#36 - FOCUSSING ON THE BISCUIT IGNORES THE ENTIRE TEA PARTY

The Frustration of Empty Promises

A weary business owner stares at their screen. Their inbox is crammed with sales pitches. One email promises "amazing changes." They open it, hoping for help. But it's confusing and full of jargon. Do these people even understand my business? The email talks about "working together" but gives no real examples. Where's the proof? How will this actually help me? Disappointed, the business owner closes the email. Am I stuck with endless empty promises? This highlights a major problem with many business sales strategies: focusing on quick sales instead of truly understanding customers. This is exacerbated by focusing on whether a product fits a single function or even task, without considering the customer's broader plans. This approach, while tempting, doesn't work in the long run. Real customer relationships are built on understanding the customer's overall goals.

The Pitfalls of Short-Sighted Selling

This business owner's experience is commonplace. Imagine a company trying to sell to bank executives, talking about how their product fits a specific job. But they haven't considered the bank's bigger plans. Maybe the bank is overhauling its entire IT system, is engaged in M&A activities, is facing challenges with regulatory requirements impacting the business, or maybe those jobs are being moved elsewhere. By only looking at a specific function or even an immediate task alone, the vendor misses out on larger opportunities. They haven't grasped the bank's long-term plans. Like in the business owner example, the vendor hasn't done its homework. This leads to missed sales and a lack of trust. The main problem is a lack of personal touch, not seeing the chance for bigger changes because they don't know the customer's goals and focusing too much on single tasks instead of the overall strategy. Customers need to feel understood – not just for now, but for the future. General sales pitches and product demos aren't enough. Partnership is what they seek, not just solutions.

Building good customer relationships therefore requires careful preparation and a full understanding of the customer. This means following a clear plan.

Understanding the Market: The Customer's Perspective

First, you must understand the market from the customer's point of view. This involves detailed research into industry trends, competitors, regulations and new technology, specifically as they affect the customer's business, goals and long-term plans. You must also look at the things causing change that are important to the customer's goals, understanding how new technologies affect their problems, chances and overall plans. Then, show how industry trends relate to the customer's problems and opportunities, always keeping their goals in mind.

Fully Understanding the Customer: Holistic Analysis

Next, you must fully understand the customer. This means doing thorough research to find the real reasons behind the customer's needs, not just what they say on the surface. Focus on their goals and long-term plans. Look at the customer's plans and reports to understand their long-term goals and how they fit with their overall plans. See how the customer's current abilities compare to where they want to be, based on their goals. Find any gaps. Give recommendations that address the customer's specific needs and help them reach their goals.

Deep Dive: Assessing Customer Needs and Strategic Goals

To go beyond surface-level understanding, vendor firms should employ structured methods for assessing customer needs and strategic goals.

Assign weighted scores to each factor to reflect their relative importance. This allows for a quantitative assessment of the customer's needs and helps prioritise solutions.

Scoring Systems

• Strategic Impact: How closely does the proposed solution align with the customer's long-term vision?
• Financial Impact: What is the potential ROI for the customer?
• Operational Impact: How will the solution affect the customer's day-to-day operations?
• Risk Mitigation: Does the solution address any critical risks or compliance requirements

Key Questions

By utilising scoring systems and strategic questioning, vendor firms can gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of their customers' needs and strategic goals.

• Vision and Goals: "What are your top three strategic priorities for the next 3-5 years?" "How do you envision your company evolving in the face of industry disruption?" "What key performance indicators (KPIs) are you tracking to measure success?"
• Challenges and Pain Points: "What are the biggest obstacles preventing you from achieving your goals?" "What are your current operational bottlenecks or inefficiencies?" "What are your biggest concerns about the current market environment?"
• Decision-Making and Partnerships: "What is your decision-making process for major investments?" "What are you looking for in a long-term strategic partner?" "How do you measure the success of a vendor relationship?"
• Maturity and Capabilities: "Where do you see your company on the digital transformation journey?" "What are your current technological capabilities and limitations?" "What are the skill gaps within your organisation?"

