Experience is Not the Best Teacher

The world comes to me as a fact, but I decide what to conclude from here.
Peter Block, The Answer to How is Yes

What is an experience but the present moment of a particular circumstance? They are as fleeting as they are arresting; as real as they are imagined; and as useful to us as they are benign. Experiences are like the sounds of the pendulum’s swing rushing through the air one moment, while telling the lessons of time about the dial in the next. They are all around us, but alone, experiences are neither good nor bad, right nor wrong, worthwhile or a waste . . . at least not until they are reflected upon . . . given relevance and meaning as a result.

Thus, experience is not the best teacher; rather, it is reflected experience that is the best instructor of life. Not until something becomes relevant to a person can it ever affect a change in their behavior or thinking. And not until something is reflected upon—a past experience that is pondered, considered, and internalized in search of its meaning and lesson, can it ever become relevant.

Relevance is discerned through reflection. Change is made through relevance.

It is at the point of relevance, or realization, that our experiences become useful to us; they change us and we discover how behaviors affect outcomes, and how behaviors adjusted can modify our outcomes. Therefore, reflected experience is the only effective means to get people to change, grow, and be successful.

What Does All This Mean to the Sales Professional?

Beware of amassing a lifetime of sales experience that yields no value aside from the commission. Beware of a life that says twenty years of sales experience equates to superior sales prowess and success. It’s a virtual proverb that experienced means none other than you have a lot of time accrued in the industry.

Experience counts for nothing in many instances. Why? Because sales professionals often never take the time to reflect upon those experiences so they may learn and grow and become a better person and professional.

Reflection is Evaluation

Evaluate your activities and your sales conversations. Let others do the same. Be honest with yourself when doing so—analyze your marketing efforts and your sales techniques. Formulate a simple means (i.e. checklist) that causes you to reflect from time to time on your daily, weekly, monthly or yearly experiences.

It is not all that important how often you reflect upon your experiences as a sales professional, nor is it that important how you evaluate yourself either. What is important is that you do it. Plain and simple as it sounds, schedule time if you have to to reflect upon your business activities and results. The outcome will be growth for you personally and professionally.

A Final Note on Reflected Experience

Never expect training to change behavior or to provide a pathway to personal and professional growth. Training, particularly classroom sales training, has no real value in many organizations. Why? Because most training is very brief, impractical, and lacks a “reflection” component as well.

No one is going to change as a result of our desires.
Peter Block, The Answer to How is Yes

Many Learning & Development divisions within sales organizations fail at achieving positive change for sales professionals because a follow-up component (reflection – evaluation of sales experience) is missing in their training model. Those units would be more accurately named Learning rather than Learning & Development because little to no development ever actually occurs.

Don’t be like so many other sales professionals or organizations, who never take the time to reflect upon their sales and marketing experiences in order to learn from mistakes and successes.

Experience is Not the Best Teacher. Reflected Experience is the Best Teacher.

Copyright © 2010 - Tony Cefalu

Sell the Experience Pt IV (Final)

About 15 years ago, I relocated to another area of the state for business reasons. As a result, I had the dubious task of having to find a new family doctor. And as many of you know, doctors and I don't mix well. I figure they tolerate me as a non-compliant patient and I tolerate them as pious know it alls. Terrible attitude, I know. I'm working on it…really!

Anyway, I went to this family doctor after finally getting sick one day. After the appointment, I saw my wife. Fearing the worst had happened, she asked how it went with a subtle wince. I told her, "Great!" "In fact, it went better than great. This doctor is absolutely the best doctor I have ever had. I'm going to recommend her to all my friends. That's how good she is. For once in my life, I think I've found a good doctor I can trust and stay with."

In shocked amazement she smiled and asked, "How do you know she's any good? Did you see where she graduated from? Did she tell you her grades in school? Did you ask her where she did her residency? What was it that made you think she was great and a keeper as a family doctor?" I thought for a second and simply said," Because I liked her."

