When we think about Friction, it is everywhere in our world. Friction is the way we describe the normal resistance of things rubbing or pushing against the outcome we want. Our car moving forward has road friction and wind resistance (friction), not to mention all the moving parts in the engine and bearings that generate wasted energy and create heat. An industry was created to reduce friction in cars utilizing oil and synthetics in order to make our cars more efficient and longer lasting.
With this thinking, I will explore different areas where Friction is limiting (or pushing against) the growth of our companies, specifically the Sales, Revenue and Client Retention areas of our business. Each article will focus on different areas of friction and will provide meaningful ways of adding "oil" to reduce this friction. The first category of Friction we will explore is called HEAD TRASH; of these first topics we will cover in this series, here are just a few areas to consider.
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FRICTION #1:
Needing to be Right or self-righteousness. One of our biggest weaknesses as a human beings is that we believe our own thinking. We don’t know when we have a blind spot! The voice in our head says things like, “I know that already; I know how; I can figure this out; I know how to solve that”. I present to 100’s of entrepreneurs every year that are on the wrong path because they thought something like “when people just see my product, software or services, they will just buy it”, or they start with a false premise/belief that leads them to a poor conclusion. Their company, many times as a result, suffers, stalls or even closes because they do not understand that the actual Friction is the very business owner themselves not understanding this reality: How the prospect or client thinks is the most important piece of the equation.
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FRICTION #2:
The biggest problem with communication is that we think it is happening when in reality it’s not! This impacts every person and level of our companies as well as our relationships with our clients and prospects. There is so much distortion in communication today, and this is akin to the small sources of friction in the engine of a car. Nobody truly feels heard and understood. As an example - the eager sales guy, so excited to make a sale. The prospect triggers the salesperson to start talking about his product and features by saying “I have this problem”. The salesperson often doesn't even hear the important stuff as to why this is a problem. This ends up building negative friction, resulting in emotions and drama building up. When we don’t communicate well and we don’t even listen (instead most of us are waiting to respond), these are some of the reasons people hate salespeople so much! We are doing it to ourselves!
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FRICTION #3:
More, More, More clients instead of enough of the Right kind of Clients. Your Brand is the experience your customers are having from first marketing touch through the whole of the sales and fulfillment process, including Sales, execution and customer service. It is the whole client journey, not just any one stage. Many times, business owners are so worried about cash-flow and growth that they focus on getting more clients rather than “enough of the right clients”, and they just keep on expanding the number of clients they have. The friction comes from having too many of the wrong clients, and the result is that nobody is happy, and your brand, profitability, cash flow and company suffer. When you bring on the right clients, they tend to appreciate every step of the client journey and bring their friends and colleagues along for the ride.
