“The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work.”
~ Richard Bach ( Author )

There are only 8 more Selling Days in remaining in September and in the Quarter!!!

And ultimately people are gonna serve their own best interest no matter what anyhow, so that’s the nature of politics or the word we live in for that matter. Strangely enough it’s almost when things get too polarized nothing happens. It’s only when there’s kind of a middle of the road and people can negotiate that things actually start to move forward, but somebody’s got to hold a vision of what forward looks like and that’s where you and I come in and somebody has to be willing to listen to that and follow along with that.

So, focusing on outcomes, what are we trying to accomplish? What’s the purpose of this division or department? So, if we could just build outcome thinking into our day to day lives or our sales process or our next action thinking. Look, what are the purposes? How do we allocate resources to fulfill that purpose?

So, thinking about outcomes like “Why are we doing what we’re doing?” I think that’s actually started to take place a good bit to getting more done, being more efficient and more effective. But I’d approach it like anything. Soon as I had the job it was like great out of all the things I need to be considering, where’s this whole ship going, you know, and how do we allocate resources to get there. It’s just the common sense way to think about how do you manage things. But I would just bring that common sense to whatever I was dealing with.

There can be no assumptions. This “for what purpose” stuff is not trying to get anybody to believe anything.  Look, if you want to get from here to there and with the least amount of effort you must stay focused. So each of us can be irrational and have fun about it. The problem is if you’re irrational and not managing the rest of your life, pretty soon you won’t have the freedom to be irrational anymore, they’ll put you away or you won’t be able to afford anything. So at some point you want to be able to have enough structure to give you the freedom you want to do.

Do you see yourself as a salesperson? Well, I wind up selling people on the idea or our services simply because I’m enthused about it, have a passion for what I do and they can, you know, pretty much they kind of believe it because I talk from a very real experiential base about what we do in transportation. In a way, I suppose those are the best salespeople, who actually believe, really aren’t trying to sell you but telling you a story – what about you do you have a story to tell? 

Go out and have a Great Selling Day and make a difference in at least on person’s life today.

I get a bird’s eye view of what some of the most successful record management companies whether it is record storage, shredding or imaging in the world are doing to differentiate themselves with client interaction, and here are the three things I find to be most compelling:

1. Investing in building business acumen, not features and benefits. The most effective organizations are not just teaching their people how to manage an effective sales process, but also putting rigor to understanding the details behind client decision making. They are throwing the elevator pitches away for client-specific value propositions.
2. Involving clients in strategic activity. It’s one thing to have a business review and get feedback on how you can service your clients better, but that’s not different. To dare to be different is to get your best clients behind the scenes and have them help shape your product development and overall product/service enhancement. This brings the organization closer to the customer and transforms your role from a record management supplier to partner. It also helps your customer articulate the ways you are different from the others.
3. Getting executive involvement. One thing I see that says an organization is serious about staying ahead on the differentiation curve is when the most senior executives are engaged with customers. I’m not talking about reacting to client satisfaction issues or sitting in on a couple of business reviews a year. C-Suite execs in these organizations are involved in internal opportunity and account reviews. They can speak the language that their sales managers speak. They view accounts as strategic assets. Client centricity is in the culture because it is a strategic priority at the top, and strategies are focused on understanding customers.

Whether you think my advice is basic and your company is already there or I’ve caused you to think about this topic, I want to leave you with one challenge; a dare, if you will. On your next business reviews with your biggest clients, ask them why they do business with you. I guarantee you will learn something that will take you one step closer to understanding how to differentiate yourself.