In any business, anywhere you can be a salesman and increase your income and opportunities.
This is my story about how a taxi driver turned out to be a great salesman.
When I think about a taxi driver I think about a over-educated, under paid, grumpy driver, angry with the economy for not letting him use his education.
My story
Last week I flew from Oslo (where I work) to Stockholm (where we have our head office) for a meeting.
When I got off the plane and hailed a cab I was met by a kind man from Egypt.
We started talking and really hit it off. It turned out he was a helicopter pilot, something that was not very usual in Sweden. Sadly the need isn’t that large either.
We talked about his family, my family and a lot of different subjects.
It was a very nice ride.
The drive is about 30 minutes and after about 15 I started thinking about Joel Weldons story “The Willie Effect” about a taxi driver who is a great salesman.
I was wondering if my taxi driver would turn out to be as good a salesman.
He asked for the repeat business
When we started getting near my goal, he asked when I was leaving.
I told him later the same day, so he asked if I wanted him to pick me up.
Since the ride had been great I saw no reason to turn him down, so he got the repeat ride.
If he hadn’t asked he wouldn’t have gotten it
The easy fact that he asked for the deal proved what we always say, “you need to ask for the order to get it.”
I would have loved to go with him again (and I said yes) but I would never have asked him to pick me up.
The return trip
It turned out I had calculated the time a little poorly. I had a lot less time to get to the airport than I would have liked.
To make matters worse, it had started snowing (remember this is Stockholm, Sweden).
I called my taxi driver and it turned out he had been in an accident. On the icy roads another car had hit his.
But he told me he was on his way, just a little late.
I waited 15 minutes and then saw him come speeding around the corner.
I leapt into the car, noticing the dent in the door.
He told me that the other car hadn’t been able to stop, run through a stop sign and hit his car.
In his hurry to pick me up he had forgotten to take the telephone number of the other car, luckily he had the registration plates.
We hurried to the airport
He kept changing lanes, getting us as fast as possible to the airport.
I wasn’t at all as social, I kept looking at my watch keeping an eye on how long time I had left.
At last, 20 minutes before take off we make it to the airport.
We almost crashed
The last turn, he lost control over the car, we started sliding off the road and almost hit a light pole, we missed by 20 cm (8 inches).
With our hearts in our throats, we said good bye and I ran to the gate.
My plane was delayed
It turned out that all our hurry was unnecessary, because of the weather my flight was delayed by 1 hour.
I sent him an SMS thanking him for his help
He replied with a your welcome.
I boarded the plane and was at last on my way back to my dear Norway.
This is what I saw when I landed
He had sent me another SMS.
“No matter how bad a situation is, it will always improve”.
I was stunned
Not only was it a great quote, but he sent me it.
That is exactly the kind of value I like.
Next time I go to Stockholm I am looking up his number and calling him.
He got himself a blog post, not many taxi driver have scored that
Not only did he get a repeat customer, but he got a blog post!
How many taxi drivers have got that?
He is the first I have met (that I know of) and the first taxi driver I have ever written about.
Conclusion
By doing your job, well, you get the repeat business and make twice the money. You need to ask for the order and then over achieve.
This goes for any and all businesses. If you do extra, you will be rewarded.
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Photo Credit: Ben Fredericson (xjrlokix)
