Visit the Sage

Loyal Customers My Arse

Consultants around the world are bashing the idea of having satisfied customers, saying that satisfied customers are merely customers who are "Waiting to go somewhere else."

"You want loyal customers!" they shout. "Because loyal customers give referrals and referrals will make you rich!"

I'm sorry, but I cry "Bullshit!"

In his book, "INFLUENCE, Science and Practice," Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. discusses the law of Reciprocation -- a pervasive obligation in all human cultures to give as much as you have received. While many examples in his book have significance to this post, the sections that seem most appropriate go like this:

The impressive aspect of the rule for reciprocation and the sense of obligation that goes with it is its pervasiveness in human culture. It is so widespread that after intensive study, sociologists such as Alvin Gouldner can report there is no human society that does not subscribe to the rule. And within each society it seems pervasive also; it permeates exchanges of every kind.

Cultural anthropologists Lionel Tiger and Robin Fox view this "web of indebtedness" as a unique adaptive mechanism of human beings, allowing for the division of labor, the exchange of diverse forms of goods, the exchange of different services (making it possible for experts to develop), and the creation of a cluster of interdependencies that bind individuals together into highly efficient units.

Make no mistake, human societies derive a truly significant competitive advantage from the reciprocity rule, and consequently they make sure their members are trained to comply with and believe in it. Each of us has been taught to live up to the rule, and each of us knows about the social sanctions and derision applied to anyone who violates it. The labels we assign to such a person are loaded with negativity -- moocher, ingrate, welsher.

If a satisfied customer is a customer "waiting to go somewhere else," then what is a loyal customer?

Let's do the reciprocation math:

• The customer paid you a fee.
• In the customer's view, you provided products or service greater than that fee.
• As repayment of the debt, the customer gave you his or her loyalty.

Best case, you're even.

Worst case, the loyal customer feels you owe him or her something in return for the loyalty bestowed.

Any case, referrals are not about to gush. Sure, loyal customers are better than satisfied customers, but when it comes to receiving tons of referrals, loyalty falls far short.

Here's a Sage of Selling Secret -- keep this under your hat:

The Law Of The Bull's-Eye
You will never do better than hit the target at which you aim, so make that target a good one.

Keep your satisfied customers.

Keep your loyal customers too.

But if you want referrals to gush, how about making Walking Ambassadors out of every customer you have?

Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association

Who's Your David?

Many of us know and love at least one.

There will be one at most networking events you attend.

Every company that has one will do anything in its power to keep it.

Any company without one is doomed to mediocrity.

Yes, I'm speaking of that rarest of breeds -- the David.

I would say he marches to the beat of a different drummer, but it's not the beat that makes him a David.

I could call him a maverick, but that's too simple to convey the complexity required to reach the level of a David.

It's not even his politically correct incorrectness that gives him is Davidesque.

That's the thing about a David -- it can't be accurately defined by the nonDavids of the world.

But what I can tell you is how to find a David when you need one:

• Put on your very best suit and tie.
• Attend an association or networking event where the attorneys, bankers and financial moguls hang out.
• Listen closely for the whisper, "Can you believe he wore that?"
• Follow their gaze to your David.

And when you find your David in his shorts, sandals and horridly absent tie, instead of looking down your nose, try looking up his.

There are some incredible ideas up there.

Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association

Live: Non-Traditional Sales Team

Yes, that's right. Only weeks after posting "Sales Commissions Must Die" I am building my first-ever non-traditional sales team for a client.

Here's a brief review of how this came about.

In the sales call when I was discussing the team with Matthew Porter, founder and CEO of Contegix, I asked: "Why don't you build this team yourself?"

Matthew replied, "I can hire engineers with almost 100 percent accuracy, because that's a technical conversation and they can't BS me about technology." Then he added, "But hiring salespeople scares me to death."

I am not afraid of hiring salespeople, because that's a conversation where my expertise generally outshines theirs. However, even if I waved a magic wand and poofed a great sales team for Matthew, he would be left to manage the team and be in pretty much the same boat -- unsure of everything they're telling him and no real expertise to spot the BS.

So as we began the project to design his team, I asked Matthew to describe the types of engineers he has on board now.

"We have two main teams," Matthew replied. "One team -- our Ramp-Up Team -- is highly experienced at helping our clients in their transition to our servers, because there are a ton of one-off problems that must be solved during the switch. The second team -- our Maintenance Team -- is adept at anticipating problems before they occur, and diagnosing and fixing problems quickly when they do happen."

I asked Matthew how he keeps his people focused, and he replied with exactly the attitude I was hoping to see -- "They all know their primary goal is to absolutely thrill every customer."

You should have seen Matthew's eyes light up when I asked, "Then instead of building a sales team that gets paid to close deals, why don't we build a pre-customer engineering team that is paid a salary, just like your other guys, and tasked with the same objective, to thrill every prospect who calls Contegix? If we did that, wouldn't you end up with exactly the customers you want, and only the customers you want?"

Of course, Matthew had to make the leap of faith that simply taking great care of all prospects -- even those his team helps to choose other providers -- will produce sales, but that was a leap he was easily willing to make. Especially after letting me listen in as he managed a few in-bound sales inquiries himself, because that's exactly how Matthew naturally sells.

Here's the job description if you're interested in seeing how to word one: http://www.contegix.com/company/careers.

Gill E. Wagner, Sage of Selling
President of Honest Selling
Founder of the Yellow-Tie International Business Development Association