Mark Matteson
Contributing Writer
Sparking Success

My meeting was with Laura, a facilities and asset manager who was smart, kind, and caring. She had a client who was unhappy.

She asked, “Would you go with me to talk with this client? She represents 25 percent of a building that is only 65 percent occupied.”

In the Class A commercial building market, a building that is 70 percent occupied is breaking even. This one was losing money.

“Certainly,” I said with confidence. “I am in the tenant retention business. My real job is to keep your tenants in their place!” “Pardon me?” Laura exclaimed as if I had just insulted her father. I clarified, “Staying and paying in YOUR building. That’s my real job. Let’s go see her and find out why she is unhappy.”

Laura smiled that ‘I like your style’ smile. “Let’s go, I’ll drive,” she said, shaking her head. She had an ally.

As we sat in the lobby, Laura was visibly nervous. The woman we were about to meet had been less than kind to Laura; she was playing hardball with the lease negotiation. As the unhappy tenant sauntered into the room, the temperature dropped 15 degrees. She was the “Ice Maiden.” Laura introduced us and she declined my outstretched hand.

“We have come to try to understand your concerns and challenges and come up with a win-win solution,” I said with a smile. She glared at me, like a cat about to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse. I explained to her that I represented the finest HVAC service company in the city. “Better men than you have tried and failed to solve our comfort and noise problems!” she retorted.

Ouch! Keeping Dale Carnegie’s principles in mind, I said, “You have a right to feel the way you feel. I would feel the exact same way. If I had gone through all you have, I wouldn’t be as kind as you are now.”

I paused for effect and continued, “We intend to put the Michael Jordan of air- conditioning on your facility. I am going ask a favor of you. Please suspend any judgment of Laura or of us. Please give us 30 days to sort out your challenges before you throw us out. Fair enough?” You couldn’t cut the frozen air with a Ginzu knife. Her pause felt like it lasted an hour. At last she said, “Okay, a month. If it isn’t any better in here, I’m moving out. We have another building we really like.”

Ah, yes, the old “take-away close”.

Laura breathed a deep sigh of relief. As she and I walked out to the car, she said, “I hope your tech is good, or both of us are out of luck.” I smiled. “He’s the best. He lives for problems like this.”

Carlton was the best. In the first two days, he found control wiring that had been incorrectly installed, a bad bypass damper, a disconnected economizer, a failed compressor, and a bunch of bad karma.

When we went back in two weeks, the client was a different person. She had been transformed; now she reminded me of the “Good Witch” from the Wizard of Oz. I am certain I saw a halo.

She said, “Carlton is amazing. It’s so quiet and comfortable in here. I am sorry I was so rude to you before.”

“I understand,” Laura said. “Here are the lease papers. Five years.” The Good Witch signed them.

What business are you really in? For the longest time, I was in “tenant retention”. Now I “raise the bar” in organizations, to inspire people to change and grow, to positively impact morale, productivity, and profit.

What if you put yourself in your customer’s shoes for a while? What if you asked yourself:

1. What do they really need from me/us?
2. How can I better understand their issues, concerns, and challenges?
3. How do they make money?
4. How does what I do or offer impact their bottom line?
5. What keeps them up at night, tossing and turning?

The more time I invest in the discovery process, the better position I will be in to significantly impact performance, people, and process.