strategic value

5 Keys For Teams That Move Faster

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Bob Schultek Author of  The Gauntlet Profitable growth relies upon the preservation of enduring customer relationships. Sustaining these relationships demands that a business consistently produce more strategic value for a key customer than can be gained elsewhere – value that contributes to the customer’s progress. A key factor in creating strategic value is moving faster – faster in delivering results, adapting to changing needs, and innovating. When Google wanted to move faster, they formed small, cross-functional teams to …

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Prioritizing Opportunities

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Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Promptly and efficiently evaluating multiple business opportunities can accelerate your reaction to them; move too slowly and the best opportunities may vanish. Ask these three questions for each opportunity to prioritize the alternatives by potential strategic value produced for your business: What quantifiable benefits are produced if the opportunity is successfully exploited? How soon will these benefits be realized? How likely will identified obstacles be quickly overcome? This prioritization will enable you to …

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How Customers Assess Value

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Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Whether you provide a product or a service, its value to your customers depends on their goals. Your success in earning their business depends on your ability to discover what your customer values and why. If the customer’s business is mature, then proposing solutions that reduce cost typically capture attention.  Cost reduction targets are easily identified and validated; they directly impact net profit. And, unfortunately, they make it easier …

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Why Customers Are Dissatisfied

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The most productive way to grow sales is to increase orders from current customers. Despite this proven fact, a Learning Dynamics study reports that more than 60% of companies do not consider customer satisfaction as a top priority. Reasons for customer dissatisfaction include: Few supplier personnel are aware of what customers actually do with their products or services; In about 20% of companies, sales people do not follow up with customers; senior managers do not …

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The 3 Key Moments of Enduring Customer Relationships

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It’s no secret that enduring customer relationships are grounded in what the customer believes about your organization – how they feel about your commitment to their success. There are 3 decisive moments that validate the value and endurance of your customer relationships. Doing more than expected during these 3 key moments strengthens the customer’s trust in and reliance on your company, profoundly influencing why they continue to choose you. Your “First Contact” Moment: Customers care …

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What Does Your Customer Value?

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The probability that you will earn a customer’s business increases significantly when you’ve discovered why their stated need is important to them. Does your proposal resolve a problem that helps the customer grow sales or reduce cost? These two alternative goals are really the fundamental choices faced by every business. Whether you provide a product or a service, its value to your customer depends on their goals, and their strategies to achieve them. So what …

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Is Relationship Selling Dead?

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That’s the premise of The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon. Of course, the message of the book is more subtle. What The Challenger Sale actually suggests is that your customer relationships will generate more sales only when you continue to produce strategic value for your customers. Customers have many options available to them; competitive intensity continues to grow and the pace of evolution continues to accelerate. Customers demand expertise, initiative and innovation. They expect you …

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Working with Distributors – Quotas Aren’t Enough

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The working relationship between manufacturer and distributor is often defined by sales quotas.  But using only quotas to manage this vital affiliation does not preserve the relationship’s primary, mutually beneficial purpose of sustaining growth in the market.  When that purpose is unclear, and it becomes separated from the profit motive, bad things happen. The original purpose of the manufacturer-distributor working relationship was to increase sales by expanding market coverage in local markets.  For a while, …

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3 Ways To Increase Orders From Opportunities

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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 …

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“Why” Is More Vital Than “What”

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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 …

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