don't go where the money is

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35 Snow Drive | Littleton, MA 01460 | (978) [email protected] | www.ccocouncil.org©2012 Chief Customer Officer Council, Inc.

Don’t Go Where The

Money Is!

Go Where The

Relationships Are

by Curtis N. Bingham




Don’t Go Where The Money Is!

Go Where The Relationships Are

Curtis N. Bingham

Founder and Executive Director

Chief Customer Officer Council

CurtisBinghamistherecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethisroleasacatalyst

forcompetitiveadvantage.HeisthecreatoroftheCCORoadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+critical

strategiesessentialforcustomercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisispassionate

aboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,andloyalty.

Toooftensalespeoplewastealotoftimetryingtogowherethemoneyis,usingcoldcalling,direct

mail,orotherstandardtacticstoreachdecision-makerstheyhopewillbuyfromthem.Buttobereally

successful,salespeopleshouldinsteadgowheretherelationshipsarebyseekingoutpeoplewhohave

establishedrelationshipswiththedecision-makerstowhomtheywishtosell.Throughthese

intermediariestheywillultimatelyreachthedecisionmakersfasterandclosesignificantlymore

business.Inthisarticle,wetakealookathowsalespeoplecanbestgoaboutidentifyingandleveraging

relationshipswithsuchtrustedadvisorsandasaresultclosebigger,better,andeasiersales.

The Psychology of a Purchase Decision

Itiswidelyknownthatcompanieswillpurchasebasedonaninternalrecommendationfarmorequicklyandeasilythantheywillpurchasecoldfromanoutsidecompany.Asalespersonwithout

recommendations,referrals,ortrackrecordwillthusbesubjectedtosignificantscrutinyand

competitiveevaluation.Conversely,someonewhohassuccessfullyworkedwiththedecision-maker

won’tbescrutinizedmuch,ifatall.Sosalespeopleneedtofindtheplaceinbetween.Thebestwayto

dothisistoobtainrecommendationsfromsourcesthedecision-makertrustsexplicitly.

Withsuchstrongrecommendationsyoubypassintensescrutinyandcompetitiveanalysisaswellas

biddingwarsthatyoucansometimesbecomeembroiledin,andoftenlose.

Finding Trusted Advisors

Howdoyoutriangulateonadecision-makerandenterthisinsidernetworkoftrusttostreamlinethepurchasedecision?Acolleagueofminehassaidthatasaruleofthumbhetriestohavethree

networkingpointsofcontactwithanindividual,andinthiswayheeventuallyreachesthemthroughone

ofthesethree.Thebiggestchallengeistofigureoutwherethesepeopleare,wheretheyhangout,who

aretheirmosttrustedadvisorsorinfluencers.Itcouldbeotherpeoplewithinthecompany,theirboss,

oradvisors(suchasconsultants),orperhapsanaccountingfirm,bank,etc.




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IrecentlyattemptedwithoutsuccesstogainanaudiencewithaCIOofamajorfinancialservicesfirm.At

aseminarwherethisCIOwaspresenting,Ilearnedthatapartneratoneofthemajoraccountingfirms

wasinfactthisCIO’smosttrustedadvisor.Soafterdevelopingarelationshipwiththepartner,Icameto

understandtheburningissuesthisCIOfacedwhichledtotheintroductionwhichIhadbeentryingto

attain(unsuccessfully)onmyown.

Tofindtrustedadvisors,tryoneorallofthefollowing:

• Identifypeersinthecompanyanddeveloprelationshipswiththedecision-maker’speers.

• Identifyhigher-rankingindividualsasitisfareasiertoreachsomeoneifyouhavearelationship

withhis/herboss.

• Attendandjoinnetworkingassociations.Becarefulherehoweverbecausefrequentlythese

groupscanbefullofotherconsultantsvyingforthesamebusiness.

• Serveonboardsofnon-profits:Ihavefoundgreatsuccessinworkingontheboardsofnon-

profitssinceotherboardmembersgetthechancetoseeyouinactionandwillthenintroduce

youtotheirownnetworks.

• Locateserviceproviderswhohavecomplementaryofferingsbutnotnecessarilycompetitive

offerings.

Service Providers

Perhapsthebestmethodtoreachadecision-makeristhroughprovidersofcomplementaryservices

whoalreadypossessstrongrelationshipsandwhoserecommendationsaretrusted.Forexample,a

bankerwillknowquiteabitabouthis/herclientsandwillalsoknowwhatmanyoftheirneedsare.CPAs

aresimilar,yetinmyexperienceCPAsseemtobeabitmoreprotectiveoftheirclients.Lawyersonthe

otherhandknowquiteabitabouttheirclientsandarevaluablesourcesofrecommendations.Ifyour

prospectiveclientsareservedbyinvestmentbankersandventurecapitalfirms,youmaybeableto

reachyourprospectsontherecommendationoftheirfinancialadvisors.

