Grow Business Newsletter #226: Value unearthing, After pandemic, Toothpaste

GREG’S BUSINESS GROWTH NEWSLETTER #226
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Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.

In this issue:

– Techniques for FIT
– Being Human
– Random Stuff

Techniques for FIT
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• Sales trainers love to talk about selling value as if it’s something your people do. It’s closer to the truth to say we need to uncover or unlock client value. The only way to do that is through better conversations.
• I keep a set of 3×5 cards filled with language prompts to improve my communication skills. Like “Client says” or “Client asks” on one side, and my reactions on the back. It’s funny how many times I remind myself the best response is, “What do you mean by that?”
  

• Doing a conversation dive into the details helps move conversations forward. When asked about the intricacies of your work, say “Let’s not be theoretical. Give me an example of what are you dealing with today and I can tell you how we would help,” is a way to move from high level to detail.
• Each time a prospect talks with one of your people they should end up thinking, “If this is what I get for free, imagine what I’d get if I paid them.” Remind your team that how they sell is a sample of how they’ll serve.

Being Human – Looking both ways
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Your employees will exit the crisis as changed people and your customers will come out with different expectations.” – Mark Hurst 

This pandemic will come to an end. Or, more likely, we’ll adapt to life with this new virus. One day finding ourselves and our organizations back to their regularly scheduled activities.

When we get there some things will be different. Our employees and company culture will change some amount, and our customer’s employees and their cultures will change too.

How should you prepare your organization for these shifts?

My colleague Mark Hurst and I have written a white paper about this very subject. I’ll be sending copies to some of you in the coming weeks. It’s titled, “Customer Culture: Building business for a digital future.”

If Mark’s name sounds familiar it’s because he makes a regular appearance in this newsletter. Like Steve Martin hosting SNL. We work on the same kinds of problems, but Mark tends to focus externally, on customers and I tend focus internally, on employees. Together, we bridge the divide where your people and your customer’s people interact.

I will send you a copy on request.

It’s good stuff.

Random stuff
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“You didn’t see it coming
Now who you gonna wave to?
This time you’re not homecoming king”
– “Homecoming King” by Guster

My lovely bride was telling me a story about scientists noting birds are singing louder since humans aren’t moving around as much. I’m sure it’s true. The neighbors have reported fox sightings and even a few deer in the area as the weeks have gone by. I find myself wondering how much of these phenomena are due to less human traffic and how much is explained by us just paying more attention to our surroundings.

It’s trendy to slow your brain down and take notes. Just this week I logged into what I thought was an online concert only to find out it was a meditation led by the singer. I don’t do much meditation, so I go along for the ride and emerge from my trancelike state thinking about a nice shower.

I have a routine for my morning cleaning ritual and it starts with brushing my teeth. I open the drawer, grab my toothbrush, flip open the toothpaste, and apply a dollop. In my heightened state of awareness I notice that I have a habit of taking the toothbrush and wiping it across the toothpaste nozzle. I’m not sure when it started or why I do it, but I’m guessing it has something to do with not making a mess from excess toothpaste when putting the cap back on.

Having the time and mindfulness to notice these tiny details about my routine brings my to tears.

Not really.

This morning I flipped some toothpaste up into my eye.  It burns. Real bad. If they still tested such things on rabbits, I suspect the testers would hear those poor bunnies swearing up a blue streak.

I am changing my routine tomorrow morning.

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