One of my favorite sayings is "Little things mean a lot — not true. Little things mean everything."
It is the little things that separate mediocrity and excellence, a little account and a big account.
Years ago, I was calling on the No. 2 envelope user in the Twin Cities. It took about a year before I was able to schedule an appointment. He did not buy from me at that time, but I got to know him and built my Mackay 66 Customer Profile on him.
One day I stopped in, but he was not in the office. His gatekeeper told me that his 11-year-old son was in the hospital after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle. I knew from the Mackay 66 that the kid played hockey, and his father was the coach. I went to our professional hockey team and had some of the players sign a goalie stick and shipped it to the hospital with a note.
This little gesture made the boy mighty happy. Plus, it resulted in $10 million in envelope business over the years, one of our largest accounts.
All those small actions you take, when strung together, can make an immense contribution to you reaching your goals and your dreams.
I was speaking to a real estate company and doing my research. I called one agent, who told me he had a client who was big into Disney collectibles. The agent was in a store and found a "Pirates of the Caribbean" coffee-table book on sale for $5, so he bought it and delivered it. He received 20 transactions from this person and the client's family and friends.
The little things in life total up to become bigger and more important than the big things and events. When someone calls you on the telephone, you should always greet them with animation, elation and tell them how happy you are to hear from them.
