Are you indispensable?
I was thinking about this earlier today and got sidetracked by “real work”.
It was destined to be on my mind. Hugh’s email newsletter arrived short time later and was RIGHT ON POINT with my question.
The question that you have to ask yourself – daily (if not constantly), rather than once – is “How can we be indispensable to our customers?”
A few examples to get the juices flowing:
- If you sell coffee, can you help your customers wade through the buzzword maze and enjoy *better* coffee? What’s fair trade? Is it really fair trade, or is it just another buzzword?
- If you sell cars, how can you help your customers make better decisions, get more from their investment, and save time and money on repairs? How can you help them remember to perform the regular maintenance that allows them to depend on their vehicle regardless of the weather?
- If you repair lawn mowers, how can you help your customers get a better looking yard; cheaper, safer and faster? How can you save them time and money on upkeep and repairs? How can you help them remember to change their oil, sharpen their blades and make their mower perform better and longer?
- If you help people deal with legal problems, how can you help your customers avoid rushing into your office with a problem that has to be solved NOW? Ounce of prevention, pound of cure kinda stuff. Be their lawyer every day or every week, just a little vs. being their rescue squad every five years.
- If you treat people’s injuries and diseases, how can you help them be safer at home and at work? How can you help them by advising them on nutrition and other preventative care, without becoming a nag? Knowing that these things require lifestyle / habit changes, how can you help your customers/patients make that happen? How can you help your patients make sense of the constant flow of health, nutrition and prescription information placed in front of them each day? How can you help them prevent injuries and disease, rather than waiting until they occur so you can treat them?
- If you sell building materials to professional contractors, how can you help them find more business so they can buy more building materials? Can you help keep them informed about industry rebates/promotions, tax incentives and other things to help them become more competitive?
- If you sell advertising (better sit down), how can you help your clients track the effectiveness of all their advertising? How can you help them calculate the ROI on their advertising? Not guesswork, but real numbers based on the foot/internet traffic, revenue and profit each advertising source generates. Be a partner in profitability, not just another salesperson.
- If you sell computers, keep in mind that the people on the other end of the phone who don’t know as much as you’ve forgotten about a computer are the ones with all the money. They’d like to give it to you, if only you’ll help them. Yes, to be indispensable in the computer business, quite often it’s as simple as answering your phone and helping them with their problem without being arrogant. In fact, just answering your phone will be a huge first step.
If I didn’t mention the business you’re in, use these things as inspiration to do what makes your business indispensable to your customers. If you’re thinking to yourself that “my business is different, it won’t work for me”, you’re right. If you don’t do these things – they won’t work for you.
The goal in doing all of these things is to position yourself and your business as the only place that your clients will consider doing business.
Get there by taking care of them like no one else is willing to.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site or contact him via email at mriffey at flatheadbeacon.com.