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Everyone Can SellComment on this newsletter at yastrow.com One demographic group I have lots of exposure to is "white collar" and professional workers in their 40's and 50's. Within this group I see many varying degrees of success. Many are successful in terms of compensation, status, lifestyle and self-actualization. Others are frustrated by their jobs, don't believe they make enough money and feel that their careers are going nowhere. So, is there a correlating factor? Yes, I believe so. But this factor is not a technical job skill; the most successful people are not technically the best in their fields. The lawyers with the best legal skills are not always the top partners in their firms. Same with CPA's and consultants in big firms-- they are not always the most technically proficient. The dentists who do the most elegant crowns and fillings are not always the most successful dentists with the most profitable practices. Even in corporate staff positions, technical skills are not the main drivers of career growth; there are many operations executives, HR executives or chief marketing officers who are technically "inferior" to their subordinates. So what is the magic factor for success? Sales ability. The ability to persuade people to do things that drive your success. Consider this: Everyone has customers. No matter what your job is, you have customers. To explain what this means, consider my definition of a customer: A customer is anyone whose actions affect your results Think of all of the people who can do things that affect your success. If you are a professional, such as a doctor, lawyer, architect or insurance broker, these people are easy to identify. (You often call them "clients.") But even those of you who work in positions where revenue generation is not your direct responsibility have customers. For example, if you are a chief financial officer, you might need to persuade your board of directors to accept your financial strategies, or you may need to persuade other C-level peers to pay attention to certain financial metrics. If you are a VP of HR, you may have to sell management on a new employee benefit plan. Maybe you are a general manager of a hotel in a 20-property chain, and you need to persuade the VP of operations to transfer the company's best food and beverage director to your hotel. In each of these cases (as with hundreds of other examples) the decisions and actions of these "customers" have a huge impact on your success, whether you define success financially and/or by other metrics. But your customers don't always make these decisions and actions rationally. (Remember, your customers are only human.) Your ability to sell and persuade has a mega-effect on whether these people do things that will make you more successful. "Oh no!" you might be thinking, "but I'm not good at selling. I don't want to be a salesperson." Don't worry. You don't have to be a salesperson to be successful at selling, at least not in the traditional sense. Successful persuaders are most frequently not pitchmen in the mold of the late Billy Mays, the in-your-face infomercial superstar who died last week. The most successful salespeople are those who are good at building strong, sustainable "We" relationships. Not sure if you agree? Look at your own experiences as a customer. Who do you give the most business to, the slickest salespeople or those with whom you develop a relationship? I wrote a newsletter article last year about Dr. Joti Johal, the highest revenue-producing dentist working for my client, DentalCare Parnters. I don't know if Dr. Johal is the best dentist, technically, in the company, and I'm sure her patients don't know either. But her patients and I are 100% sure that she is very good at developing collaborative relationships. When I was an executive at Hyatt in my early 30's, I could look at the most successful senior executives 10-20 years older than me, and they were not always the best "hoteliers." Sure, they had great hotel management skills, but so did many other people who had not risen through the ranks. The most successful executives at Hyatt had developed a tight fabric of relationships throughout the company. You can make similar observations in just about every organization. Why do those that master "We" relationships become better salespeople? The answer most people give to this question is "trust," and, sure, the trust that comes with a relationship is important. But it goes deeper than trust. A "We" relationship will differentiate you in your customers' minds more than your technical skills will, for a few simple reasons:
The good news is that you don't need to be a natural-born salesperson to learn to build relationships. In fact, very few people are natural sales people, but most people know how to create strong relationships. Think of the people you know who couldn't sell anything, but are great at making friends. I've written a lot on the steps and skills that can help you build strong "We" relationships with your customers, as you can find on the links below. I hope you'll explore this additional information, but in this article I will summarize the key points that can make you into a persuasive "We" salesperson. These points are true even if you believe you have an aversion to sales or that you have no selling skills.
Think back to the opening of this article, and ask yourself which kind of career you want to have, that of the technically-skilled journeyman or of the relationship virtuoso. There's nothing wrong with technical skills, of course. In fact, they're really great to have. But they are often table stakes. The differentiated executive is the one who differentiates him or herself through "We" relationships. Here's another benefit of improving your customer relationship-building skills: Relationships are, in and of themselves, rewarding. Successful careers that are built on successful relationships are not only financially lucrative; they also provide many emotional, psychic and lifestyle benefits. It feels good to have strong relationships in your work. Make relationship-building a daily (hourly... "minute-ly") habit. Your career will thank your for it. Here are other resources for helping you develop your relationship-building skills... "Navigating your relationship-- Is it yar?" "Will never be played again" - Keep your moments fresh and unscripted. "I hate scripting. I love jazz." Monitor your dialogue with "The Conversationometer." Make relationship-building natural with "The Encounter Habit" Build better encounters with my free ebook, Encounters. When you interact with your customers, is it a kiss or a slap? "True Loyalty" is more than a frequent-shopper program. The "customer relationship" defined. Part one. Part two.
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Steve's free ebook, Encounters: The Building Blocks of We Relationships
Buy Steve's new book, We: The Ideal Customer Relationship In We, you will learn: We is both a manifesto and a how-to guide that will change the way you interact with customers ...and change the way your customers think about you. More praise for We “When
Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention. He is at once a wonderful
storyteller, a sophisticated purveyor of ideas, and an effective change
agent. I think We is a superb book-and I am mesmerized in particular
by Yastrow’s critical differentiation of ‘experience’
and ‘engagement’. Bravo!” "This is a fundamental shift in thinking that offers up a what's-next-beyond
experience marketing." Buy We at Get More Steve Relationships are like cockroaches Customer relationship blog posts 
Steve's first book, Brand Harmony. "I had to buy two copies. The first one is so dog-eared and underlined I couldn't read it any longer." - Seth Godin "Steve possesses an insight into the workings of the marketing process in its entirety. The book is rich in ideas and 'thought starters.' An important read for [everyone from] the young practitioner to the most senior executive. This common sense approach to business is priceless." - Paul D. Schrage, Senior Executive President of Marketing, Retired, McDonald's Corporation Buy Brand Harmony at Helpful Links: See this newsletter in your browser |
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How to help your customers think, "We" instead of "Us and Them" about their relationship with you and your company.