What it is all about …….

I like to keep it simple.

It is always about growth. Whether it is about your personal life or about your business life. Let’s look at it: the first 14 -17 years of your life it is literally all about growth. For most of us, knowledge wise this continues a little longer, but unfortunately a lot of people stop growing their knowledge in a systematic way after they are 25 years old. Big mistake if you ask me, but I will come back on that in an other blog!

But let us continue: you grow your career, your kids, your wealth, your pension, your inheritance and let us not forget, your happiness.

In business it is not any different.

Sometimes I wonder: “Why do we make it so difficult” by putting distracting labels on the process? What it is all about? Labels that often start to live a life of their own. Some examples in sales we have been talking about: SPIN Selling, Solution Selling, Consultative Selling etc. In marketing we talk about: Direct Marketing, CRM, Internet 2.0, Second Life, Social Media etc. By putting a lot of focus on those labels, I think we often get distracted from what it is all about.

And what is it all about?

In 1954 one man said it, in my opinion, the clearest and simplest way I have heard up to now. This man was Peter F. Drucker, on the biggest management brains of the last century.

“The true business of every company is how to get keep and develop more customers.”

Let me give you a tip: Every time someone (including yourself 🙂 ) comes to you with a “brilliant idea”, ask that person one simple question: “How is this idea going to help us get, keep or develop more customers in a profitable way?.” If you can not answer this question in a S.M.A.R.T. way, send them away until they can. It will save you a lot of time.:-)

Please do not think that I want to throw over board all the insights we have gathered in the last decades. More importantly, I want to discuss them with you one by one in this blog. By discussing them I always want to come back to the central question: ” How is this helping us to get, keep and develop more customers in a profitable way?”

Next time I would like to go a little deeper into Social Media. It is hot right now, but how does it help us to …… well you’ve got my point.

I also always like to look back at things by asking the question “Haven’t we heard this before?”

Please take notice of another classic “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie written in 1936. For a tree page summary go to Dale Carnegie You will be amazed how true this all still is. Almost mandatory literature for anyone who wants to take their business and life, seriously :-).

Have a great week!

Ben Mastboom