When you have one customer whose business represents more than 25% of your revenue, then you have a “gorilla” customer. If you don’t have one now, you will likely get one at some point. If you are already in this position, then you’re probably feeling vulnerable. What happens if you lose this customer? Don’t be afraid of the gorilla customer – you certainly shouldn’t refuse additional work they’re offering. It’s likely that your business with …
Managing a customer’s objection to your proposal involves discovering the motive for the objection, plus determining if the objection can be overcome. If a customer is ready to do business but still has some concerns, these 4 steps can help you deal with the open issues and progress towards agreement with the customer. 1. Find a point of agreement. When a customer challenges you or your proposal (“Your price is high”), don’t counter or debate …
You probably recall a time when you failed to act quickly enough to take advantage of an opportunity. We tend to realize missed opportunities after the fact. Evaluating and responding to new opportunities is a key growth driver. Your team may be so consumed with the tasks at hand that they don’t recognize the potential of a new opportunity when it appears. 1. Recognize the opportunity. Not every opportunity is worthy of extra focus, so …
Most leaders know what is expected of them to get the job done – evaluating, planning, organizing, executing & managing. They also realize that leadership is primarily about influence, not power. Leaders rely on others to accomplish the necessary work, so why do your people choose to follow you? Most leaders recognize the need to earn their team’s respect. Just because you have been anointed as leader doesn’t ensure that people will choose to follow …
During the recent World Cup event, one of the best players was asked why he was so successful and he replied, “I never go to where the ball is – I always move to where the ball is going to be.” When you propose solutions to meet a customer’s needs, aim for where they want to go. When you are developing solutions to solve a customer’s problem or meet a stated need, think first about …
Conversations with new prospects initially focus on what you have to offer. Their first priority is to learn if your business is credible and can fulfill their requirements. What happens next determines if you will gain preference versus your competitors. Once your business is validated as a potential supplier, you get to turn the dialogue towards “why” you are the best possible supplier. Prospects become customers once they discover “why” you seek their business – the right “why” response …
It’s Greek: from the verb poiew (to make, to fabricate). It is the root of our word “poetry” which for us is a noun but in its Greek root it is a verb. It is a conjunction point: work & thought; matter & time; begetting & bringing forth; it is a sense of movement. In the twentieth century in both philosophy and literature the sense of “Poeisis” defines a movement “from” something “to” something: examples …
Latin this time not Greek; from the ancient writer Lucretius (“De Rerum Natura”; “On the Nature of Things) His book was lost to us for a thousand years and then suddenly rediscovered by Poggio Bracciolini in 1417 in the library of a dusty German Monastery. Lucretius used the word “climanem” to describe a “swerve” an inclination, a bias, a movement that originates at the atomic level (Lucretius translating and expanding the thought of Epicurus) but impacts all areas …
When we recently celebrated our national birthday, I happened to be in the UK. It was fascinating to celebrate our Independence Day with some family and friends who are citizens of Great Britain. The highlight for me was experiencing a reading of the Declaration of Independence as part of a 1776 reenactment in an American town receiving the momentous pronouncement of freedom. The opportunity to again hear the famous words made me realize how much the act of binding …
Does your investment in social media help you keep customers and find new ones? Do your social media initiatives drive customer loyalty and acquisition? A 2011 Gallup research study of more than 17,000 social media users discovered that company or brand sponsored social media initiatives “have very little impact on B-to-B customer decision making. Nor do they drive prospective customers to consider trying a brand or recommending a brand to others in their social network.” Most …
