I love Meat Loaf. Both the food and the singer.

Paradise By The Dashboard Light is a classic Meat Loaf tune about a boy and a girl — he wants…well, we know what he wants, and she wants love eternal. In the heat of the moment, the boy gives in and says, “I’ll love you till the end of time!”

He sings:

I couldn’t take it any longer
Lord I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me
Like a tidal wave
I started swearing to my god and on my mother’s grave
That I would love you till the end of time
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!

(Ok, we’ve all been there right?) But it sure sounds like some salespeople I know…

Actually, a lot of salespeople wouldn’t even go through the uncertainty faced by Meat Loaf’s boy. “Love you forever?” Well, it will close the deal…”Sure! What else do you want?”

Promises, promises.

Almost immediately after the boy dives in head first, he’s thinking twice:

So now I’m praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don’t think that I could really survive
…
I’m praying for the end of time
It’s all that I can do
Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!

Sound familiar?How often do you become a customer, only to find yourself ignored by the salesperson, or worse, the entire company that they work for? Immediately after they’ve “sealed the deal” they disappear. They don’t want to deal with you, help you, build a relationship with you. They’ve nailed you and that’s it…next!

The worst of it, is that we often accept this as the status quo, which allows companies to keep getting away with it.

Becoming a customer shouldn’t be a one-night stand.

Those companies that get that will end up being more successful. Those that don’t…for shame. This isn’t college anymore, where you can just romp around with…um…nevermind.

Meat Loaf rocks. When I hear Paradise By The Dashboard Light on the radio I still smile…it works on so many levels.