Turn up the Wow

A potential new customer interrupted my carefully-constructed presentation once and stated:

“WOW Me! Tell me something so great, something about you that stops me in my tracks to write you an order.” Up to this point, my presentation consisted of the usual stuff: focusing on customer needs, pain points, and outlines of solutions, deliverables and benefits to customers. After all, our tagline was “Have Solutions, Will Travel!” and had caught his attention, leading to this face-to-face meeting. 

The list of talking points I considered to have the most value started shooting through my brain; trustworthiness, integrity, and a proven track record. These are of utmost importance to me. Frankly, he had already checked out my website and LinkedIn profile. Otherwise, this meeting never would have happened. Bringing us to this moment.

He needed more: something big: A. Show. Stopper! 

The clock was ticking. He was waiting for an answer. Minutes were passing! (Ok, actually it was seconds… but it felt like an eternity.) So, what would it be? Finally, my brain kicked in. Leaning in towards his desk, speaking in a slight whisper, I replied: “My WOW Factor is the Holy Grail of Process Control - the common denominator across all processes! Everything is a process of course, but what are the chances you’re in control of absolutely everything?”

He said he was making money every minute. 

My response: “How do you know your process is effective and optimized? Just because there is money in your checking account and your bills are paid, you could be going out of business without knowing it!”

The Holy Grail comment refreshed his attention and I could finally realize his true concern. It was then time for the Wow Factor! It’s the proper implementation of Lean/Sigma through your entire process, guaranteeing a controllable, optimized to the fullest degree of profitability.

What is the Holy Grail? It’s Statistical Process Control, more notably Lean Six Sigma. His interest was piqued. He had heard of it tangentially, but wanted to know what made it so special. For reference, Lean Six Sigma is a process control methodology that, when properly implemented, will move a process from a potentially broken or out-of-control state to a more controllable, predictable, (and profitable) state. It took a while for me to realize why this particular customer needed to be wowed. He was interested in hearing what I had to say, and had taken the time to search my background; but seemed more concerned overall with my limited project experience in his demanding industry.

Lean Six Sigma has zero concerns with any particular industry because it’s all about applied methodology. The trick is knowing how to lead a team charged with the proper implementation of a Lean Six Sigma-based plan. It’s both outstanding and effective because experienced leadership and the team commit to the rigors of the methodology and all components where the project success is determined. It insists that teams avoid shortcutting and makes sure everyone’s skill set is project-aligned. It becomes all about leadership and the team’s ability to have faith in proven processes that are utilized to bring specific issues under control and keep them there. I continued to ‘wow’ him by sharing that our company had been instrumental in a Fortune 500 glass company’s Lean Six Sigma launch across all their manufacturing plants, working with and leading teams to a successful implementation that resulted in several millions of dollars being saved. Another example, we successfully implemented a Lean Six Sigma project with another Fortune 500 player in the power generation industry. We implemented process improvements designed to cut downtime, reduce cycle time, and improve product quality. 

Our potential customer, who naturally wanted to know more project details, which were proprietary, and as such unavailable (We sign NDAs with each and every customer to protect their intellectual property. We work closely with our customers and honor our NDA commitments.) was understanding of our processes. However, our conversation could continue across Fortune 500 companies in sectors such as automotive, steel, pulp and paper and complex system integration, et cetera, as long as it did so without violating these agreements.

This particular customer was still not convinced to work with us, but we had been asked to submit a proposal, which was the present meeting. However, based on this conversation, I could finally consider him wowed, and continued to impress him right through to a successful and confident order placement. Using tried and tested techniques and implementation, I was able to show him how even though I may not have had the experience he thought I’d need, I had the experience he needed. 

Wow. 

James Cendoma has decades of experience as a customer, supplier, guest speaker, and entrepreneur. He has worked in manufacturing industries and sales all over the northeast. Author of the book Pep - Profit and Extreme Performance, he focuses on helping clients achieve their best practice success through troubleshooting, networking, and consulting. Find him at www.jamescendoma.com or contact him at [email protected]. Follow him here on LinkedIn or on Facebook.

My take-away from all this back and forth with this customer left me with one major question: What is my internal wow factor? What makes me the most proud of my life and profession? 

After thinking about it, the one thing that most often makes me smile is my life-long commitment to helping fellow entrepreneurs chase and catch their dreams: mentorship both on the receiving and giving end, the ability to pay it forward and return the favor. 

It has been my observation that the true measure of success is generosity. Be generous in your praise and admiration of others, help when and where possible and always be kind. It’s a great way to go through life. What’s your wow factor?