BARNYARD WISDOM

I would guess that most of you have heard the story of the PIG and the CHICKEN.

The Chicken and the Pig

A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The chicken looks at the pig and says, “Hey, why don’t we open a restaurant?” The pig looks back at the chicken and says, “Good idea, what do you want to call it?” The chicken thinks about it and says, “Why don’t we call it ‘Ham and Eggs’?” “I don’t think so,” says the pig, “I’d be committed, but you’d only be involved.”

This story is the short version, but it gets the point across.

As sales reps we say we want to “PARTNER” with our customers. We want them to think of us as an unpaid employee and we want to help them by supplying the best product or service we can. The problem is we are involved, the customers are committed.

It doesn’t matter if your contact works for the company or owns the company they are usually dependent on the business for their entire living. Most reps earn their living making a little from a lot of customers. No one business will make the difference between success and failure.

I have seen sales reps that have really come close to being committed to a customer. These reps have very few customers and each one is an elephant account. If the rep looses one of these accounts the rep is ruined. In today’s business environment, with companies that were flying high a few years ago and today they are closing their doors, the rep not only has to worry about them continuing to place orders but they need to worry about the management making the right decisions to keep the doors open. Being committed in this way is NOT a good thing!

Like the chicken we need to stay involved with the customers. We always want to be a part of their “MAIN COURSE” but we want to make sure that we will be around to help ALL our customers not just the elephants.

I know this almost sounds like I am saying that customers don’t matter. There is nothing further from the truth. EVERY CUSTOMER MATTERS, I have repeatedly stated this in my blog, but no customer is worth failing for.

It sounds all warm and fuzzy to say that you are committed to a customer, but we all know that if it comes down to you or their business the customer will choose their business, and they should! You need to be equally as committed to YOUR BUSINESS. Here is where COMMITMENT comes in on your part. You commit to every customer you have to be there for them, help them, do what is needed so they can succeed. You commit to your family that you will work hard and do all the right things to earn a living so you can support them. You make a commitment to yourself to be as successful a sales rep as you can be.

A commitment in business needs to be self focused. NOT SELFISH, self focused. Please notice I am saying IN BUSINESS, there are other places in your personal life where being committed is just as important, don’t ignore these.

Like the pig, making a commitment isn’t the problem, making sure his partner is just as committed is.

Now I think I want my eggs over easy and a thick slice of country ham.

Lorin