"She was pleasant. She listened. Her staff was great. They smiled. I waited a long time, but when they called my name, they apologized for the wait and told me that the doctor had an emergency case come in. That's why it took so long. They didn't want me to think that they didn't appreciate my waiting; that I was important to them." Hear what I'm saying…the entire office experience...from the pleasant environment of the office itself, to my contact with the staff and doctor…their genuinely nice manner and concern for me...made me feel good even though I waited an extraordinary amount of time in the waiting room. Do you think we can learn something from this experience? You bet we can! Don't think for one second that my "favorite" new doctor and her staff aren't in sales…They are; and doing a good job of it!

Now, I'm not claiming that the entire experience was fun, problem free, and some life changing experience for me. It wasn't like that. I'm also not claiming that substance doesn't matter, because it does. I am simply pointing out the fact that when coupled with positive emotional experiences in the business environment, sales professionals can take their profession AND results to the next level. It's a nuance of the experts…that extra honing of the business craft and the art of sales that we can begin to take advantage of…it's that little extra which makes the difference between good and great.

Choices are emotional. Buying is a choice. It can generate negative feelings or positive feelings. How is it with you? How do you make your customers feel?

Are you giving them what they want...attention, empathy, consideration, reliability, honesty, helpful and pleasant service, convenience, follow-up, kept promises, genuine appreciation? In order to do that, it starts with a belief in who we are and what we offer. Remember, we're "cool" and people need us…they truly need us. It doesn't get any better than that.

By the way, the rest of my story is that United Healthcare decided to pull out of the area last year. Consequently, my "favorite" new doctor was no longer a subscriber under my health insurance plan. I refused to go to a different doctor. Instead, I paid out of pocket for an entire year before a new contract with United Healthcare was negotiated with the local hospital and subscribing physicians. But then, I was willing to do that because...I liked her…I liked her staff, and the entire office environment. They made me feel special.

Copyright © 2010 - Tony Cefalu

Sell the Experience Pt III

So, do you want more customers? Do you want to keep the ones you have? Then SMILE…even when you don't want to! Brighten someone's' day and you'll end up brightening up your own. What reward is there anyway in only smiling when you feel like it? Give a good handshake. Make them feel important and special…because they are important. Make them feel at home. Talk about what they like. Be friendly. Give the customer the experience they are looking for and want! I'm not saying you have to be a phony or unprofessionally "giddy" in front of people…but be genuine, friendly, considerate…and interested in them. People will "sniff that out" and will react positively towards you in return.

I know, some of you reading this are are saying , "We do all that stuff already. Besides, doesn't it just come naturally to most of us who are in the people business anyway?". Well, I'm not buying that one. Most people have to work at being friendly and creating positive customer experiences.

So, at every juncture of customer contact (I call those junctures Customer Perception Points, or CPPs) with your office, what are customers feeling? What's your strategy to enhance their buying or transaction experience? What CPPs have you identified as the most important; that have the greatest impact on customer retention and the buying process? What's your business habit…your E-Tactic (Emotion Tactic)?

When customers call in, are they greeted cheerfully? What is said? When they walk in, do you smile at them and tell them how glad you are to see them? Do you make them feel special, valued or important? Do you have a strategy so they don't feel ignored?

How about when a customer complains; do you have an "apology" strategy that makes them feel 'heard' and validated? When you are having a sales conversation, do you get the customer talking about what they are interested in and 'like'.

How do you treat customers when they first walk into your office/agency? Do you offer them a token of our appreciation in the form of a "give-away" item or a cup of coffee or water? Are they complimented on meeting with you? Do you offer them a nice chair to sit in?

Do you make things easy, smooth, and as effortless as possible when transacting business with them? When there's a claim, do you have a strategy to empathize and help them get the process started. Or do you just do what comes naturally…or what you THINK comes naturally to be but really doesn't!

How's the lighting in your office? Is it too dim or worse yet, does it create a depressing mood that puts the customer in a negative mindset? Is the office too noisy or full of distractions? Are there smells that are objectionable? These are questions that can't be ignored if you are to begin to truly differentiate yourself from the 'other guy'.

Think about it. Can you have constructive weekly team meetings with your associates that have on the agenda things such as 'CPPs and how we can enhance the customer experience' when it comes to claim time for auto; for homeowners; for health, or life insurance? That would be a great start to differentiating your agency from the competition. Begin by asking your team members, "What does the customer want come claim time?" Your answers will frame your strategy.

