The Fastest Way To Revenue
The more you need the money, the more narrowly you have to focus
on customer needs and agendas. I learned that the hard way,
struggling for several years before finally seeing the light and
making a permanent change.
In 1983 my fledgling company was among several that were trying
to market a sales training program to one of America's largest
sales organizations. Back then, The Brooks Group consisted
solely of a part-time secretary and me, though I was closely
counseled by my mentor who had tutored me about how to conduct
my business.
The large, mega prospect had expressed the desire for a complete
new sales program to guide each of its 27,000 sales
representatives in the United States. In short, it was an
enormous undertaking, and to me the contract represented the
very foundation of The Brooks Group.
With my mentor's guidance, I worked for nearly three years on
selling that training program. During that time we built
terrific frequent flier mileage accounts, placed hundreds of
long-distance phone calls, and wrote countless letters. Each
step of the way, we tried to keep our focus clearly on what the
client's real agenda was. We had to - that was the very concept
we were selling to them!
My company did well in the competition for the contract. We took
the lead and soon stood at the top of the crowd. It appeared
that we were actually going to win the contract and my dream was
going to come true: teaching my mentor's customer-focused,
needs-based selling system to thousands of salespeople.
At that point, something happened: I found it extremely
difficult to get my mind off those dollar signs. They were going
to pay the contract on a "per-head" basis! Can you imagine how
much money that totaled? It was more than I had ever dreamed. We
were going to be very well paid. Predictably, we began to
encounter snags with the contract. During the negotiations, I
fortunately realized that my focus had shifted from their needs
to my own revenues, and I understood the danger such focus
represented in nailing down the contract.
Recognizing how my focus had shifted, I refocused on the needs
that they had. I made more visits and phone calls and got things
back on track. Intermittently, my lack of experience and
discipline allowed my focus to drift. I began, once again, to
think about the new car I might soon be able to buy, the new
house I could plan, and the better life I could provide for my
family.
It was during this period that I began to understand precisely
why my focus kept shifting and I was able to learn the
discipline to redirect my focus. I fixed my focus once again on
the needs of the prospect and kept it there until we won the
contract. Throughout that entire consulting assignment, the only
time that the proposal went smoothly was when I focused on their
needs instead of my own. Like most things in life of any value,
the assignment went badly every time I focused on myself.
Paradoxically, the more you need the money, the more diligently
you must focus on your customer. Customer focus is not a fad; it
is the only certain formula for success in the sales. And that
is true no matter what it is that you sell. The product or
service makes no difference whatsoever. Today's crowded
marketplaces truly demand it. Your customers' needs will never
include making you rich or raising the value of your company's
stock. Ironically, we have found that nearly every sales person
we meet already knows at least the basic needs that their
products or services can fulfill. Yet few of them truly
understand that using that knowledge is the best way to sell
their company's products or services.
Clearly, I had a much greater impact on the client when I
focused on their needs. Much of what I learned in winning and
servicing that contract has helped me to develop my Impact
Selling plan, which is based on customer-needs focus. Since that
time we have taught the process to tens of thousands of
salespeople around the globe. The faces may change, but the
process doesn't vary. The philosophy is rock solid, proven
successful and it works. I urge you to sustain your focus on the
customer, too - and you will be amply rewarded.