3 Days ago I took delivery of a 1993 Honda Today. A used car I had bought from a very small dealership. After cleaning the entire car the following day, I decided to drive it to the super market as well as fill up the gas. Unfortunately, the engine cranked only a few times before the battery died and I was left in disappointment.

The following day I went back to the dealership and borrowed some jumper cables to charge the battery. However, even after charging the battery the car still wouldn’t start. As I mentioned, the car was very low on gas so I figured maybe it had run out of gas from the dealership to my house. We called the gas station and one of the station employees brought $10 worth of gas to my house. Unfortunately, the car still didn’t start and I had no tools at all. To my surprise, the attendant said he would get some tools and be back in about 10 minutes.

He spent about 15-20 minutes cleaing plugs and checking wires (while continuously charging the battery) and the car finally started. When I asked how much, he told me it was the service that came with the gas. I didn’t know what to say. Since I had to buy a new battery, I made sure to stop by and fill up the rest of my tank at his gas station. Due to the extra service I received, I will continue to use this gas station whenever possible for as long as I am here.

When you surpass someones expectations, you shock them. That shock makes you stand out from your competition and makes them remember you. Most businesses tend to compete on price, better product, or quicker service. The problem is that these don’t break the expectations. They leave no “shock value”. Nothing to make the customer think your product or service is different. People expect the product to be better and cheaper. What they don’t expect is the coffee shop that offers to wash your car while you wait or the car salesman that’s totally honest.

This doesn’t just hold true for companies. This same thing applies with your job and even with your relationships. Seth Godin, one of the top selling athors on marketing recently wrote a post tilted “The Marketer’s Attitude” discussing what he would look for in a good marketer. Basically, things that are out of the norm and exceptional. As Seth Godin says, “They’ve seen it all before“. What will make you stand out? Are you the employee who uses less budget and gets more done or the one who does the average? Are you the friend who always shows up late or the friend who never forgets to send a birthday card?

If you want to stand out, you need to be exceptional!

Other helpful posts on being different

Presentation Zen on A Whole New Way of Presenting

The Secret to Standing Out

And of course, be sure to read The Purple Cow. A great book on standing out from your competition.

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