By the way…what's so wrong with giving the customer what they want? We're in business to do that…aren't we?

Copyright © 2010 - Tony Cefalu

Sell the Experience Pt.II

Herb Kehlleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines said, "I keep telling them (visitors to Southwest Airlines) that the intangibles are far more important than the tangibles in the competitive world because, obviously, you can replicate the tangibles. You can get the same airplane. You can get the same ticket counters. You can get the same computers. But the hardest thing for a competitor to match is your culture and the spirit of your people and their focus on customer service because that isn't something you can do overnight and it isn't something that you can do without a great deal of attention every day in a thousand different ways."

Southwest is one of a few profitable airline companies out there today.

What was Kehlleher really saying? Certainly the 'tangibles' matter with any business. For instance, a tangible, quality product is a requirement to be an impact player in any market. That is irrefutable. But what Kelleher was saying is this: "It is the 'little things' that matter most to customers. Business doesn't thrive on what it has or is to a customer, rather it thrives on what it does for its customers and how it makes them 'feel'.

Kelleher was also saying that it is the subtleties of everyday life; the smile, the firm handshake, the attention given and the courtesy shown to a customer that can mean the difference between success and failure in business. The intangibles are those things that the customer experiences and feels and, in the great majority of cases, ultimately relies on when deciding where to buy...and from whom they will buy it from. The intangibles differentiate us from the crowded competitive landscape and get us remembered and referred for future sales.

But instead, businesses all too often focus on the tangible elements of such things as the number of marketing calls made, or the number of sales appointments set and sales made in a given week or month. All these things are important to track and know. But it is the tracking and understanding of what 'really' has the power and allure to get an individual to want to buy that is best to master and know.

Call it the E-Factor for Experience or Emotional Factor. Whatever name you give it, the truth remains the same. How a customer feels, particularly when they buy and make choices, makes the difference between closing a sale and not closing a sale. The E-Factor is the difference!

So, what are your customers experiencing and feeling when they walk into your office? How about when they call in to your office or business? What about at claim time, how do you make them feel; comforted, nervous, uncertain? Is their experience a positive one?

Your answer can be the difference between whether you have a successful business or not.

Copyright © 2010 - Tony Cefalu

Sell the Customer the Experience Pt.1

Ari Weinzwig, cofounder of Zingerman's delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan ("That Place Up North") which generates $10 million in annual revenues describes to his staff the importance positive emotional experiences have in the day-to-day operation of his business…

"I tell our people that you want the customer to think they're the best thing that has happened to you all day. We're not here to sell a loaf of bread or a sandwich or an apple. We're selling them an experience. It's not enough to sell people a great bottle of olive oil. Who cares? You've got to give them a great experience. People are going to go where they have a great experience, where it's fun, where they are appreciated."

Now, I know we aren't in the delicatessen business. In fact, I'm glad we're not in the delicatessen business! What we do is much "cooler" than that. What we do ought to spark some passion within each of us. That passion translates into a genuine care for what we do…and who we serve.

Think about it for a moment. We help keep hopes and dreams alive in the midst of material loss, or worse yet, the loss of a loved one. We help keep families together that might otherwise succumb to the financial strains that can so often break the human will and spirit when tragedy occurs. We help people keep their self dignity and self respect by providing them with choices through the things that we do, particularly when it comes to our health products. We help people maintain peace of mind by taking the worry from them. We help people with a good conscience through the insurance, investments, and services we provide. We are cool…and what we do matters.

So, if a delicatessen owner understands the "business" importance of a good customer experience and how EMOTIONS factor into the decision to buy and stay with a particular sales professional or place, then why can't we?

Researchers tell us that 60% of the customers who leave a sales professional or place of business is not because of the quality of the product. In fact, only 14% truly leave or switch for that reason. No, the primary reason that the great majority of people "defect' or leave us is because of the way they are treated. Or you might say, they leave because of how we make them feel! Ah oh! You mean I need to evaluate my office systems to include making the customer "feel good"; to have a "positive experience?"

Yep! That would be my advice.

Customers are Always Emotional When Buying or Transacting Business.
Buying is NEVER an Emotionally Neutral Event. Turn it to the Positive Side of Things.

Copyright © 2010 - Tony Cefalu