Leveraging Technology: AI and Beyond

New technologies, like AI, can help. For example, AI can look at lots of data (social media, feedback, trends) to understand customers better. This lets companies tailor their sales pitches. A company might use AI to see that bank customers are unhappy with mobile banking and suggest ways to fix it. AI can also customise messages based on customer profiles. A company's system might send emails with product suggestions and case studies based on each bank executive's job and interests. AI can find chances to sell more to existing customers. A company's AI might predict a bank will expand online lending and suggests a solution. AI chatbots can answer common questions, freeing up staff for more complex tasks. A company might use a chatbot on its website for 24/7 customer support.

Delving Deeper: AI in Real-Time and Case Study Selection

• Real-Time Sentiment Analysis: AI-powered tools can listen to sales calls and analyse the customer's tone, language and pauses. This provides real-time insights into their emotional state. For example, if the customer expresses frustration or hesitation, the AI can alert the salesperson, allowing them to adjust their approach or address concerns immediately. This ensures the conversation remains productive and builds rapport. Imagine a sales professional discussing digital transformation with a bank CIO. If the AI detects a spike in negative sentiment when discussing legacy systems, the salesperson can pivot to highlighting the ease of integration and reduced disruption offered by their solution.
• AI-Driven Case Study Selection: AI can analyse a prospect's industry, company size, strategic goals and past interactions to identify the most relevant case studies. Instead of presenting generic examples, the AI can pinpoint specific scenarios where similar clients achieved measurable success. For example, if a bank is focused on improving customer retention, the AI can suggest a case study showcasing how another financial institution reduced churn by implementing a personalised customer engagement platform. This ensures the case studies resonate with the prospect's specific challenges and demonstrate the tangible benefits of the vendor's solutions.

The Human Element: Technology's Limitations

But remember, data and technology have limits. They help, but don't replace human interaction. Personal attention is still vital. Building trust and showing credibility needs careful planning. While AI gives insights, it can't replace talking to customers directly. Companies must use technology alongside personal contact for the best results.

Collaborative Problem-Solving: Working Together

Then, you must work together to solve problems. This involves making a full plan with the customer, making sure it fits their priorities and helps them reach their goals. Make a plan to fill any gaps, tailored to the customer's situation and long-term plans. Show how your products and services fit the customer's needs and plan and how they help them reach their goals.

Demonstrating Value: Proof and Credibility

Finally, you must show the value of your work. Share stories of how you've helped other customers with similar changes. Show that you're trusted by other businesses by using customer logos. Show your expertise, giving numbers to prove your success and how it relates to the customer's goals. Explain your pricing clearly and show how it matches the value you're providing, especially in terms of return on investment and progress towards goals.

The Core Principle: Customer-Centricity

These ideas apply to all customer relationships. The key is to truly understand what the customer wants, needs and plans. This means listening carefully, asking smart questions and understanding their long-term vision. We must aim to understand and advise as if it were our own business, always focusing on what the customer really needs. It's not about what we want to sell, but what the customer needs to achieve. Focusing only on immediate tasks means missing out on bigger opportunities. In finance, this risk is even greater because trust is so important. Without trust, opportunities disappear.

The Investment in Understanding

Deep customer understanding takes time and effort, but it's a worthwhile investment. Busy professionals can implement these principles efficiently by prioritising key research, using AI-powered tools and focusing on strategic conversations. This deeper understanding translates to shorter sales cycles, increased customer stickiness and earlier value recognition, ultimately reducing the need for discounts later in the sales process.

Conclusion and Call to Action: Building a Future of Understanding

In today's world, generic sales pitches and short-term thinking don't work. Building lasting relationships and finding big opportunities requires deep understanding, empathy and a clear plan. Stop just selling products and start providing tailored solutions. Use technology like AI, but remember it's a tool, not a replacement for people. Focus on trust and working together. The future of customer relationships is about personalised value, partnerships and helping customers achieve their goals. Ask yourself: Do I really understand my customers? Am I giving them real solutions, or just promises? How can I build stronger relationships and find more opportunities? Your answers will determine your success. These challenges can be overcome with the right focus and commitment to understanding.

Let's keep talking!