Jeffrey Gitomer February 13, 2014
February 13, 2014
By Jeffrey Gitomer
February 13, 2014
Jim Collins immortal business bestseller, Good to Great, created a revolution in many businesses and an explosion in book sales. The book was adopted, adapted, taught, and implemented. In manyinstances, companies did go from good to great – or at least from goodto very good.
The key is these companies sought improvement.Self-improvement. Whether it was from within, or from an outside groupof impartial experts, the concept was and is to “get better.” Great isan illusive target. Collins knew it.
The concept is notcomplicated. It revolves around self-assessment, an agreed-upon gameplan of action, measurable results, and an overall spirit that includesindividual work, teamwork, and remarkable leadership. So far it’ssimple.
The real issue is, and the thing that has alwaysbothered me about the book, is that the beginning premise assumes youare “good.” Most companies and their people are not. Most businesses are not. And you see them every day, going out of business.
Manycompanies try to maximize profit by cutting costs, or worse, cuttingquality, or way worse, cutting service offerings. Then customers getangry and tell other potential customers through social media, or someform of online reporting like Trip Advisor or Angie’s List. Thenreputation is somewhere between questionable and lost. Followed by adownturn in business.
In 1996, I wrote this customer servicetruth: “It never costs as much to fix the problem as it does to not fixthe problem.” Eighteen years later, that statement has never been moretrue.
Good to Great was published in 2001 way beforesocial media dominated the scene. Companies no longer have toself-assess; all they have to do is go to their Facebook page wheretheir customers have already done it. And there’s usually a huge gapbetween what companies and their leadership THINK they are, and whattheir customers SAY they are. I will always take the latter as the truepicture.
So the real challenge is not how you get from good togreat. It’s how you get from crappy to good. Things like rundown hotels, lousy food in a restaurant, rude clerk in a retail store, long lines to be served, long waits on hold, not keeping up with technology, and poor management seem to be pervasive in our society.
An easy way tobegin your march up the ladder to greatness (or even just goodness) isto talk to more of your customers. Get their views both online and inperson. Get video from them if you can. Create a YouTube channel thatfeatures their voices.
“Voice of customer” in any format forms a clear picture of exactly where you are in their opinion, what theylike, what they expect, and what they wish was better. It creates asolid foundation from which to start. What better place to start thanfrom the customer’s perspective of what would help you get better?
Oh, it’s also your reputation. And it’s also FREE!
This same lesson applies to salespeople. How “good” are you? Is “good” yourstarting point? If you didn’t make your sales goals last year, can youhonestly say you’re good? Or would you fall just below good? Somewherebetween crappy and good?
Keep in mind that as I’m attempting tohelp salespeople assess themselves, they are the lifeblood, and the cash flow, and the profit of the business. Businesses that don’t make enough sales go out of business. Were they good businesses gone bad? Were they good businesses with bad salespeople? Or were they bad businesses thatfailed? I’ll take the latter.
And while I realize that I’mtaking a superficial view, not going into detail about quality ofleadership, quality of service, quality of product, employee retention,or customer retention, I maintain my premise that “voice of customer,”both internal and external, will net better truth and a betterfoundation than a bunch of leaders and consultants sitting around atable coming up with ideas. Many of them self-serving.
Back tosalespeople for a moment… There is no quick fix to get a salespersonfrom good to great, or from below good to above good. But there is areal answer: training. Repetitive training until the salespersongoes from understanding and willingness to application, to proficiency,and finally mastery through daily action.
Be willing to measureyour results. CAUTION: Measurement isn’t: How many cold calls you madethis week. Weak measurement. Don’t measure failure, measure success.Measure pipeline dollars. Measure sale to profit percentage. Measure new customers secured. Measure reorders.
Make measurement a learning experience, not a punishment.
Good to Great isn’t just a book and a concept; it’s also a challenge. The ultimatedesired outcome, wherever you enter the process is: IMPROVEMENT. Whereare YOU on that path? How big is the “room for improvement” in yourworld?
Want to see the best online experience for repetition, mastery, and fun? Take a look at the challenge by going towww.gitomer.com and entering the word REPEAT in the GitBit box. You’llget information, and a link.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author oftwelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little RedBook of Selling. His best-selling 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling isnow available as a book and an online course at www.gitomerVT.com. Forpublic event dates and information about training and seminars visitwww.gitomer.com or email Jeffrey personally at [email protected].
