Want to learn all about your customers and their needs?  There is no better way than to ask well focused questions that relate to what is important to the customer.  What things are important to customers?  Here are four, but be aware that there are many more which is why you must ask questions. 

Time.  

 When you ask customers about their time,

•  What takes up more time than they want to spend?
• What is a waste of time, where do they need more time?
• Where is time costing them money?

 Want to be a hero in your customers’ eyes?  Just help them get some of their precious time back.

Convenience.  

•  Is what you are offering close by? 
• Can they get it quickly and easier? 
• Does it provide the right features and benefits?  
• Do they have to wait in line? 
• How long? 
• How could they get it without waiting in line? 
• Is it the right size or too small, or too big and balky? 
• Is the package hard to open, or designed wrong?

 Life is loaded with inconveniences big and little, but all annoying; help customers get rid of them and they will not only buy but also keep coming back for more.

 On Target. 

•  Does it do what they want?
• Is it as efficient as they would like? 
• Does it come in the right colors? 
• Is it priced right? 
• Does it look awkward? 
• Does it feel right?
• Is it not complete? 
• What would your customers prefer beyond what you are offering?
• If it does what they want, is that what they really need? 
• Or do they need more?  Or less?

 Don’t do an “information dump” just to show how much you know; ask the right questions and you will be on target.

 Quality.  

 How would an automobile dealer define quality? In terms of:

•  Motor Power
• Speed?
• Luxury?
• Design?
• Other Features ?

 But what if the customer is thinking in terms of quality of a benefit such as comfort? Unless you ask the right questions your chances of making a sale are not very good.

There are many other needs and preferences than we can list here, but with careful questioning you can find them and provide customers with satisfying, maybe even delightful solutions.

 The right questions, asked properly, will be perceived by customers as true efforts to help rather than just make a sale.  Before you can position your product or service to meet the specific needs of the customer you must fully understand what the customer wants and desires, and would consider as “perfect.”  To do that, ask questions – but make them good.

Unreliable Predictions

“I think we ought always to entertain our opinions with some measure of doubt.” Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

A recent Wall Street Journal article told of a University of California psychology professor who conducted a study analyzing 82,000 predictions by pundits.  Most of these pundits were prominent economists, foreign policy specialists, often-quoted journalists, and other notables, not necessarily experts who had run organizations or businesses.  The predictions had to do with future elections, economic trends, and international relations.

The result? The average accuracy was below 50 percent.  Political beliefs and preferences didn’t make any difference; conservatives, liberals, and moderates were all equally inaccurate.  The most famous, however, were the worst. 

Why were they so inaccurate; for the most part, because they refused to see or accept evidence that contradicted their preferred theories and vested beliefs.  “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions,” according to genius Leonardo De Vinci.  We all do that to some degree but, hopefully, seldom feel as certain or as sure as the pundits, and are definitely less arrogant.  Perhaps it is because experience teaches us humility. 

So, when it comes to making important decisions, just flipping a coin may be safer and more accurate rather than heeding the “wisdom” of pundits.

Not So Objective Opinions

Another study presented on NPR (National Public Radio) explored the relationships between some prominent Ivy League economists and professors and the Wall Street financial firms.  It seems that these professors were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars as advisors to those Wall Street financial firms whose behavior and unmitigated greed brought about the economic collapse that the world is still trying to recover from. 

When interviewed by the media, these professors seemed to find no conflict of interest between their relationship with the Wall Street financial firms, and their responsibility as educators who should be teaching tomorrow’s professionals the right ways to manage finances. In addition, they seemed to have no problem with the blatantly unethical behaviors of a good number of the executives they dealt with in those financial firms; interestingly, one of those professors authored a book on ethics.

Especially interesting is the fact that two of those pundit professors wrote articles for the Iceland Chamber of Commerce advocating that the government of that country eliminate all financial regulation and limits.  The government took that advice, eliminated the financial regulations and limitations, and went broke when Wall Street collapsed.  It was later discovered that the Iceland Chamber of Commerce paid each of the professors over $100,000 to write those articles.  Perhaps George Washington foresaw this possibility when he said, “Few men have enough virtue to withstand the highest bidder”

Impact?

What is frightening is that governments, politicians, and often-quoted journalists consult with these economic pundits, and make political and economic decisions based upon their advice. 

A question arises regarding the Fortune 500 and other companies who bring in these same, mostly academic, pundits to share their “expertise” with high level executives on important plans and strategies.  Do the top executives really listen to these experts, or do they merely pay them to tell them what they want to hear, and thus justify decisions and positions they have already made and taken?

Suggestion.  

