Watching the celebrity edition of the Apprentice on
television proved to be far more than solely an
entertaining experience.
Knowing in advance that Gene Simmons, the brains behind the
KISS phenomenon and the self-proclaimed god of women, would
take episodal charge over the female celebrity group, I
could not resist watching. Frankly, I was somewhat
surprised at what transpired during the hour. The Donald
had no choice but to fire him. He failed at his task.
This reality show actually provided a healthy dose of
business reality, demonstrating many valuable sales lessons
that we can all benefit from.
1. Know Your Goal Before You Begin Taking Action.
Gene errantly delegated the initial responsibility of
meeting with the client to two team members. If instead,
everyone on his team, including himself, were present, he
would have benefited from the perspectives of each as they
moved towards satisfying their customer and the sales goal
that they had in mind. The women who met with the Kodak
executives failed to listen carefully and fully grasp the
desired intent and goals of their customer.
Simmons, as their leader, never knew what his customer
actually wanted as he was too busy constructing a campaign
that he thought was important and relevant. He was too busy
marketing Kodak that he failed to consider their desired
goals and product emphasis, their new ink. In fact, he did
not see the importance of meeting with his customer and
clearly understanding their perspective and goals.
2. Understand Your Task.
We must listen and pay attention to our customers. They
will tell us exactly what they want if we ask them. Ask
clarifying questions until you are crystal clear on their
goals. Gene neither had a grasp of their true task or even
the name of the product. His project was doomed early on.
3. Listen Carefully to Those You Have Teamed With.
Your sales team is a valuable asset. Their thoughts,
evaluations and conclusions are important and should be
respected with regard to the decision-making process.
4. Keep Focused.
Once you have a clear understanding of your customers
needs, adopt a laser-like focus until the job is done. If
an activity is not relevant to the desired outcome, it is
likely an activity that is hindering your progress. Stay on
task.
5. Remember: The Customer is Always Right.
The customer expects us to work on his behalf. If we make
assumptions and suppositions based upon our desires, they
may not be in-sync with what our customer is expecting of
us. Simmons ignored his customer altogether, focusing
instead on his own ego and creative ideas. While his
marketing was impressive, his strategy and sense of purpose
were flawed. He continued acting upon what he wanted for
himself, not the desires of his client.
It does not matter if we think we are smarter, better
equipped or more experienced than our customer. If we lose
sight of their business and what they want, we lose;
period. "You cannot hit a target you cannot see". You
cannot ask relevant questions if you do not listen. And...
you cannot satisfy the needs of your customers if you do
not know what they need.
Thanks Gene, these are indeed valuable lessons learned.
----------------------------------------------------
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development spanning a successful 26 year sales career.
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com
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