Okay, today I want to share the number one sales tip for the coming year. It is very simple and straight-forward.

Ask the Customer what they want and then Listen intently to their answer!

I am still amazed by sales people and customer service personnel who fail to get clarity regarding what is most important to the customer. The best salespeople and customer service people take the time to learn about what is important to the customer and then deliver it, if they can.

The reason this simple tip is not followed by sales people or customer service personnel is twofold. One, the agenda of the sales person or customer service is to do what they want rather than what the customer wants. This the root cause for all the hostility or confrontation in selling circles. It is also why customers get frustrated and stop doing business with a company or individual.

The second issue is a systematic issue – Rules or policies set up by a faceless non-customer oriented individual. Again, the root cause for the system to break down is they are set as an internal rule with NO consideration for the customer impact – usually negative. Bureaucratic rules and policies should be dealt with regarding the impact upon the customer. If the rules are stupid or restrictive to customer satisfaction – then they will fail in the long run. Common sense needs to gain some ground regarding these decisions.

I recently experienced this type of injustice in customer service where I was basically told I was totally out of luck regarding this issue because their records did not reflect my explanation. DUH! That was the issue, their person made an honest mistake in trying to assist me – but the impact was very negative to me! I was told over and over that their system could not correct “after the fact” mistakes! Again, DUH! When do you believe most mistakes are found? Right – “After the Fact.” I feel sorry for this organization for they will always have to compete on price rather than service levels due to their rules and policies. What a JOKE.

Remember this as you are called upon to set up rules or policies for your organization. Make rules and policies accountable to customers and customer satisfaction. Value-added is a real issue and needs to be at the top of sales, customer service and managerial groups.

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From really high levels to the lowest level of importance, this battle of Perfection or Progress goes on everyday. What is there to understand about this human condition?  There are two camps of thought. First, there is the Perfection group which looks at the world through lenses that suggest everything has to be perfect. Second, there is the Progress group which looks at world through lenses that suggest that everything is not perfect, yet, progress is being made towards that goal.

Okay, let’s look a little deeper into the two camps. First, the perfection camp where people believe that everything has to be perfect and non-perfection is totally unacceptable. Therefore, when things are not perfect (using their definition of how things should be) they need someone to blame for the imperfection. They look for fault or someone to “take the blame” for their expectations not being met. They do not care if the other person or group’s self esteem is damaged by their attacks because it is their fault for the imperfection!

The Progress group or individual looks at the world as a “under construction” project. They believe that moving forward – no matter how fast or slow – is still moving forward and should therefore be celebrated. They focus upon what has been accomplished or achieved relative to where they were in the past. Improvement is the goal rather than perfection. They believe that “done is better than perfect” and feel good about incremental improvement as well as radical advances.

This really is a pure people issue and each individual’s growth depends upon which camp they choose to be in everyday. A healthier point of view is to join the progress team. This allows for individuals to achieve at higher levels, to grow personally, and accept responsibility and accountability for their results. This provides the catalyst for higher self-esteem and confidence. The perfectionist is always looking for someone to blame for a lack of results ( again defined as their expectations rather than true facts). This usually leads to lower self-esteem and a lack of self confidence.

These issues can be coached and corrected. Join the progress team. Call us at 901.757.4434 and ask about our Personal Kaizen process.

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