The Advisor’s Corner

Are the Best “Client Servers” the Best “Hunters”?

May 3, 2021/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom Doescher

Tom Doescher

I was with a client the other day and he was telling me about the tools he’s creating to help his professionals engage with their clients. These tools identify industry-type issues and knowledge that will help the client avoid increased costs and/or be more profitable. Don’t tell him, but while he was talking, I started thinking of what I had written in my book Hunter Extraordinaire: Sage Advice from the Lucky Guy Series — specifically on pages 2 and 3, as follows:

Here’s what the clients/customers say about the types of sales reps labeled “The Challenger”:

They offer unique and valuable perspectives on our market.
They help navigate alternatives.
They provide ongoing advice or consultation.
They help me avoid potential land mines.
They educate me on new issues and outcomes.

Suffice it to say that at Doescher Advisors, we believe the most successful new business developers “help” their clients/customers; they do not “sell” them.

So when I think about this blog’s title question and my experiences over the years, my answer is yes.

In my opinion, Hunters are very difficult to find. That being said, I would let the Hunters do their thing, but also figure out a way to have them occasionally interact with your major clients to achieve the benefits discussed in the book The Challenger Sale, by Matthew Dixson and Brent Adamson.

Is the Lack of Water Cooler Discussions Hurting Learning?

March 8, 2021/in Nuggets and Encouragement Regarding Strategy and Focus/by Tom Doescher

Tom Doescher

We’ve all had to deal with lots of change during the global pandemic. Actually, some of the changes are good. I may post a blog in the future sharing the positive changes in my life/routine. Anyway, I do have a concern about the loss of informal conversations that used to happen in the workplace — commonly referred to as “Water Cooler Talk.” Having devoted decades in a professional/knowledge-based environment, I’ve been reflecting upon how I learned. Formal classroom training played a small role, while on-the-job training played a much bigger role. As I’ve thought it over for the past few months, I would say some of the most impactful lessons took place at the water cooler. They were unscheduled, impromptu discussions with colleagues about a client and/or business issue.

For years, my office was at the end of a long hallway. When I was working on a sticky client issue, I’d often look down the hallway to see whose office lights were on. Determining who was around was the first step in helping me identify someone who could help me solve my problem. I would stroll or race down the hallway and barge in on them unannounced, then ask the famous question: Do you have a minute? Usually, they’d respond yes, because they knew that at some time in the future, they would be standing in my doorway. This past year, as I’ve engaged in Zoom, GoToMeeting, and other video tools from my home office, I’ve wondered, Would I call/contact others while working remotely? Unfortunately for me, the answer is probably no.

To make matters worse, I think going forward post-Covid, many businesses are going to have large portions of their workforce continuing to work remotely.

So do we have a systemic problem brewing in professions that depend on knowledge workers?

I’d love to hear from you.

First of all, do you agree there’s a potential problem where professionals working remotely will not ask — and therefore will not receive — important knowledge?

Secondly, have you adopted practices to mitigate the loss of Water Cooler Talk?

I can’t wait to get your feedback.

Different Hunters are Better for Different Products or Services

February 15, 2021/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom Doescher

Tom Doescher

In my last post, I identified three traits that I’ve observed over the years in the best Hunters. As I was talking with Kat, a new sales rep, about Hunter Extraordinaire, it seemed that, in addition to the general characteristics of the best Hunters, a number of special and unique traits or knowledge would be more or less important, depending on the company’s product or service.

Sometimes we over-engineer these subjects, so I’d often ask myself, What would I want to know before I made a purchase? Or, as I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I would visualize my dad being the prospective client. (My dad, a mail carrier, had an abundance of common sense.) I’d think, Would I offer this product or service to my dad? Would it really help him? Does he really need it?

Here are some general categories of questions to consider:

Is the company offering a product or a service to the client? (In this post, I’ll use the word “client,” but please substitute customer, patient, guest, or whatever you call them.)
Is it an off-the-shelf product or service? Does it need to be modified to fit the client’s situation?
Is the company offering a professional service?
Are third-party installers or implementers required?
Is the client a business or a consumer?

As I thought through those questions, I found I had some follow-up questions:

How technical/complicated is the product or service? How knowledgeable does the sales rep need to be about the product? Is the sales rep teamed up with a technical support person to assist in explaining and demonstrating the product or service?
How passionate is the sales rep about the product or service? For example, when I was proposing to a prospective client at Plante Moran, I knew we would really take care of their needs, so I had a degree of confidence (hopefully not cockiness) that the prospective client could sense or feel.
Do I really understand the prospective client’s business, or should I do some research or ask a colleague to join me on the sales call?
Will the person I’m talking with pay for the product or service, or are they spending someone else’s money?

Hopefully, you get the point. Do your homework to make sure you understand your prospective client, their business, and their industry.

If you have any additional pointers, please hit reply and share them.

Are the Best “Client Servers” the Best “Hunters”?

Tom Doescher

Is the Lack of Water Cooler Discussions Hurting Learning?

Tom Doescher

Different Hunters are Better for Different Products or Services

Tom Doescher

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