Have you ever heard the phrase “he went the extra mile”? I want to talk to you about the “extra mile” in a way that might help you understand it and use it to build customer loyalty.

The extra mile is an action or an expression that sparks a WOW! in the mind of a customer or co-worker. It’s an unexpected deed. But before an extra mile is ever walked or executed, it has to be an attitude and a mindset within the extra-miler.

I want to talk about where the extra mile comes from, where extra-mile stories are created and how powerful they are, and how those extra-mile stories create the foundation for a company that goes from good to great to world-class – using the power and the strength of internal and external loyalty, combined with doing the right thing.

The extra mile comes from YOU. And extra-mile stories come from you – based on your ability to react, respond, recover and use your best skills in time of need.

The interesting part about the extra mile is that it usually begins when something goes wrong or is in urgent need of attention. The weather. The service call. The broken equipment. The inventory. The delivery. Co-worker needs. Customer needs. Or when incidents or accidents occur that are beyond your control when they happen – but in your control in the way that you respond to them and the way you react to them.

The underlying element in the extra mile is your prevailing attitude at the moment an extra-mile opportunity shows up. If you’re in a bad mood or a down mood based on other things that have happened throughout your day, the odds are, when an opportunity arises to turn something bad into something great, you won’t even see it. You’ll look at it as “one more thing in a bad day.”

Bad days are self-inflicted. You give them to yourself. And it’s likely when you give them to yourself, you’re also giving them to others. In order for an extra-mile incident to occur, and an extra-mile story to blossom, you must be mentally prepared to make it occur and make it blossom.

You’ve all heard the saying “When it rains lemons, make lemonade.” That’s easy to say when it’s NOT raining lemons.

Your challenge is to have a bowl of sugar and a lemon squeezer at your desk at all times, and in your mind at all times, so that when someone calls with a complaint, with an emergency or with an obstacle of any kind, your first thought is “What is the real opportunity here?” And your second thought is “How can I help?”

The extra-mile measurement is “AM I DOING MY BEST?” That is the mantra by which you guide your career and your life.

Doing your best and having the right attitude is the only way the extra-mile process works. It works because you make it work. It happens because you make it happen.

There’s one extra-mile story in you every week. Your job is to recognize it, document it, learn from it and get into the habit of being an extra-mile person. You won’t have to tell your own extra-mile stories – people will begin to tell them about you.

Customer loyalty results when you take loyal actions on behalf of the customer. It’s not the everyday things; it’s the everyday things done BEST.

The secret has already been revealed twice in this column, but I want to be certain you get it. Best actions and extra-mile actions are possible only when your mindset and attitude are set on positive.

All things are possible in your life and in your career, if you will only dedicate yourself to the continuing process of thinking you’re best, being your best and going the extra mile.

If you want my formula for loyalty, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the words LOYALTY FORMULA in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by  phone at (704) 333-1112 or by  e-mail at <a href="mailto:salesman@gitomer.com"salesman@gitomer.com.  © 2007 Jeffrey H. Gitomer