As we all move forward, our plans and strategies will evolve. That well-overused term – the New Normal, is a challenge all selling organizations face. Examining the future durability of our business models will result in adjustments and in some cases, major overhauls. But before we gather our socially-distanced management teams in conference rooms for the dreaded SWOT analysis updates, looking through the microscope at our operations, we should be grabbing telescopes instead. For the answer isn’t in looking in but in looking out. Looking out at our clients and more importantly, looking out for our clients. Client-centricity. It’s never been more important than right now.
Think about it. Your transportation logistics client that generated 80% of their revenues from the airline industry has seen Virgin Australia, Trans-State, Avianca, Compass and others simply disappear. Their opportunities are gone from the pipeline. Revenue run rates from current contracts have ended because the contracts no longer exist. But American Airlines and Jet Blue, also your client’s customers, are active and seeking increased cargo business to supplant their huge passenger revenue losses. A major shift in their business. Understanding this, shouldn’t you be strategizing how you can help them and their changing definitions of success?
What about your wellness services client that has built a strong business over time with a core competency in serving law enforcement agencies? They have countless police departments as customers, tending to the special needs of those who protect and serve. That business remains robust but a totally new market has emerged for your client with other front-line professionals – health care workers. Nurses, doctors and hospital staffs now depend on the same value your client has delivered over time to law enforcement as they face new challenges. As with your transportation client, the definitions of success have changed. And focusing your planning on your accounts’ changing initiatives is so much more relevant than analyzing your own internal operations. At the end of the day, it’s not about you. It’s about your clients.
To understand how to convert this mindset into practical activities to put in play now, let’s consider a B2C example. Think about one of those chain hotels where you stayed back when you travelled. Remember business travel? You received an email after your visit, thanking you for your business. Additionally, a survey was provided, seeking your feedback. You were asked for ratings in categories like food quality, staff friendliness, shower cap durability and others, all crafted by the chain’s marketing department. But on the night of your visit, your room was next to the elevator and across the hall from the ice machine. You didn’t sleep a wink. But room noise wasn’t one of the survey’s boilerplate choices. Shaking your head, you deleted the email and decided to stay somewhere else next time.
I’ve learned a lot over the years about the do’s and don’ts of client satisfaction. And this hotel example clearly highlights one of the don’ts – the type of tone-deaf B2C mistake that we’d very rarely see with large enterprise accounts, right? Wrong. Truthfully, in the major account world, selling organizations often seek to gauge client satisfaction following the same clueless, boilerplate strategy, missing the mark on so many levels.
Sandler Enterprise Selling proposes a completely different strategy, appropriately called Client-Centric Satisfaction. Instead of providing your treasured enterprise clients with pre-selected criteria that may have nothing to do with their specific interests or issues, Client-Centric Satisfaction asks the clients to define success. Their view – not yours. A suggested list of potential success factors are provided, such as communication, responsiveness, knowledge transfer, etc. But the actual selection of what’s really important is made by the only party that matters – the client.
Let’s set aside for a moment our recent tumultuous times and consider how Client-Centric Satisfaction works in normal circumstances. Typically, at the outset of a business relationship, sales and delivery team members meet with a new client to determine how success is defined in the client’s customized terms. Think about the moment. The business is won. The contract is signed. In many ways, the client’s goals and successes are now yours as well. Honesty and candor abound. Had you asked weeks earlier in the midst of the pursuit what was most important to the then-prospect, you’d have heard about lower prices, pro bono services, etc. There’s a transformation, though, when prospects become clients. The word “partnership” becomes real. And mutual, shared goals create bonds between organizations and people. Lasting bonds. But if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
But when you do know how your new client defines success, you dramatically increase your chances of achieving it. And the knowing also seeds account growth as your proposed solutions for future opportunities will resonate with everything you’ve learned. Everything that’s most important to your client.
What about now, in this moment? If you already follow Client-Centric Satisfaction or a similar process, get your clients’ definitions of success refreshed now. Be assured that they’ve changed. But if this type of process is new to you, put it in play and build on the clean slate. Meet with your clients, virtually or otherwise, to discover the new dynamics of how they define success for the future. Then and only then, go work on your internal organization.
Because, of course, it’s not about you.