Providing Excellence Every Day- The "Excellence Myth"

Excellence is the ability to exceed expectations.  In terms of CRM, excellence is simply the ability to surprise customers.” states Lior.  In his new book “Excellence Every Day” by industry thought leader, Lior Arussy, examines the truth – and crippling fictions – behind the value of excellence.

Excellence is the art of going beyond the expectations of your customers, your managers, and even yourself.  When you go beyond expectations, you create something unique for your recipient.  You add a personal touch and take responsibility.  You contribute from the reservoir of your humanity.  You surprise your customers (and sometimes yourself) with the creation of the new.

The Competition:  Excellence or Nothing

Today and in even more in the future, competition has presented us with a simple challenge: excellence or nothing.    “Good enough” simply doesn’t cut it anymore.  New competitors have demonstrated an ambitious spirit and drive to succeed.  It is clear that the pursuit of excellence is a main focus.

Organizations are either committed to excellence and the continued improvement of product and service standards, or they are not.  Make sure these are not just buzz words and ideas.  Move to action and excellence can serve as a competitive differentiator and strategic advantage.

Everyone Listens to Customers – not really….

To identify the differences between employee and customer definitions of excellence Lior designed the Experience Gap Analysis (EGA) study.  The study from 23,088 responses from customers and employees that served them, measured the customer experience on four dimensions:

• Capabilities – the extent to which the employee possess the necessary tools and authority to deliver performance excellence (e.g. access to customer information).

• Knowledge – the extent to which the employee understands the customer’s business, lifestyle, challenges and aspirations.

• Willingness – the extent to which the employee is motivated to deliver the performance and excellence (e.g. to go above and beyond the call of duty)

• Attitude – the extent to which the employee’s connection with the customer is affected by his personal communication style (e.g. arrogance, sense of privilege to serve)

The gaps tell the story:

The EGA survey results revealed a significant disconnect between employee and customer perception.

• 79% of employees said they often go “above and beyond” and exceed customer expectations, yet only 29% of customers agree.  Perception gap = 50%.

• 75% of employees said their work makes a difference in their customer’s lives buy only 29 % of customer agreed.  Perception gap = 46%.

• 88% of employees said they use common sense and discretion in the way they interact with customers, yet only 40% of customer agreed.  Perception gap = 48%.

Never miss an opportunity for excellence, which is measured one customer at a time.  These perception gaps indicate why excellence must be judged by the recipient.

Excellence belongs to everyone who wants to deliver it. 

One of the company’s highest strategic initiatives must be providing the knowledge to the sales force that they can access, learn, and apply to support their performance.

1. Implement an effective Customer Relationship System and use it throughout the organization.

Salespeople can save 10 to 20 percent of their time when they can find information they need, time now devoted to selling rather than searching for information.

2. Learn from the 20 Most Important Sales Best Practices

What are the worlds' top sales organizations doing to get ahead and stay ahead?  The Complex Sales, Inc. sponsored the 2008 Survey of Sales Best Practices conducted by CSO Insights.  Get answers on what the best companies are doing by downloading the 20 best sales practices.

3. Stress Quality, not Quantity

The biggest problem with the More Button is that it tends to focus on activities and quantity, but rarely on quality.  If 100 calls aren't getting the job done, make 125 calls.

-  Rather than make 100 phone calls to everyone in your database, prioritize the 5 potential customers who are most likely to need your solution.  Invest the time in those 5 as you would on the 100.  Research those companies and build a business case hypothesis.  Work on getting a referral for the sales call instead of making a cold call.

-  Qualify and advance the best opportunities.  Make a decision on which to pursue and which to drop.  Research by ES Research Group shows that at any given time, 65% of salespeople are pursuing worthless deals.  Talk less and listen more by asking effective questions to really understand what customer's value and craft solutions that exactly meet customer needs.

- Get the sale by closing the deal. Identify 3 to 5 beliefs that the decision-makers need to check off (logically and emotionally) in order to make the decision at hand, then organizing what you say about your solution to address those beliefs.

4. Get Expert advice and coaching from over 100 renowned authors and speakers.

Sales executives need to put more relevant information in sales professional's hands at the point of engagement. Analysts confirm that relevant business content at the point of need represents compelling value.
  
- Effectively prospect and acquire better leads to get in front of more qualified buyers.
- Win more opportunities and win them faster.
- Improve follow-up skills to build solid relationships that lead to more referrals.
- Motivate, inspire, and educate their people to exceed company goals and objectives.

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