Rick Baker Thought Posts
Left Menu Space Holder

About the author

Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

E-mail me Send mail
Follow me LinkedIn Twitter

Search

Calendar

<<  March 2024  >>
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
26272829123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
1234567

View posts in large calendar

Recent Comments

Comment RSS

When you solve a problem at your workplace check to see if the solution could help your clients...and suppliers.

by Rick Baker
On Jan 31, 2021

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

...and business allies.

Spread your solutions. Spread better and best practices.

Challenge your leadership team to understand what it means to be best-in-class or significantly better.

Be bold. Be confident your thinking is creating top-quality solutions.

Share your solutions and be open to feedback that helps you improve on your solutions and uncover opportunities.

Share your solutions with business peers...exchange ideas, exchange improvements, and exchange opportunities.

Check out our Clients' Clients Philosophy

 

Tags:

Clients' Clients Philosophy | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

Are you too busy to know other people’s businesses?

by Rick Baker
On Mar 14, 2017

Common sense tells us:

  • Most people look for a fair deal, where both parties exchange value,
  • Some people look to cheat others, heads I win - tails you lose, and
  • Some people look to help others, expecting little or nothing in return.

Those three things probably fit nicely in a bell curve, where the norm is business people exchanging fair value with one another.

That's the viewpoint here: most business people do business with one another in an effort to obtain some value and deliver some value in exchange.

People exchanging value - that's the essence of business.

If you agree with that then to grow business you must increase the exchange of value. And, as you work to increase the exchange of value you will do better if you know how both parties define the value they seek and the value they deliver.

Most business people just scratch the surface of value exchange. Sales people tend to know the value they think they're delivering. Purchasing people tend to know the value they think they're receiving. Sales people may make a serious effort to try to determine what the purchasing people want to receive. Purchasing people may make a serious effort to try to understand what the sales people want to receive. But it's highly unlikely their thoughts go beyond those things. For example, sales people do not understand what value the sales people who work at the purchasing person's company are looking to receive or deliver.  And, vice-versa, purchasing people do not understand what value the purchasing people who work at the sales person's company are looking to receive or deliver.

Even worse, sales people do not understand the value the purchasing people at their organization are trying to receive and deliver and purchasing people don't know the value their organization's sales people are trying to receive and deliver.

People tend to know what they want and what they're prepared to deliver in exchange for it. However, they have a much smaller understanding of what other people want and are trying to deliver in exchange for it.

This applies within companies. This applies between companies. This applies between people.

Some years ago we addressed this with our Clients' Clients Philosophy.

Here are the starting-point questions …

  • What value do you want to receive from people at other companies?
  • What value do you want to deliver to people at other companies?
  • What value do other people in your company want to receive from people at other companies?
  • What value do people in other companies want to receive from other people in your company?

***

People who possess an ongoing curiosity around questions about what other people value have the opportunity to excel in business, to excel in interpersonal relationships, and to deliver and receive tremendous value.

Some people are too busy. So, they don't get these things…and they don’t get most of the other things they want.

Clients' Clients Philosophy

by Rick Baker
On Mar 19, 2015

Tags:

Clients' Clients Philosophy | Marketing | Sales | Spirited Leaders

Clients’ Clients philosophy

by Rick Baker
On Jun 9, 2011
Why you must give this idea your best thought
 
We ask people, “What’s the best thing you could deliver to your Clients?”
 
We hear a variety of answers:
  • Top quality products
  • Excellent service
  • Competitive pricing
  • Reliable advice
  • Going the extra mile
  • A smile
We ask a follow-up question, “What if you delivered a Client to your Client…would your Client like that...how would that stack up against the other things you mentioned?”
 
We always hear something like, “Our Clients would be thrilled if we did that!”
 
So, we created a philosophy we call ‘ClientsClients’.
 
Clients’ Clients philosophy:
  1. Your Clients will be thrilled if you bring them Clients
  2. But, don’t stop there – do even more
 
How to put this philosophy to work for your business…
 
Getting started on Part 1: Your Clients will be thrilled if you bring them Clients
  • Start with the person in your organization who loves to connect people to other people…if you want a more-detailed description of the ideal person for this task then think about the Connectors described by Malcolm Gladwell in his book The Tipping Point ...this type of person will be able to lead you to immediate success
  • Consider the 80/20 Rule…think about your best clients…the top 20% that brings about 80% of the value received by your company…think about how to bring Clients to these Clients
  • If your business is B2B then you need to start by understanding your Clients’ business and their desired ideal Clients…just ask them, they will appreciate your interest and they will be inclined to tell you
  • If your business is Retail then most of your Clients work somewhere…and the place they work has ideal Clients then go back to the last bullet point
  • Once you understand what your Clients’ Clients look like, have your Marketing & Sales people do a little brainstorming exercise…come up with some names of Clients’ Clients whom your people already know. Contact those Clients’ Clients and tell them you are trying to help one of your prized Clients…etc…arrange introductions where win-wins are evident
Getting started on Part 2: But, don’t stop there – do even more
 
Part 1 was just the starting point. You can do more than providing Clients to your Clients:
  • You can provide top-quality employees to your Clients
  • You can provide top-quality suppliers to your Clients
  • You can provide top-quality advisors to your Clients
  • You can do much more than that
The key: your business and your Marketing & Sales people need to have a differential advantage.
 
You can add value to your slate of products and services by embracing the Clients’ Clients philosophy.
 
This will help your Clients.
 
And your Clients will want to help you.
 

Tags:

80/20 Rule | Clients' Clients Philosophy | Marketing | Sales

How can you be sure your company delivers Value to its Clients?

by Rick Baker
On Dec 7, 2010
You can prove you have delivered Value to Clients when…
  1. You can list the Clients’ Clients you have provided to your Clients
  2. You can list the Clients your Clients have voluntarily provided to you
  3. You can list the Testimonials your Clients have voluntarily provided to you
  4. You can confirm statistically-significant growth of “Buzz” about your company
  5. You can confirm statistically-significant growth of your Social Media stats (ex, website action)

Tags:

Clients' Clients Philosophy | Leaders' Thoughts

Think About Your Clients’ Clients

by Rick Baker
On Nov 24, 2010
How much time do you spend thinking about your Client’s Client?
 
Whatever the amount…that’s time well spent.
 
Most of us spend much time thinking about our Clients.
 
We ask ourselves questions like:
  • What’s our Target Market?
  • What Value does that Target Market need and seek?
  • What do we do to satisfy that need?
Often, we get so tied up in the details of market niching and market differentiating we miss the obvious.
 
Often, we miss the thing every one of our Clients want.
 
Our Clients want more Clients.
 
Your Clients want more Clients.
 
So, we should set aside some time to think about our Clients’ Clients.
 
Thinking about individual Clients, one by one, you can ask yourself questions, including:
  • Who do I know who would like to be a Client of my Client?
  • How can I set up a meeting between my Client and a probable Client for my Client?
  • What does my Client need to do to attract more Clients?...How may I help?
  • How does my product or service mesh with my Client getting more Clients?...Be specific.
  • Am I LinkedIn with probable Clients for my Clients?
  • Are my LinkedIn friends connected to probable Clients for my Clients?
Ask yourself the questions.
 
Then act.

Tags:

Clients' Clients Philosophy | Marketing | Sales

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.