directedfocus

Providing a guarantee is a way of assuring customers that what is promised is delivered.

Guarantees can take a number of forms ... regardless a guarantee is about honouring your word.

What you say you will do or deliver ... if you don't then the guarantee applies.

Many businesses are now using unlimited guarantees as a way of enticing customers into a transaction.

• Car makers are offering a "Five Year Unlimited Kilometer Warranty"
• Retail Products are now offering money back guarantees.
• Internet sites are offering 30 day to even 12 month 100% money back no questions asked guarantees.

Is any guarantee actually worth anything?

"I guarantee it" used to be enough, when people were as good as their word and the lawyers didn't get involved.

A guarantee is worth little if you never planned to honour it in the first place.

eBay uses buyer ratings to encourage good behaviour when it comes to product description, delivery and incessintly reminds you that you haven't completed the required form. That star rating is the arbitrar.

Retailers face all sorts of legal requirements when it comes to providing products that are of merchantable quality and more. Facing a store owner across the counter with other customers in the store can be a great lever to get what was supposed to be delivered.

On the internet where you can hide on the other side of the world, what's the value of a money back guarantee, in fact any guarantee?

This is where the honesty and credibility of the site owner comes into play.

• I've helped 26,421 people acheive blah blah blah
• I've worked with 127 Fortune 500 Companies
• You can find references to 321,456 web sites saying all sorts of lovely things about me
• More than 60,000 organisations and 2,000,000 of their employees have used my products

Ok so I'm really piling it on here ... but I figure you are getting my drift.

What is your "word" worth?

What about your guarantee or commitment to yourself?

I was speaking to Mary, a prospective client, yesterday and she was asking whether she could pay me on performance or an outcome basis as a way of guaranteeing she got value for money?

Sounds logical, especially as I'm all about outcomes. The problem was that Mary had made contact with me on three previous occasions wanting to work together, and her everyday busyness keeps getting in the way.

So Mary want's me to guarantee my commitment but what about her's ... history has shown that she is reluctant to honour her side of the agreement.

Mary knows what her business is capable of achieving, about double what it is right now, she has lots of options to make that happen and the skills as well. The guarantee Mary needs is her's, not mine. A guarantee that she will commit to the outcome she seeks.

If you are going to offer a guarantee, or seek a guarantee then begin with ... what is my commitment to seeing this transaction, relationship or agreement through to completion?