From a distance Doctors and Salespeople may look like they are at opposite ends of the career spectrum but up close they are more closely related than you may think.  Their customer base may be different but if they are doing their respective jobs right, they are delivering the same thing, solutions.  If you’ve ever had a bad experience with a salesperson or a Doctor, it quickly becomes apparent they have an specific agenda or are trying to push a product on you regardless of whether it’s what you really need.  For example the salesperson will give you all the features and benefits (bells & whistles) of his or her product and the Doctor will tell you all about the medicine that will take whatever ails you away.  However, what’s missing here are not the what, but the why and the how. Why will the product, procedure, or medicine work? How will this product, procedure, or medicine impact my life? Will it save me time or money or make me feel better again?

I was sitting in my 11 year old daughters Pediatrician’s office yesterday listening to him talk to my wife and daughter when I suddenly realized that he is a great Salesman. He was referred to us by many people so we knew he was a great Doctor but didn’t quite realize yet what made him different from the rest.  He has a very good bedside manner but it is much more than that.  As I was watching him interact with us I thought of the following traits that a good Doctor and a good Salesperson share:

1.       He takes his time with his patients. He doesn’t rush to get to the treatment (or the sale) 
           quickly. (this is the 2nd straight time he has spent an hour with my daughter during her
           appointment)

2.       He asks thought provoking, penetrating questions to uncover more information to be able to
           diagnose what the proper solution is.  

3.       He gets the parents involved in the appointment so that it is not just him talking. He helps
           makes the customers(sales) take ownership of the solution

4.       He is passionate about his calling and it shows in his work. It is more than just a job to him.

5.       He enjoys his patients (customers) and genuinely cares about them and their well being.

A Salesperson would do well to take a page out of a good Doctors book by remembering to focus on the Solution rather than the features and benefits of their product.  By focusing on how your solution will impact your customers business, you will not only stand out against your competitors but even more importantly will gain the customer’s trust which eventually will lead to the Holy Grail of Sales; A customer referral.

I have a confession to make. I have watched every season of the Reality TV show Survivor.  Not only do I enjoy watching it every week with my teenage daughter but surprisingly there are some good business lessons to be gleaned from this show as well. Survivor is a microcosm of today’s business environment.  There are many aspects to the game of Survivor but at its core, it really is a social game. People are thrown together from all walks of life and are part of a team (at least at the beginning) with the ultimate goal of being the one to outlast, outwit and outplay everyone.  They have to learn to live and work together in less than perfect conditions. The contestants face many hurdles in the forms of challenges and puzzles that have to be figured out, not to mention the severe competitive nature of everyone knowing that only one person will come out on top.  What is quite fascinating to watch is that each season there are a few contestants who underestimate the importance of the social aspect and they inevitably don’t do very well. When you stop and think about it, business really works in the same fashion.  So much of a business environment can be broken down to learning to get along with co-workers, superiors and being part of a team, to achieve a common goal (business plan).  The consequences in business however are far more damaging than just getting kicked off a TV show.  Here are some other common aspects that both Survivor and business share:

Survivor                                               Business

Tribe mates                                       Co-workers

Competitions                                    Deadlines, projects, unplanned events

Tribe leader                                       Boss, immediate supervisor

Lack of food and resources           Budget constraints, cost reductions, staff reductions

Tribal Council                                   Employee reviews, promotions, demotions

Success is business often comes down to the business relationships you have. How is your social game at work?  Are you playing to win or merely survive?

One of the first and most important steps in understanding both your competitor’s and your own products is, understanding the key differentiators.  In other words, what influences a customer to buy your products or services rather than your competitor’s?  You can bet that if your employees don’t know, your customers probably don’t know either. Companies tend to spend a lot of time educating and training their employees on product knowledge but do they incorporate this critical piece of information into their training? This is a great opportunity for companies to really stand out when it comes to educating both their employees and customers. Also, a key to having a successful marketing campaign is to position your product or solution correctly. You can’t know where to position your products if you don’t first know how they differentiate in the marketplace.

In addition, consumers are drawn to brands that are different.  Differentiation comes in a variety of forms which can include the following:

1.       How your company(brand) or products connects with your customer base
                    a. This can be done on both an emotional or logical basis

2.       Your customer service or lack thereof compared to the competition’s    
                    a.  Is your call center outsourced or handled in-house?

3.       Your product offering compared to the competition’s
                    a.  For example, the # of sku’s a company offers may offer on their web site
                    b.  How many types of options are available (color, size, etc)

4.       Ease of use- How easy do you make it for your consumers to do business with you?

5.       Do your customers understand how your products or services will impact them?
                    a. Save them money, time or elevate stress, etc.

Many companies state or at least it’s implied they want their customer’s feedback, but you have to wonder how serious they really are. Starbucks left no doubt where they stood on the subject in March of 2008. You see they were facing a true crossroads and there was strong doubt by their shareholders, customers and the general public as to whether their success had perked (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Howard Schultz had just return to the CEO post after a 7 year hiatus and was ready to leave no stone unturned in his desire to bring the passion, culture and love for the Starbucks brand back to where it once stood. One of his immediate goals and initiatives was to strengthen the Starbucks Brand. To do this he launched a website (mystarbucksidea.com) to give their customers a venue to offer suggestions of how to make the company better.  What kind of impact did this have with their customers you ask?  7,000 ideas were posted to this site within 24 hours by their customers and they received a total of 41,000 ideas the first two months!  Not only did Starbucks receive some great new ideas that were eventually implemented to help turn the company around but more importantly, this simple act showed their customers how much they valued their input. This is turned made an already strong brand, even stronger.

How easy do you make it for your customers to provide feedback?
What do you do with the feedback you receive?
How connected are your customers to your brand?

Thanks to social media there is now a plethora of ways to find, follow, and communicate with others. As a result it has now become easier than ever to connect with others.  The question though is how much of a connection are you really making?  No matter how convenient this form of connecting with others is, it will never replace the benefits of face to face interactions. I find it quite amazing that the more efficient and fast paced our society becomes, the more apparent the need for human interaction is. 

One of the best ways to connect with another person is to find some sort of commonality.  This is especially true when you are meeting someone either for the first time or a relationship that you are trying to nurture and grow.  In order to find this commonality you need to do your homework. Yes I know, most of you will tell me you are too busy to fit one more thing into your schedule.   I would challenge you to re-think what is truly important to your success.  Are you connected to those who can you can help become more successful and those who can help you become more successful? A wise person once said there are only a dozen or two relationships that will take you to any level of success you desire. 

The internet is a great source to help you do your homework prior to making a connection with someone for the first time or to help cultivate an existing relationship:

1.  Google their name
          a.  Do they have a personal web site or blog? This is a great way to find out what their 
                passions and interests are.
          b   Are they on Twitter or Facebook? Find out if you share any connections

 2.  Linkedin
          a.  Check their work history to see what other companies they work out
          b.  Check to see what groups they belong to and then join those groups

3.  Utilize your current network to see if you have any mutual connections. You will find out how
      small a world it truly is!

4.  Perform industry research on the person’s company. What are the current trends and
      challenges in their industry? What are their competitors doing?  Here are a few websites
      where you can located industry info:
          a.  http://zibb.com/
          b.  http://www.bizstats.com/
          c.  http://seekingalpha.com/
          d.  http://finance.yahoo.com/