Volume #20

The Selling Magic of Preeminence

“There's a way to do better... find it.”
Thomas Alva Edison

A few years ago I met with a person called Frank who has a refreshingly different approach to business. Frank owns a firm that employs temporary staff to do manual work in factories. He told me something he did for one of his new clients.

This client needed three workers to clean up the area in front of their business. The job required three workers for about a week. So Frank provided three temporary workers who started to do the necessary work. Things went well for about four days and then Frank got a call from his client. His client told him that two of the workers he had hired to do the cleanup work had not turned up. This was a common problem for Frank in his line of business. Temporary staff doing manual work in factories are not that reliable. So Frank rang a number of people he had as backups for just such a situation. Unfortunately this one time, at very short notice, he wasn’t able to get any replacement staff to do the work.

So what did Frank do?

Frank went to his clients business himself.

He then spent about six hours cleaning up rubbish with the other temporary worker that had turned up. What was interesting to me was that Frank was not dressed at all to do this type of work. He had smart casual clothes and he wore these to do what was very messy and dirty work. His clothes all had to be dry-cleaned when he had finished because of the state they were in. However the job for his client was completed on time.

Frank’s client was both amazed and thrilled at what Frank had done.

The client told Frank they had never had such incredible service from any employment agency. and he was quickly given another very large and lucrative assignment from this same client.

And that brings me to the purpose of this edition of Easy Business Success.

What Frank did for his client was a wonderful example of what marketing legend Jay Abraham calls the strategy of pre-eminence.

Pre-eminence is a wonderful way to increase your sales.

So in this edition of Easy Business Success I want to show you why pre-eminence is so powerful and how you can use it yourself to give your sales a real boost.

How to use pre-eminence to increase your sales:

In his wonderful book “Getting everything you can out of all you’ve got” marketing guru Jay Abraham devotes a whole chapter to the power of pre-eminence in business. As Jay explains:

“Why do some people gain levels of success so much higher than others?

Frequently it's due to the fact that they have a better philosophical strategy. They approach everyone they deal with in a totally different and more effective way than anyone else does. And while their competitors are usually unable to figure out this strategy, it is one anyone in business can successfully employ by simply changing his or her focus from "me" to "you."

This is true whether you own a business of your own or work for a business.

This simple adjustment in your focus is the key to what I believe is the most powerful business (and life) strategy you can employ. I call it the Strategy of Pre-eminence. Once you begin to use it you will always stand out in the minds, hearts, and check books of your client, your employees, your employer, or your boss as the very best there is. The pre-eminent choice.”

Jay goes on to outline why pre-eminence works so well:

“The strategy of pre-eminence is quite simply the ability to put your client’s needs always ahead of your own. Become their trusted adviser, their friend. Treat them the same way you would want to be treated.

If it seems backward to put your clients' best interests ahead of your own that's understandable. In fact, that is the reason so many businesses are unremarkable, unmemorable, and, ultimately, unsuccessful.

It's amazing how many people and companies will say and do whatever it takes to make a one time sale rather than taking the time to understand the clients' desired outcome. And then having the courage and the concern to tell that client that what they really need is much less than what they told you they wanted. You may, when you take this approach, end up with a smaller initial sale, but you will have just made a new friend, someone who will remember you the next time. And who will, no doubt, tell his friends about you and your company.

The Strategy of Pre-eminence is a powerful yet simple strategy that almost single handedly can transform your business or career. It makes people enthusiastic to do business with you instead of your competitors. It will give you an uncanny insight into what people want, and why they act and react in various ways. It will turn clients into, literally, friends for life. And it will strengthen your passion and connection to everyone with whom you associate.

You need to understand that you have a higher purpose for being in business than simply making money. Your purpose must be understanding what you can do to help solve the problems of others, help maximize the options, and finding ways to do it. And unless you understand that higher purpose, you can't begin to take advantage of your potential.”

How to use pre-eminence in your own business:

Pre-eminence means treating your client or customer as a valued friend who you genuinely like and care about. There are many ways to do this.

Pre-eminence means pitching in when your client needs your help.

(When you give help when your client needs it, you show them you care and you position yourself as being genuinely different from most people they do business with.)

Examples:

My client Frank who did the messy clean up work himself was a wonderful illustration of someone who is prepared to help out his client even when it inconvenienced himself.

In his book “Getting everything you can out of all you’ve got” Jay Abraham talks about the Federal Express employee who helps out his client.

