The "Outer Limits"

When I was growing up their was a great television show called “The Outer Limits”. It was kind of a Science Fiction deal. What I remember most about the show was the spectacular opening where we we’re warned not to touch the TV and they would be in control of all we would see and hear. (Click on the You Tube and you will see what I’m talking about.)

Harvard’s Ted Levitt's "Total Customer Concept" provides a lens or device that is a great tool to help businesses and salespeople move into “The Outer Limits” of their serving potential. In Tom Peter’s book Thriving On Chaos, he does a wonderful job walking us through Levitt’s device as it applies to Nordstroms, a store most readers have access to. I have my own Nordstrom story that I’ll undoubtedly share in a later post.

At the generic level, the store provides four walls and the category of goods traditional to an upscale specialty clothing retailer. At the expected level, hours are standard and fashions are timely. At the augmented level, Nordstroms spends heavily on “overstaff” the sales floor with “over paid” people by traditional standards. It likewise “overspends” to insure availability of more sizes and colors than usual. And it “overspends” again to maintain numerous, close-to-the-market buying offices which cater to specialized, local tastes.

It is at the potential level, however, that Nordstrom really lives it’s “No Problem at Nordstrom” logo: the flowers in the dressing rooms; a grand piano, with pianist, in each store, the losses from the few who doubtless do take advantage of the “return anything” policy; the empowerment of salespeople to deal with almost all problems on the spot; the routine performance of exceptional acts of service, such as the ones described above.

Peter’s suggests that it is at “The Outer Limits”, the circles of augmentation and potential that huge differences are made in the buying experience and thus customer loyalty. It is at ‘The Outer Limits” where these companies take “complete control” of your perception of what you “see and hear”. He goes on to say that most of this is done through a thousand tiny differentiating details, non of which is very earth-shaking on it’s own.

Assuming you don’t already work in a Nordstrom type of operation, your job as a Servant Sales Person is to start “A Revolution” from the bottom, the middle, or where ever you happen to work. The place to start is with your area of direct control. As you deliver consistent augmented and potential service in your own domain, begin the process of pushing it out into other parts of the organization. Just make sure you get your part in “The Outer Limits” first.

Lets’ get started. Make a list of what would be considered Basic (Generic), Better (Expected), Best (Augmented), and Breakaway (Potential) in your job. Keep working with your list. This is a career long exercise.

Basic (Generic):

Better (Expected):

Best (Augmented):

Breakaway or Break Through (Potential):