Legendary Coach John Wooden Would Use This Phrase To Motivate His Teams Growing up I often heard my dad say; “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” He was quoting the famous UCLA men’s basketball coach, John Wooden, who won a record 10 national championships in 12 years. I would have never guessed it at the time, but this lesson at an early age has proven foundational for all aspects of my life, especially when it comes to sales and customer relationships. These words echo in my mind today as I think about how my dad tried to impart to my brother and me the value of a strong  work ethic  and persistence. It rankled him to watch a job done poorly just because someone was lazy and inefficient. He loathed a rushed process, cut corners, or when people scraped by doing the bare minimum. Quick Communication Versus Hurried Responses Effective communication is key to customer relationships. It is what makes the difference between going quickly and h...

For managers and marketers alike, the power to calculate what customers might be worth is alluring. That’s what makes  customer lifetime value  (CLV) so popular in so many industries. CLV brings both quantitative rigor and long-term perspective to customer acquisition and relationships. “Rather than thinking about how you can acquire a lot of customers and how cheaply you can do so,” one marketing guide  observes , “CLV helps you think about how to optimize your acquisition spending for maximum value rather than minimum cost.” By imposing  economic discipline , ruthlessly prioritizing segmentation, retention, and monetization, the metric assures  future customer profitability  is top of mind. For all its impressive strengths, however, CLV suffers from a crippling flaw that blurs its declared focus. The problem is far more insidious than those  articulated  in venture capitalist Bill Gurley’s thoughtful CLV vivisection. In fact, it subver...

Now that we’re well into the fourth quarter of 2016, time is beginning to run out for sales organizations looking to hit their year-end goals. During this October/November crunch, it is all-too-easy for business owners and sales professionals alike to grow frustrated and impatient while waiting for clients to sign. I’m currently experiencing this firsthand. As of writing this, I have well over 20 large contracts that are pending final signature. Playing the waiting game can be excruciating, but I’ve found that it is possible to stay productive and positive throughout the process. Define the experience for your customers When you’re forced to wait for customers and partners, it’s easy to become paralyzed when making decisions. After all, you don’t know precisely how they will react to a situation, so the temptation to simply postpone important decisions can be strong. Unfortunately, this decision paralysis is often incredibly damaging for two reasons. First, it causes your...

Imagine your customers as faces in a crowd. As you stand on the stage, trying to engage with them about your product, you see some of them turn to talk to friends, yawn and text -- one even leaves to grab a soda. But you can also pick out a few faces that seem to be listening. Actually, they seem to be fully engaged -- even your jokes are a hit. Customer-centric marketing is about pitching your brand to those in the audience who are actually listening -- the ones you can bring real value to. (Let’s face it, the others are only there for the refreshments.) Forming a deep understanding of the customers who want to be there, their preferences and their patterns of behavior is the only way you can develop a truly effective customer-centered strategy to get the highest ROI. Customer-centric marketing isn’t just beneficial -- it’s essential. The world moves so quickly that the only way to compete is to nurture, protect and foster the bond you have with your top-notch customers. But...