“A FedEx dispatcher got a frantic call from a tearful bride-to-be whose gown had been misrouted the day before her wedding. The alert dispatcher located the gown in a distant city and had it flown to the distraught client's city by private plane. The gown arrived in time for the young woman to wear it at her wedding. The rescue effort was expensive, but it became the talk of the wedding reception and no doubt caused many executives attending the ceremony to start using FedEx.”

Helping your client out can be as simple as recommending a resource or person that may help them to solve a problem they have.

Example:

I met with a client a while ago and they told me they were unhappy with the service they were getting from their current accountant. I recommended a very good accountant they could talk to. This recommendation is already worth several thousand dollars more money in his pocket every year. And all it took me to help this person was give them a good recommendation.

Action Exercise One:

What are five ways you could help out some of your clients or customers this week?

Which of these are you going to do this week?

Pre-eminence means following up after the sale:

(To contribute, acknowledge, and assure that client that you care about them.)

It always amazes me how few businesses have a follow up programme of added value communications after they make a sale to a client. One follow up approach I like is the 1-5-15 follow-up schedule.

(It's called this because you take specific follow-up action on days 1, 5 and 15.)

Example:

Day 1:

Within 24 hours of the first sale to a new customer send a short handwritten thank you note. "Dear Mr Smith, I enjoyed helping you choose your new widget. I trust you will enjoy years of enjoyment in it. Best wishes Your Name”.

Day 5:

Approximately 5 days after the sale deliver a small present to the purchaser. It could be a small pot plant, a gift book, a couple of free movie passes. Enclose a short thank you note that says something like “Dear Mr Smith, I appreciate you being a customer and thought you would enjoy this small gift. With my compliments. Your name.”

Day 15:

Approximately 15 days after the customer purchase make a quick follow up call. Ask them how their widget is going and how they are finding it. This follow-up call lets the customer know you value the relationship with them even after you've made the sale.

The 1-5-15 day programme can easily be adapted to any business by changing the days you take follow up action on. For instance, you may implement a 1-7-30 day follow-up programme in your business. Or perhaps yours is a 1-10-20- day follow-up programme.

The key idea with this 1-5-15 follow up system is that you are in contact in an added value way several times within the first month of a new customer making a purchase. This shows the customer that you are serious about treating them well and looking after them on a long term basis. This is a very rare experience for most customers!

Pre-eminence means thinking about your client as more than one sale:

A big mistake here is forgetting about the long term value of a customer and just going for a quick sale initially. This short term thinking can be very costly.

Example:

I read a very interesting message about this mistake from best selling author and speaker Robin Sharma recently. As Robin explained:

“I recently used a graphics design firm to create a new brochure for a leadership seminar I was to deliver to a group of investment advisors. While the quality of the brochure was excellent, the agency charged me triple the going rate for the work they did. I quietly paid the invoice but vowed never to do business with that company again. Had these people not been so consumed with making a profit from me on the first transaction and, instead, sincerely committed themselves to building a long-term relationship by treating me well and delivering far more value than I had any right to expect, they just might have had a customer for life. Had these people taken the time to reflect on the fundamentals, they would have realized that someone such as me, who spends his life as an author and speaker, would generate significant amounts of profit over the long term not to mention the goodwill I would generate for them by telling every one of my colleagues of their high quality services.”

(This short term thinking to get a onetime sale has effectively cost this graphics design firm a small fortune in ongoing repeat and referral business from Robin.)

Pre-eminence means understanding human nature:

As Jay Abraham says in his book “How to get everything you want from all you’ve got”.

“Mastering the Strategy of Pre-eminence is really the under¬standing and having the utmost respect for human nature. Start by considering yourself and how you go about making deci¬sions. Naturally, you want to feel good about yourself and the decisions you make in business or just in everyday life. You want to look smart and feel like you've done the best you can. But sometimes you're just not sure what the right decision is. So your first instinct is to take less action because you're afraid to take the wrong action, and you don't want to look dumb. What you look for in those situations is a trusted friend. A confidant. Someone you can feel comfortable asking advice from because you know he or she has your best interests at heart and will give you advice that will benefit you, not him or her.

Now, consider that everyone you sell to, individuals or corpo¬rations reacts in exactly the same way. Because they are all, first and foremost, human beings. And, as such, they will always exhibit human behaviour. Just like you.

Your job, therefore, is to understand and acknowledge the reality of human nature in your clients. Accept that people will work harder not to look foolish than they will work to gain an advantage. Become their trusted adviser, their friend.”