© 2014 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this document
without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704/333-1112
February 13, 2014
Jim Collins immortal business bestseller, Good to Great, created a revolution in many businesses and an explosion in book sales. The book was adopted, adapted, taught, and implemented. In manyinstances, companies did go from good to great – or at least from goodto very good.
The key is these companies sought improvement.Self-improvement. Whether it was from within, or from an outside groupof impartial experts, the concept was and is to “get better.” Great isan illusive target. Collins knew it.
The concept is notcomplicated. It revolves around self-assessment, an agreed-upon gameplan of action, measurable results, and an overall spirit that includesindividual work, teamwork, and remarkable leadership. So far it’ssimple.
The real issue is, and the thing that has alwaysbothered me about the book, is that the beginning premise assumes youare “good.” Most companies and their people are not. Most businesses are not. And you see them every day, going out of business.
Manycompanies try to maximize profit by cutting costs, or worse, cuttingquality, or way worse, cutting service offerings. Then customers getangry and tell other potential customers through social media, or someform of online reporting like Trip Advisor or Angie’s List. Thenreputation is somewhere between questionable and lost. Followed by adownturn in business.
In 1996, I wrote this customer servicetruth: “It never costs as much to fix the problem as it does to not fixthe problem.” Eighteen years later, that statement has never been moretrue.
Good to Great was published in 2001 way beforesocial media dominated the scene. Companies no longer have toself-assess; all they have to do is go to their Facebook page wheretheir customers have already done it. And there’s usually a huge gapbetween what companies and their leadership THINK they are, and whattheir customers SAY they are. I will always take the latter as the truepicture.
So the real challenge is not how you get from good togreat. It’s how you get from crappy to good. Things like rundown hotels, lousy food in a restaurant, rude clerk in a retail store, long lines to be served, long waits on hold, not keeping up with technology, and poor management seem to be pervasive in our society.
An easy way tobegin your march up the ladder to greatness (or even just goodness) isto talk to more of your customers. Get their views both online and inperson. Get video from them if you can. Create a YouTube channel thatfeatures their voices.
“Voice of customer” in any format forms a clear picture of exactly where you are in their opinion, what theylike, what they expect, and what they wish was better. It creates asolid foundation from which to start. What better place to start thanfrom the customer’s perspective of what would help you get better?
Oh, it’s also your reputation. And it’s also FREE!
This same lesson applies to salespeople. How “good” are you? Is “good” yourstarting point? If you didn’t make your sales goals last year, can youhonestly say you’re good? Or would you fall just below good? Somewherebetween crappy and good?
Keep in mind that as I’m attempting tohelp salespeople assess themselves, they are the lifeblood, and the cash flow, and the profit of the business. Businesses that don’t make enough sales go out of business. Were they good businesses gone bad? Were they good businesses with bad salespeople? Or were they bad businesses thatfailed? I’ll take the latter.
And while I realize that I’mtaking a superficial view, not going into detail about quality ofleadership, quality of service, quality of product, employee retention,or customer retention, I maintain my premise that “voice of customer,”both internal and external, will net better truth and a betterfoundation than a bunch of leaders and consultants sitting around atable coming up with ideas. Many of them self-serving.
Back tosalespeople for a moment… There is no quick fix to get a salespersonfrom good to great, or from below good to above good. But there is areal answer: training. Repetitive training until the salespersongoes from understanding and willingness to application, to proficiency,and finally mastery through daily action.
Be willing to measureyour results. CAUTION: Measurement isn’t: How many cold calls you madethis week. Weak measurement. Don’t measure failure, measure success.Measure pipeline dollars. Measure sale to profit percentage. Measure new customers secured. Measure reorders.
Make measurement a learning experience, not a punishment.
Good to Great isn’t just a book and a concept; it’s also a challenge. The ultimatedesired outcome, wherever you enter the process is: IMPROVEMENT. Whereare YOU on that path? How big is the “room for improvement” in yourworld?
Want to see the best online experience for repetition, mastery, and fun? Take a look at the challenge by going towww.gitomer.com and entering the word REPEAT in the GitBit box. You’llget information, and a link.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author oftwelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little RedBook of Selling. His best-selling 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling isnow available as a book and an online course at www.gitomerVT.com. Forpublic event dates and information about training and seminars visitwww.gitomer.com or email Jeffrey personally at [email protected].
© 2014 All Rights Reserved. Don’t even think about reproducing this document
without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer. 704/333-1112
