaurant manager at the time, I’d spent several months looking around, visiting dealers, and meeting all kinds of salespeople — and I do mean all kinds. After an 8-year restaurant career, I ended up going to work for the very place that had sold me a car and had truly earned my business.

At first, some of my practices were not all that well received by my managers and co-workers. They actually made fun of me for being “too nice,” making friends with my clients, spending too much time with each client and even letting a client leave without a fight so they could, “go home and think about it” or “talk it over with their spouse.”

You see, I trusted that they’d actually be back. Imagine that: trusting them to honor their word instead of going in for the high-pressure close. While this didn’t always work, it certainly felt better than the alternative — and to the amazement of my managers and co-workers, most of the time it actually was working.

Thinking back on my own experiences as a consumer, it was easy to see why clients were so leery, cautious or even fearful of the car-buying process. I decided I was going to help dissolve their fears, put their needs before my own, ask meaningful questions, listen with both ears, and earn my title of Consultant. I also learned it was important to under-promise and over-deliver. Too many people, especially in the car business, practice the exact opposite. Many of my peers saw me as a bit of a consumer advocate. I was on a mission to make car buying easy, low-pressure and even fun.

It wasn’t long before all of this began paying off. After a turnover in the management and sales staff, my new peers weren’t making fun of me. Instead, they were trying to figure out why my clients were so loyal to me. Year after year, my repeat and referral base continued to grow. My CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) was in the top 1 percent nationally. Eventually I was working by appointment only, 70 percent of my business was repeat and referral — and I’d achieved Salesman of the Year seven years in a row.

I was selling a product I believe in (still drive one today), alongside people I respected, to wonderful clients … and I was only working 35 to 40 hours a week and making a very comfortable six-figure income. Could it get any better?

I suppose I had faith from the very beginning that by investing in my clients, I was investing in my own future. By following the golden rule (or better yet, the platinum rule) I trusted that I would benefit as much as, if not more than, my clients. It felt good. It felt right.

I originally founded Driven To Excel, Inc. as a Sales Training company, setting out to share this “system” — this methodology and its best practices — with other salespeople. While today’s clients might still refer to it as “sales training,” I prefer to call it what it really is: Client Service Training. My business has since evolved into much more, but one thing remains true: I trust that by providing value and putting my clients first, it will all work out in the end. I’m living proof of it.

My hope is that anyone reading this is either able to reinforce an existing belief or have newly found faith in a mindset that will prove beneficial to all human parties involved.