Whether it’s a customer trip or going on-site to your company’s headquarters there is only one state that you should return in – sheer exhaustion.
Why?
Whomever is sending you to that location is paying for the following;
- Travel
- Accommodations
- Food & Drink (not always in that order)
These are the tangible monies that are being spent, which are very easy to quantify, the intangibles of a customer visit is where the real value comes lives;
- Time invested by all resources on-site to ensure you have everything you need – equipment, projectors, meeting rooms, etc
- Disruption to people on that site who are clearing their schedule to work with you and get the most out of your short time together.
- The support network of your team back at the office who are on standby when your demo blows up – if you are in a different timezone – they are rotating around your schedule to make sure you put your best foot forward.
At this point in the game, the customer has already brought your product and/or service, now they want to see what value-add comes along with your wares.
Should you ever get onto a plane/train/automobile after going on a customer visit and feel refreshed and relaxed on your travels home than you haven’t put in enough effort to show that value to your customer. I come home from trips exhausted, but exhilarated by what was accomplished, last week I literally went from front-door to bed in 2 minutes flat.
The best reward is your customer looking forward to your next visit from the value you created with this first interaction.
