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Catch People  Doing Things Right

When I first meet with a client, I want to know: what is this organization doing right?  I assume that they wouldn’t still be in business (least of all able to hire me) if they weren’t doing something that customers were buying into.  So my goal is to discover what some of the things they are doing right, and help them accentuate these qualities to their customers.

What does it mean to “play to your strengths”?

An old paradigm for business improvement is to “fix the gaps” - that is, look for the holes and try and fill them.  You can spend a lot of time filling holes, because - just like people - organizations have weaknesses that are part and parcel of who they are.  It’s kind of the easy way out though - to look from the outside and see what’s missing or to poke holes in a strategy or a sales team.

How much effort in your business is focused on coaching “from the top” rather than under performers?

What’s harder is to look beyond the obvious “problems” to find out what’s working, and then leverage what’s working into more effective strategies that suit the organization and the people in them.  There’s a method called appreciative inquiry, which you can read more about here.

Let me give you an example.  I worked with a company that made a complex technical widget to do with manufacturing.  The company wasn’t flashy or sexy, but they made a very intricate product that had to be tailored to each individual customer.  Further to that, there was a “middle man” in the sales chain, an outside broker who was not as technically savvy but was the funnel for clients.  It didn’t leave them a lot of room to get polished at top performance sales techniques.

In interviewing the executive team, I found out that the company’s greatest asset was its technical knowledge.  They could answer the most detailed of questions that had my brain reeling trying to grasp the meaning, much less the way it would be used in a factory.  So the leverage point, the strength of this company was technical knowledge, and I encouraged them to get it down on paper, in short, clear documents that they could use to support their middle men when a sale was being transacted.  This not only helped their customer but created stronger bonds with the middle men as well.

Sell on features?  No…  Build solutions!

Learning how to leverage strengths in an organization, and in individual’s performance is a new art, but one that reaps productivity, engagement and results.  Best of all, it leaves people in a place of strength and achievement.

And who doesn’t want to live there?

Success builds on success.  Repeatable succcess builds excellence and innovation.

I posted the audio-bite of the book launch the other day, but I thought it would be fun to include the power point presentation for those of you who like things visually rather than through audio.  We try and accomodate all styles.

This is a short, fun bite of the book’s 5 principles including illustrations from the book.

Check it out stop-selling-and-dsv-mini-launch-presentation

Given the last post, I thought it would be fun to share with you how the phrase “It’s the economy stupid” spawned a whole business abroad for politicos selling their services.

Check out the Jon Stewart interview with the author of “Alpha Dogs” where it gets mentioned the campaign didn’t translate so well in Mexico.  As smart as these guys are, that’s one place they forgot to know their client…in their own language.

James Harding on The Daily Show talking about the economy stupid

Bill Clinton is off the political stage again…for now.  But I thought it might be interesting to consider what did Bill Clinton taught us about strategic sales.

The Conclusion:

Many of us remember the catch phrase “It’s the economy, stupid!”  It was famous for keeping Clinton and his team focused on the key that would make the difference in the 1992 election.

What has this got to do with strategic sales? 

It’s easy for us to get focused on “strategic”, “advice”, “relationship”, etcetera… isn’t it what many of us   want?  Be in the advisory game, not the product game.

The reality is that clients dont’ go looking for “relationships” with providers.  They are built on a series of successful transactions.  One at a time.  Don’t make each event “valuable”?  Then don’t pass Go.

 The power of focus and tactical execution:

the back story… as a speaker Clinton was a rambler, a meander-er.  He could talk on anything, riffing whatever was the latest issue or the opposition’s attempt to call him out…but that wasn’t what was needed to close the deal for the presidency.  He put signs everywhere to remind himself that “It’s the economy, stupid!”

By focusing on the economy in 1992, he came from behind and won big. The phrase was so powerful, spin doctors took it to use in elections around the world.  It worked because it kept him focused, it kept his eye on the right ball at the right time.

So how does Bill’s message to himself relate to strategic sales professionals?

You got to walk your talk.

Every strategic sales professional uses words like “strategic” and “value-added”. That’s all very nice to demonstrate that you know what words to use - but like all business terms they lose power with repetition and no follow through.

Remember “It’s the transaction!”

Clients don’t measure the words; they measure the actions and results.  They want solid execution of transactions - the confidence in your focus - before we earn the right” to be seen as “strategic” or “preferred relationship”.” And it is an earning process.  No “know us”, no relevant solutions, no service.  All the quack, quack in the world will not prop up empty “strategic words”.

So … execute solidly - early and often.  Take care of the details.  Build on a solid foundation. Do Something Valuable.  As I like to say “Know Your Client Warm”.  Get out your copy of “Stop Selling and Do Something Valuable” and do up that agenda or summary letter.  Engage your client with it.  Create a path to be more strategic and earn the trust of the people (in your client’s organization) in the meantime.

P.S. Bet Hillary wishes she had committed to one simple focus this year, rather than over-reaching and under-performing.

The best feeling in the world is holding a copy of your own book after the long, long process of writing it.  I celebrated my first publication in a wee bar in Toronto in late fall of 2007.  Here is an audio recording where I pay homage to Wiley and his persistent (and unsuccessful) attempts to implement ACME sales technique … dsv-mini-launch-11-08-07