We all do sales reviews. This is the ritual where we look at the opportunities for business that we have in our pipeline, assess the status of each of those opportunities, and determine what we need to do next in order to close a piece of business.
The technology that supports a sales effort falls under the common terminology of a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). The spectrum of CRM options can be as simple as a spreadsheet to as complex as an enterprise wide platform. Regardless of the system used, the purpose is to assist in assessing and closing business and making reasonable sales forecasts for planning purposes.
Rainmakers focus on relationships first. Once a relationship is established and developed the opportunities for business will present themselves. The best Rainmakers I know don’t really use a CRM-focused approach. Their approach to managing their business is more accurately described as Executive Relationship Management (ERM).
How is ERM different than CRM?
Customer Relationship Management is an activity-based approach. It is a matter of doing something in a specific timeframe. Executive Relationship Management is a value-based approach. It recognizes that the relationship is the foundation and assesses the level of intimacy you have with someone and how you can offer value and help.
CRM does not capture the essence of a relationship. The impetus behind CRM is to close a piece of business. In ERM, the “piece of business” as a goal doesn’t exist. ERM is about understanding and helping the other person.
Jerry is the managing partner in a strong middle-market sized accounting firm and one of the best Rainmakers I know. About three years ago, Jerry took over the management of the firm’s Monday morning account review meeting. Prior to Jerry taking over the meeting, the discussions about each customer were project related; what’s the status of this audit or that financial review? It was a typical CRM approach.
Being a Rainmaker, Jerry missed hearing anything about the people. The account reviews did not touch on the relationships the firm had with the customer’s personnel. So Jerry turned things around. He set up a set of questions and assessments that explored the relationships:
• With whom did they have relationships?
• What was the strength or level of intimacy with those individuals?
• What was important to them?
• What kept them up at night?
• Were there relationships the firm should develop?
From these questions arose a different understanding of each of their key customers. No longer did Jerry and his team view the accounts from their own perspective, e.g. how is our project going? Instead, the view of each customer became much more holistic and deep. They understood and explored the customer from the individual and relationship perspective. This was an ERM approach.
The result of this shift was enlightening for some of Jerry’s co-workers, but not for Jerry. By better understanding the relationships and managing them, Jerry’s team was able to zero in on the critical issues for each customer, each person. They were able to bring solutions to the people; solutions that addressed their priorities. Along the way the opportunities for more business for Jerry’s firm increased. More importantly, the strength of customer relationships increased and customer loyalty increased as well.
Jerry and his team enhanced their credibility with their customers because they offered solutions that were “on point.” They did not sell. They did not have to. The focus on the relationship first kept Jerry and his team attuned. They anticipated and surprised customers because they were timely with the help they provided.
The key with ERM is to remember that when you are in a relationship you focus on helping and offering value. The business will follow. If you focus on the business, you may get it but your relationship does not progress. Focusing on the business changes the relationship to a transaction-based interaction.
So, the next time you are in sales meeting and going through account reviews shake things up a little. Ask about the relationships. Explore the relationships. Determine what you can do to strengthen and deepen the relationships. Try to make this a standard practice. The results will surprise you.
Ken Cook is founder and managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors in Wales, Mass., and developer of the Rainmakers System. Contact him through his website at www.therainmakersrevolution.com.
