One of the most important principles that entreQuest espouses for growing businesses is the power of mindset. Clarity on the company’s goals, focus on the necessary action, and willingness to execute the work required make up a winning mindset which is the foundation for an effective process and ultimately great achievements.
It’s not just your own mindset as a staff member of an sales-driven organization that you need to worry about when it comes to reaching goals though. If you want to grow, you have to consistently deliver a client experience that is worth repeating and worthy of a referral. Succeeding upon that aspiration requires genuinely connecting to your clients and knowing them well enough to understand their definition of “value.” To do that, you have to consider their mindset so that you can accurately define the “what’s in it for them.”
In an article published years ago in SmartCEO magazine, entreQuest defines selling on process versus selling on value. It’s not just a difference that rests between the two but the differentiator between what can lead to landing business and what might send your prospects elsewhere.
For instance, let’s say in the back of your mind you are considering moving into a bigger home. You go to a friend’s party and during your mingling, you meet an individual at the crudité section of the buffet and when you ask her what she does, she says: “I sell real estate.” Then a half hour later, you go for a refill on your Mojito and you meet another person at the bar. When you ask him what he does for a living, he replies: “I help people find the home they’ve always wanted – at the price they want to pay.” So which job description held more value in it for you???
This example and more details on the differentiator between value and process can be found in our archived article at this link: http://www.entrequest.com/wp-content/pdf/entrequest_value-vs.process_10.04.pdf?phpMyAdmin=d2c4aa6766ft5760658.
An easy listening country tune also makes clear what happens when you don’t put yourself in the prospect’s perspective. Sung by David Ball, it’s called “Riding with Private Malone.” The whole song tells a great story but the first three stanzas scenically depict the missed opportunity that can occur when someone with something to offer positions it in a process instead of verifying its value.
“I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds
When an ad that said "Old Chevy" somehow caught my eye
The lady didn't know the year, or even if it ran
But I had that thousand dollars in my hand
It was way back in the corner of this old ramshackle barn
Thirty years of dust and dirt on that green army tarp
When I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath
What she'd called a Chevy was a sixty-six Corvette
I felt a little guilty as I counted out the bills
But what a thrill I got when I sat behind the wheel
I opened up the glove box and that's when I found the note
The date was nineteen-sixty-six and this is what he wrote…”
Those of you honky tonk fans who are interested in knowing what the note read can hear David Ball’s song on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh1m0eC1004.
What all of us should note from a professional point of view though is that while she probably wasn’t interested in making a profit to begin with, the woman in this song believed she was just selling a car. She didn’t know that a young boy would have probably paid a whole lot more for that “thrill [he] got when [he] sat behind the wheel.” In fact, the woman probably could have cleared out that back corner a whole lot earlier and made enough money to replace the old ramshackle barn with a brand new one had she simply spent one hour asking a neighborhood boy about the value of her car and then tweaked her ad in the classified section to read: “FOR SALE: The dream car they don’t make anymore – a 1966 Corvette. Runs well, reasonably priced, ready to drive.”
Remember, entreQuest calls it a “client experience” for a reason. It’s all about them. If you want their help in building your business, you need to learn the prospect's definition of value and then put your process around it. Even if you’re selling an old Chevy, you can make up your mindset to sell something more valuable than a sixty-six Corvette.