Beforeyoucanleveragethisavenue,however,youmustanswertheWIIFM(“WhatIsInItForMe?”)

question.Thatmeans:Whywouldtheseserviceprovidersrecommendyou?Keepinmindthatthese

providersalwayswanttoincreaseorenhancetheirvalueintheclient’seyes.Ifyouareabletohelp

themfulfilltheirclient’sneeds,theyincreasetheirvalueandsolidifytheirrelationshipwiththeirclients.

Aswell,iftheseproviderscanmakeatrustedreferral,theyminimizetheriskofhavinganothercompany

broughtinwhomayimpingeontheirbusiness.Ifwarranted,youmayconsiderofferingsomesortofa

referralfeetomakeitworththeirwhileandtoensurefuturereferralsfromthem.Additionally,theseserviceprovidersmayrespondwelltoreciprocalreferralsintoyournetwork.

Obtaining an Introduction

Howtoleveragetheseinteractionsonceyougetthem?First,beveryclearaboutthevalue-addyou

offer.Bereadytodescribeitclearlyandsuccinctly,andinanon-threateningway.Beunafraidofasking




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thequestion,“Doyouknowofsomeonewhomightusetheseservices?”or“Areyouworkingwithany

companiesthatmightbenefit?”

Whenyoudescribewhatitisthatyouareabletodo,youneedtodosointermsofthepainorthe

needsthattheirclientsorthosewithwhomtheyhavetherelationshipwillbefeeling.

Insteadofsaying“I’masalespersonforZZZcompany,”insteadsaysomethingmorealongthelinesof,“I

helpcompaniesthatarestrugglingwithdiminishedrevenueandincreasinglyelusivecustomerstofind

moreclientsandgainmorerevenuefromeachofthem.”

Following Up

OneofthebestproponentsofthissystemwillregularlyfollowupwithmeonthestatusofthereferralsI

haveprovided.Heprovidesabriefsummaryofthemeetingshe’shad,thedirectionstheyareheadedin

together,andasanaddedsidebenefit,heoffersmeapercentageofthefeeheearnsasaresultofmyreferral.Suchregularandcomprehensivefollow-upisinvaluableforkeepingthisprocesssuccessfullyon

track.

Summary

Gowheretherelationshipsare!Thedecisiontoretainyourservicesissignificantlyeasierwhenyou

comehighlyrecommendedfromatrustedadvisor.Therearemanypeoplewithinabuyer’scircleof

influence,allofwhommightrecommendyou.Findoutwhothesepeopleareandestablishrelationships

withthem.Leveragenon-competingserviceproviderssuchasbankers,lawyers,CPAs,industrythought-

leaders,etc.toreachintotheirnetworks.Besuretotakecareofyournewnetworkandrewarditwell,

forthepotentialrewardstoyourselfareimmense.




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About CURTIS N. BINGHAM

AsExecutiveDirectoroftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncil™,CurtisBinghamis

therecognizedauthorityonchiefcustomerofficersandthefirsttopromotethis

role as a catalyst for competitive advantage. He is the creator of the CCO

Roadmap,agroundbreakingworkcontaining100+criticalstrategiesessentialfor

customercentricity.Asaninternationalspeaker,author,andconsultant,Curtisis

passionateaboutcreatingcustomerstrategytosustainablygrowrevenue,profit,

andloyalty.

About THE CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER COUNCIL

TheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncilis thefirstof itskind;a member-led peer-advisory network offering unparalleled insight into the

critical issues facing CCOs. It was created to provide a safe

environmentwhere CCOs canshare ideas, concerns, andbuild best

practices that wellhelp them, their companies, andespecially their

customers succeed. The Council includes CCOs from diverse

industries, purposefully cross-pollinated with the most forward-

thinking companies, large and small. For more information, visit

www.ccocouncil.org,[email protected].

FormoreresourcesfromCurtisBinghamandtheCCOCouncil,includingarticles,videos,and The

BinghamAdvisory ,visitwww.ccocouncil.org.

Copyright Notice

Allcontentcontainedinthisarticleiscopyrightprotectedmaterial.Reproduction,inwholeorinpart,inanyformormedium,withoutthe

expresswrittenpermissionoftheChiefCustomerOfficerCouncilisstrictlyprohibited.Contactea@ccocouncil.orgforreprints.

CutAnythingBUTMarketing–InthisarticlebyCurtisN.Bingham,you’lllearnhowacross-the-boardbudget

cutsduringtimesofrecessioncanbedetrimenaltoyourbottomlineandwhythecounterintuitivedecision

toincreasemarketingspendpaysbothshortandlongtermdividends.

Downloadyourfreecopytodayatwww.ccocouncil.org/exclusiveresources/

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