One Simple Word Became Sam Walton’s Most Powerful Persuasion Tool
Sam the man. Supercenters, neighborhood markets, xxxx stores across America; Sam Walton did something pretty amazing. If you dig into the way he talked and wrote, you’ll find that Sam was relentlessly driven by customer experience.
In 1989, Sam shared a message with Walmart associates about exceeding customer expectations. There’s always a lot to learn from Sam Walton and how he communicated, but let’s take a closer look at two tools Sam uses to communicate in this letter.
What idea is Sam selling?
“More and more, I’m convinced exceeding our customers’ expectations must be our strategy.”
Exceeding customer expectations. Three words. Simple, clear, and woven through this entire letter. The word “exceed” is used six times. The word “expectation” seven times. And the word “customer” 20 times.
This letter is nothing if not focused.
So how does Sam sell this idea?
First, Sam doesn’t avoid the problem. In his communications, he’s always being upfront and frank about the challenge. For example…
“Competition will continue to improve. Our Company’s future survival, in my opinion, depends on…”
In Good to Great, Jim Collins calls this “confronting the brutal facts” and it’s necessary. Productive change only begins when leaders confront the brutal facts and that’s what Sam does here. He’s not being vague or avoidant. Sam is actively surfacing the challenges that Walmart faces.
How else does Sam sell this idea?
The second technique Sam uses is the one that I appreciate the most:
“Let me cite an example … Department Manager … learned that a customer had purchased a picnic table … The hardware was not enclosed … and the customer could not get back some 20 miles to our store … drove his pickup to the other Wal-Mart, picked up the hardware, took it to our customer … and helped her put the table together … we have a customer there for life!”
Here Sam uses an example. Real examples are such a great way to communicate. Showing, not telling. Exemplification. Sam uses this to move his associates from the theoretical to the practical.
But Sam doesn’t use this tool once, he uses it twice. Later on he says:
“Consider this example ... Imagine if you bought a new pair of shoes … A week later, a sole begins to come off and you take them back. You drive through heavy traffic, spend 15 minutes finding parking space, explain the problem … and you’re given a new pair of shoes. … Are you happy? … no … had to take time out of day, go to a lot of trouble, and get what should have had in the first place … What should have been done? … Besides giving me a new pair of shoes … should have thrown in a pair of socks … The store’s message should be: “We really regret your inconvenience and want to make you happy.”
Here, Sam creates a vignette and he starts it of with a simple word that has significant power: “Imagine.” When Sam uses the word “imagine” he’s commanding the reader’s brain to run a mental simulation. The science behind how this works is pretty amazing. Whether he knew it or not, Sam is transporting his listeners (using a concept called narrative transportation) into the narrative he’s creating. This helps make his listeners more susceptible to his message because they are living it out in their minds. And the sensory details he uses make this effect especially engaging.
What can we learn?
When you have an important message to communicate, don’t forget these two lessons we can learn from Sam Walton.
Confront the brutal facts. The problem is important. Don’t avoid it.
Make the idea real, concrete.
(resolution)
Note: Quotes have been edited to improve readability while preserving meaning and voice.