When dealing with or listening to pundits, ask yourself what have they ever done that successfully produced valuable results?  Ask, “Did they ever walk their talks?”  What has been their experience?  It is easy to offer opinions; it is much harder to actually do something.

Actually doing something is the heart of experience. Leonardo Da Vinci believed that experience is the only true source of knowledge; describing himself, he said, “I am a disciple of experience”.

Comment. 

In our firm, International Management Consulting Associates, we speak from experience.  It has taught us that in times of great change, the worst enemy of business growth and profitability is:

Denial in the face of realities that contradict executive convictions.

“The illiterate of the twenty-first century will be those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”         According to Alvin Toffler, author of “Future Shock”

I will say, however, that I admire those executives who, in the process of decision-making, are willing to unlearn and then learn by seeking insights from experienced people who bring them both reality and a wider vision for the future.

The business of our firm is the future of your business.  Contact us at mykwyn@aol.com.                                    

“My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.” Charles F. Kettering.

© Michael Wynne 2010

I recently came across a quote that has been around for centuries, yet it still has the power to make you think; here it is”

You think that because you understand “One” that you must therefore understand “Two” because one and one make two.  But you forget that you must also understand “And”.       Sufi Teaching Story.

There are many ways of interpreting this quote.  It could refer to so many of the assumptions we make in life where we think we know the next thing because we already know the first. 

As a management consultant with over 30 years experience, I often see where an expert in one area of business such as manufacturing, or finance, or technology, or human resources, or marketing is promoted to the position of CEO of a company. Usually, this person has a record of excellence in an important area of expertise; therefore, it is assumed that he or she has the ability to run the entire business. 

Naturally, the new CEO starts out by bringing important changes in his or her area of expertise, “And” then begins to tackle problems in the other areas of business applying many of the approaches that were a source of excellence earlier. Surprisingly, or maybe not, this “And” can be totally mystifying to the new CEO, and serious mistakes can happen. 

Because you understand one thing does not mean you understand the ones that follow.  For example, you know what a rose looks like – or do you?  Have you ever tried to draw one from memory?  Or, when you graduated from high school did you know what college would be like?  Or, after a lovely romantic relationship, did you know what marriage would be like?

Because you have experienced a problem before and solved it, does that mean that the same solution will work with what looks like the same problem – but may not be?  I frequently hear about companies where clients ordered a part or a product because it worked before on what looked like the same problem, “And” then complain that the product was defective because it didn’t work.

How many “Ands” do you have in life?  How many in business?

Be cautious when you quickly assume that you have the solution to a problem; there will always be “Ands”.  That’s why they say:

“Every little problem hides a big one inside.”

By the way, in case you are wondering, Sufi is an ancient Moslem school of philosophical and devotional mysticism. (You never know where your next lesson in wisdom is going to come from.)

If you run into an “AND” that mystifies you, or you are not sure you have  defined the problem correctly, it might be better to not make any decisions, that is, any decisions other than picking up the phone and dialing 630 420 2605, or e-mail Michael Wynne at mykwyn@aol.com for some creative problem solving assistance.  Remember:

There is no right solution for the wrong problem.

About 75 percent of employees sent overseas fail.  Why, because they are  usually not the right person for the job.  Companies assume that picking someone who is successful in the U.S. ensures their success abroad.  It does not, and the numbers prove it.

Yet, most American companies still don’t get it.  They keep sending the wrong people overseas who end up producing a huge negative ROI.  How much?  Check the following figures.

• On an average, sending an employee to a foreign country costs American companies about $300,000 a year.
• Assume a company sends just 17 employees abroad in a given year. The annual cost of those 17 employees is about $5,100,000.
• The average overseas assignment lasts about 4 years.
• The cost of keeping 17 employees overseas for 4 years is $20,400,000.
• If 75 percent or 13 of those 17 employees fail, the negative ROI is $15,300,000.
• Plus, the cost of the mistakes that improperly selected employees make during their stay abroad may equal, double, triple, or more, than just the cost of their compensation.

American companies send thousands of employees overseas every year.  Given the outrageous cost of these poor decisions, companies should invest more time and money up front to choose the right candidates.  They should also track the cost of sending those wrong candidates overseas.

So what is the right way to select people for international jobs?   Tne company must first find answers to 20 key questions regarding their candidates’ qualifications.

To see the list of those 20 Key Questions, go to www.MikeWynne.com.

Bottom Line: There are more wrong kinds of people to send abroad than right ones.  The right ones build relationships, and relationships are the key to business everywhere in the world.

Business is about people, and not everyone is right for every country, market, and culture.   So analyze candidates carefully, and choose only after extensive interviewing and reviewing.