The Advisor’s Corner

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: But We’re Different

December 7, 2015/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Dan Doescher

Many years ago I asked my wife, Jan, if she thought I was competitive. The look on her face said it all. I got it. I’m as competitive as most.

Admit it — you think your business is different from everyone else. That’s great; it’s an important mindset. Equally significant, however, is how you respond to competition.

Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman’s book, The New Strategic Selling, acknowledges the need for being aware of the competition, but warns of the danger of sending an unintended “reactive/me-too” message to a potential new customer/client (we’ll call them the “target”), rather than the preferred “better than” position. The authors note the potential negative repercussions of too much focus on competition:

It allows the competition to write the rules of the game.
It advertises your weaknesses, not your strengths.
It invites price-slashing.
It makes you look unimaginative or uncreative.
It deflects attention from the target’s concerns.

I also like their definition of the “competition”:

They buy from someone else.
They use internal resources.
They use their budget for something else.
They do nothing.

This provides a broader view of the potential barriers you may need to address.

In sports, playing offense is essential to winning. Proactively focusing on leveraging your differences is critical. Ultimately, you want your target to see that you know what differentiates you from all other options.

In my previous blog (see November 30, 2015, What We Do and How We Do It), I suggested doing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis. Focusing on your strengths is how you begin developing what really sets you apart from your competitors.

Begin by listing the features of what you do and how you do it that you think makes you stand out/differentiates you from all others. Then succinctly describe how your differences have created benefits to existing customers/clients. Documenting actual cases where customers/clients have benefited from these factors can be potentially powerful information that you’ll want to share with targets.

As always, it’s beneficial to have your key team members involved in developing this type of information. More importantly, it’s critical that your team is fully aware of these differences, embraces them, and easily communicates them to current customers/clients as well as targets.

Incidentally, if you don’t think you’re different, or you haven’t given it much thought, it’s time to consider the possibilities and related implications.

Next post: Do You Know Your “10” When You See It?

Tom’s editorial comment: If, while you’re reading this series, you believe Dan could be helpful to your company, please contact him directly at [email protected], or 248-701-8787.

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: What We Do and How We Do It

November 30, 2015/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Dan Doescher

For years, my big brother Tom and I have been intrigued by businesses we’ve encountered whose leadership is convinced their company is unique in certain ways — and then, upon further research, we find the contrary to be true.

Successfully attracting new customers/clients requires a clear understanding of what you do and how you do it. That seems simple enough, right? But is your mission, your purpose, in writing? Does your team understand it enough to explain it? Even more importantly, do they embrace it?

Some call the process of aligning these aspects of your business strategic planning. Others consider it SWOT analysis documentation:

Strengths: aspects of your business that provide advantage over others.
Weaknesses: aspects of your business that put you at a disadvantage compared to others.
Opportunities: aspects of your business that could be leveraged for further advantage.
Threats: aspects outside your business that could cause you difficulty.

Regardless of what it’s called, it’s a necessary process. Engage your team in such an effort.

Be careful, however, because this is a process that can take on a not-so-helpful life of its own and backfire unless you’ve given it plenty of thought and preparation. Here are a few things worth considering:

Include the appropriate people – the approvers and/or those who will be responsible for implementing plans.
Don’t include so many people that you stifle input and candor.
Plan the timing for the entire process, from beginning to end. Include lock-down dates, and get a firm commitment from participants.
An offsite meeting location is advisable, to avoid daily distractions. Perhaps one of your company advisers can provide a conference room in their offices.
An outside facilitator can sometimes be useful.
Warn participants that “homework” before and/or between sessions may be necessary.
Commitment by all, backed up by accountability, is key to getting this task accomplished.

Ultimately, you’re trying to come out of this process with action plans – to-do lists – that focus your team’s efforts on bringing in more new customers/clients.

Some practical, useful outcomes might include:

Can your potential customers/clients clearly understand who you are and what you do?
How can features of what you do create benefits?
Remember that relatable success stories are powerful.
Describe how you serve customers/clients — including who, their roles, communication lines and where “the buck stops.”
Demonstrate any synergies within your company that will benefit customers/clients.

Once you’ve engaged in this process, you will be:

Encouraged by an increased confidence and recommitment to leveraging your strengths to seize untapped opportunities.
Aware of areas to either shore up or avoid altogether.
More informed about your competition and the related implications (which we’ll talk about next time).

Is what you do and how you do it really different?

Next post: But We’re Different

Tom’s editorial comment: If, while you’re reading this series, you believe Dan could be helpful to your company, please contact him directly at [email protected], or 248-701-8787.

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: Who We Are and Why We’re Here

November 23, 2015/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Dan Doescher

Assuming growth is a priority and you understand why you want to grow, it’s critical to ensure that your most important resource, your team, is on board with you. Inherent in “on board” is reaching a clear understanding and alignment of “why” (see my November 16, 2015, “Let’s Get Growing” post).

Call it whatever you like — mission, purpose, vision — but define it. If you already have one, review it for reconfirmation and redouble your commitment. It should be very specific, brief — preferably a dozen words or less — and easy to remember. Ideally, its creation is a team effort that will result in shared alignment and passion. Ultimately, it drives a “way of life” in your business.

Be disciplined in this process. Some team members will have laser-like focus, while others can take you into the weeds. Consider capturing your core values first. Whether you’ve ever considered core values or not, you have them — you believe them, you operate by them — so simply reduce them to writing. Keep the list reasonably brief, three to six ideals, and make sure they’re a reflection of what really matters to your organization — how you want potential customers/clients to see you.

Why is the “why” so important? The alignment of your company’s efforts begins with an alignment of thoughts. Developing tactical efforts requires making decisions about resource allocation, and a clearly defined consensus of thought becomes your compass for decision-making. This enables you to make the tough choices when developing your action plans.

James Dibler, an owner and CEO of BlueRock Technologies, has taken this effort to a whole new level. As team members join the firm, they are required to read Jim Collins’ books Great by Choice and Good to Great, and Tony Hseih’s book Delivering Happiness. Then the new members are asked to give management a summary of what stood out to them. James is trying to help reinforce his company’s values and purpose, as well as benefit from new ideas reading the books may trigger.

Can you state your core mission, purpose, or vision? If not, it’s likely your team can’t, either. If you can clearly verbalize your mission, purpose, and vision, do you know if your top leaders can? Regardless, it may be time to step back and capture them in writing or reconfirm your collective commitment to them.

With a clearly aligned view of where you and your team are headed, you’ll be ready to proceed to the next planning stage.

Next post: What We Do and How We Do It

Tom’s editorial comment: If, while reading this series, you believe Dan could be helpful to your company, please contact him directly at [email protected], or 248-701-8787.

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: But We’re Different

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: What We Do and How We Do It

Sandbox “Hunters” Game Plan: Who We Are and Why We’re Here

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