Sometimes the best solution for what your customer or client is really looking for is not the most expensive product or service you have. And when you tell them why it’s not the best solution you are well on the way to becoming their trusted confidant or friend.

Jay gives a wonderful example of this in his book:

When a father comes into your store to buy his six year old son his first bicycle, what is he looking for? What does he need? Does he just want a bicycle? No. He's looking for one of the most joyful sharing experiences of a lifetime teaching his son how to ride a bicycle. Just like his father taught him to ride a bicycle when he was six. He's looking for a memory that will last for the rest of his life and his little boy's. He's looking for that once in a lifetime moment when his son, smiling ear to¬ ear and speeding down the street, yells, "Look, Dad, I'm riding a two wheeler!"

So, do you sell the father and his son the top of the line highest profit margin bike in the store? Maybe, if that's the best solution to your client's problem. But you definitely should tell the father that you've seen hundreds of dads come in to buy their child's first bike and you know what a wonderful experi¬ence he and his son are about to have. And possibly a less expensive model would be better for his son. It's the little guy's first bicycle and he may crash it into a tree or two. You make the sale and you just became a trusted adviser to the father.

The father realizes you didn't just sell him a product. You "protected" him. He became a client. In a couple of years his son will need a new bike. Where do you think he'll go to buy it? And at that point the upscale; high profit margin model might be the best choice. Maybe the entire family will want bikes to ride together. And when the time comes for the little boy to buy his son his first bicycle, where do you think he'll go?

Key Point:

Our customers and clients want to feel that we understand their situation well and that we will recommend a product or service that is genuinely helpful.

In other words we need to first know two things:

A: What is our client’s actual situation right now?

B: What is our client’s ideal situation?

Once we know these two things, we focus on the ‘gap’ between A & B.

Only when we understand a client’s situation, should we start making product or service recommendations and show our client how they can close this gap.

Example:

Imagine you went to see a medical specialist because you felt there was something wrong with your health. So you walk into the medical specialist’s office and he welcomes you with these words.

“Glad to see you Graham. Let me tell you about the wonderful special we have this week on heart medication. You are going to love it.”

How would you feel about this medical specialist if they did this to you?

You would feel shocked that he would try and recommend something before he even knew what was wrong with you. You would feel cheated and you would not take his advice seriously.

The mistake this medical specialist made is obvious. He did not take the time to ask you questions and do a proper diagnosis. If he had taken the time to do this you would be far more likely to take his recommendation seriously.

And it’s the same with pre-eminence & understanding human nature.

We need to take the time to find out exactly what outcomes our clients want before we make any product or service recommendations. The best way to do this is to ask high quality questions and listen to the answers you get.

In Easy Business Success Volume 9 I talk in detail about how to ask ‘Expensive Questions’. You can read how to do this at this link

Expensive Questions

Summary:

Jay Abraham again: “The Strategy of Pre-eminence doesn't apply only to selling clients your product or service. This strategy is of equal impor¬tance to anyone, in any business situation. If you're in adminis¬tration, legal, shipping any department you should use the Strategy of Pre-eminence as a basis for dealing with everyone.

Be a problem solver, not a problem bringer. Add value to every task you undertake on your employer's behalf. Anyone, in any situation, who can look at you as a trusted friend who is provid¬ing a service that will benefit them in some way, will be more than willing to sing your praises to those who have the ability to advance your career. Not just because you helped them. But also because they will want to continue to take advantage of the valuable service you provide them.

Whatever you do, if you focus on giving value and advice instead of manipulating and manoeuvring, you win over many more prospects, clients, bosses, colleagues, and friends. And you will be rewarded in ways you never dreamed.”

Resource Box:

Get a copy of one of the best books on sales and marketing I have ever read. It is called “Getting everything you can out of all you’ve got” by Jay Abraham.

It is available from www.Amazon.com and www.thebookdepository.com
The strategy of pre-eminence is very similar to the ‘Go Giver’ philosophy shared in the wonderful book ‘The Go Giver’ by Bob Burg and John David Mann.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob Burg recently and you can listen to our interview at this link http://www.theunfairbusinessadvantage.com/GoGiver/

To subscribe to Easy Business Success just go to www.EasyBusinessSuccess.com
(This is completely free and won’t cost you a single penny).

You can contact Graham on

You can read back issues of Easy Business Success at http://www.easybusinesssuccess.com/back-issues.asp