Show notes
David: Management Guru Peter Drucker once said, “The purpose of business is to create a customer.” Does that mean just selling stuff or is there more to it than that? Is it really about creating a customer?
Chris: (Laughs) Oh, it's just selling stuff.
David Yeah, it’s just selling stuff… that's it.
David Hi, and welcome to the podcast today co-host Chris Templeton and I will be talking about the idea of creating customers. Welcome back, Chris.
Chris: Hey David, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. You know, in a way it seems obvious that business owners and salespeople need to be creating customers, but that doesn't always appear to be the focus does it?
David: No, it really doesn't. I think we lose sight of this and that's why I think it's an important topic to talk about because this idea of creating customers is just so critical to business owners, to salespeople, to anyone who is in the profession or anyone who is required to grow a business, that it really can't be overstated. When we think in terms of creating customers, there's just such a distinction. If I make a sale to someone, then technically that person has become a customer of mine. But again, if the goal at that point is simply to sell them something and that's happened, well now it moves into the past. And so from my standpoint, the idea of creating a customer means you're finding someone who is likely to come back to you again and again and again and is essentially going to serve as an annuity to grow your business, because you're going to know that over a period of weeks, months, years, that this person is going to help to contribute to what you're looking to build and you are certainly going to look to contribute to what they're looking to accomplish.
Chris: It seems to me, and I can speak from experience; that one of the hardest things to do is to create that repeat sale, to create that business relationship. And I think it's so easy for businesses to say, ah, let's just move on to the next one. And then they start feeling guilty about not staying in touch with the customer. What's the secret sauce of creating customers versus just making a sale?
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David: Well, if you start with what it is that you want to accomplish, and you go into each relationship with the idea of creating a customer, then a lot of your actions will naturally follow. But if you're just going in with the idea of "I need to make this sale today", you tend to think more in terms of product. You tend to think more in terms of the things that you have to say and the responses you have to get, as opposed to thinking about the person and how can I help this person to achieve their objectives? Because when your focus is on them and identifying their needs and how you can help them with their needs, you become far more valuable to them. And as a result, you're going to become a far more likely to create the value they need, where they're going to want to come back to you again and again and again. You can't force people to do it. The only way they're going to come back is if they were happy with what you did the first time. So in a lot of cases when we're initiating contact with someone for the first time and we're giving them an idea of what we're going to be able to do for them, they're having to take us on blind faith. They can look at testimonials if we have those on our website or whatever. They can hear what other people have said about us in the past, but until they've actually placed that first order with us, it's all just kind of hearsay to them.
Chris: Right.
David: So, getting to that point upfront where you create that relationship where they feel comfortable enough to play that first-time order with you is a big step. Once that happens, then you have to be able to deliver. So it's not just a matter of I said all the right things and you placed an order, but I took the order, I processed the order correctly. You got what you needed, it helped you accomplish the objectives you set out when you decided to buy the thing. You feel good about it. Now you're going to be a lot more likely to come back. So, repeat business and this idea of creating a customer is far more than just our marketing. It's far more than just what we say or how we say it. It's really about how we live our lives, how we live our business, and those are the things that are going to determine whether or not somebody is a one-time order or an ongoing client.
Chris: And I think that the really big point is, you said earlier, we're focused on them and as part of our focus on them, we're going to do things that are gonna help to generate that next sale. But we're always focused on what's best for them and how we can help them. And after you've got past the trust of building the first sale, then it's about maintaining it, isn't it? And doing it authentically.
David: Yeah, it's about maintaining the relationship, the business relationship in a way that is appealing and beneficial to the person that we're interacting with. That's really the core of successful customer creation. Establishing a relationship where they feel comfortable with you, they feel confident in your ability to deliver and they would just never consider going anywhere else. One of the things that we talk about in our Total Market Domination course is the idea that once you've achieved that level of top of mind awareness where someone is completely comfortable with you, they're completely confident in you. Then when they're ready to place an order for the products and services you offer, there's no question where they're going. They're not going to be looking around. They're not going to be looking at ads for other businesses. They’re going to contact you first. So what that means is your competitors don't even have a shot at that business. And when we look at the idea of market domination, that's what we mean by that. It's creating an environment in which your very best prospects for the products and services you offer, know who you are, know what you do and want to do, choose to do, business with you over every other option available to them
Chris: Because they feel like they're taken care of, like you truly are authentically concerned about them and what's best for them. Man oh man, the difference between that and your standard generic cultural story of what it means to be a salesperson, right?
David: Yes. And they're doing it because they want to. Right? That is a key, critical distinction. They are doing it because they want to, they're choosing to come back to you because you've demonstrated to them that you do business the way that they would like to have business done.
Chris: And it's so simple and yet we lose focus on that all the time. And I totally appreciate your ability to bring that back. You know, it's so easy to lose sight of that in this day and age and it's probably been that way for time immemorial but being that person that you would want to be buying from, it's so important. But here's the thing, realistically, isn't there more to business than just creating customers, David?
David: Yes, obviously there has to be. There's an operations side to things there. I mean, there's all kinds of things that go into business other than just creating customers. But I think the point that Drucker was making when he said it, is that if you fail to create customers, you have no business. So all the other functions that are required for business are no longer required if you don't have people to serve. So to me, I interpret it as a priority thing. If you lack the ability to consistently create customers, then you're not going to have a sustainable business. And if you start that out as your primary focus each day, what am I going to do today to continue to create customers? And of course continuing to maintain the relationships you've already established, then you're going to be on much more solid ground.
Chris: And the bottom line of any business is if you don't have consistent sales coming in, it may not be sustainable. But let me tell you what it's going to be for sure is stressful. This is probably why a lot of people really do lose sight of what it means to create a customer is because they don't have enough sales coming in the door to feel comfortable to be able to do the things that we're suggesting be done to create that solid customer - sales, sales, sales, in the nicest, most authentic way, wouldn't you say?
David: Yes, and so many businesses feel that stress that you're talking about and they exhibit that stress in terms of not being able to get rid of clients who are not good for them, no longer a good fit. When they don't have a process in place for generating new clients like clockwork, then there's always going to be those levels of stress because they don't know where the next prospect or client is going to come from. That's why the whole idea of being able to create that environment in which your very best prospects know who you are is so critical to success.
Chris: To total market domination, right?
David: Yes. Some people don't love the term, they think it sounds a little too whatever over the top, but when you really think in terms of what it means; it simply means that the people who need to know who you are, know who you are.