Is Your Organization Relevant?  

The Idea:  Intuit’s Founder Scott Cook reminds us, “A brand is no longer what we tell consumers it is, it is what consumers tell each other it is.”  Stories of your company culture, your leadership style, and the quality of your sales organization are being passed around from customer to customer.  Whether you like it or not, you’ve been branded.  Customers are sharing stories around the campfire about their experience with you and your organization.   Have some noticed that you talk too much or have difficulty listening?  Are they saying, “it is all about you,” and they feel forgotten?    

Do you know how you are perceived?  And is your organization relevant?

Most marketing teams undervalue the role of an elite sales organization in advancing the image of their brand.  World class sales organizations are an essential part of any brand experience. In fact, they are the catalyst to creating your first brand impression.  However, the data shows that most sales organizations are not creating unforgettable customer experiences.  What is missing is a singular, seamless message.  This message must be a creation drawing on the best of your sales, marketing, and design insights.  Also, you must openly and fearlessly co-develop solutions, products, and promotions with your retail partners.

What’s the problem?

Harvard’s David Collis stated, “most executives cannot articulate the objective, scope, and advantage of their business in a simple statement.”  In fact, forty-three percent of managers cannot clearly state their own business strategy.  If you don’t understand your own strategy, your level of execution will fall, and so will your relevance.  

How do you show up with your customers?

Here is clue.  Ask yourself how you perform against the following ten insights:

  1. Seventy percent of people make purchasing decisions to solve problems. Thirty percent make decisions to gain something.  Have you created a curious organization that uncovers and solves hidden problems that the customer is not aware of?   Source:  Impact Communications
  2. Visuals are processed 60,000x faster than text. When sharing ideas with the customer, do you create engaging visual experiences, or do you rely too much on words?   Source:  Neo Mammalian Studios
  3. After a presentation, only five percent remember statistics while sixty-three percent remember stories.  Is your organization addicted to facts or practiced at telling stories that build trust? Source:  Authors Chip and Dan Heath
  4. Fifty percent of sales go to the first salesperson to contact the prospect.  Is your sales team quick to strike and adept at uncovering new trends which are right around the corner?
    Source:  InsideSales.com
  5. A customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service-related rather than price- or product-related.  Do you have a culture that creates emotional and authentic experiences with your most valuable customers?    Source:  Bain & Company
  6. According to Bain & Co, it costs 6–7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. Do you emphasize growing share of wallet with your best customers instead of always trying to sell to anyone with a heart beat?   
  7. Ninety-six percent of unhappy customers don’t complain, however ninety-one percent of those will simply leave and never come back. Do you invest in unbiased customer interviews to better understand your customer service blind spots?    Source:  1Financial Training services
  8. A dissatisfied customer will tell up to 15 people about their bad experience. Once you uncover a customer problem are you empowered to fix it without having to go up the ladder?  
     Source:  White House Office of Consumer Affairs
  9. Seventy percent of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.  Is your team flexible, empathetic and adaptive to the personality style and needs of the customer?      Source:  McKinsey  
  10. In 2007 it took an average of 3.68 cold call attempts to reach a prospect. Today it takes 8 attempts.  Is your team resilient, tenacious, and always exploring new ways to initiate or advance a business relationship?       Source:  TeleNet and Ovation Sales Group 6

When evaluating your sales capabilities don’t sugarcoat the risks and your weaknesses. An honest list of potential threats, weaknesses and a plan to develop new skills demonstrates you are serious about creating an elite and healthy culture.

How serious are you in moving the team to the next level?