"I Only Want the Toughest Customers"

Asking for the toughest customers is like trying to pet a shark, or date a nun – you instantly know that it won’t end up well, so why ask for it? I was out to dinner last night with my friend, BigTime. Surprisingly, he let me know that he only wants the toughest customers. Say what–?

My friend is one of the best salespeople I know – he deals with an ultra-elite clientele in the Big Apple. This guy specializes in the demands of high-net-worth individuals with a skill that is both rare, and easygoing.

His customer logic goes like this: I want only the most difficult customers because, if they even think of shopping me with competitors, I will win every time. The toughest customers will chew up my competition, and disqualify them right out of the gate, because that’s the kind of service and solutions that my company can provide. He’s looking for the clients who are so tough and so demanding that other service providers get scared by their demands, and struggle to prove they can meet them. It’s not a problem for BigTime, and that’s the way he knows a qualified lead.

Interesting perspective. We bounced the idea around some more, and I came away with some additional thoughts. If you are faced with a tough customer, thank them for helping you to be better. If you are taking a beating over something you did, or your company did, or you are about to do, I have two words of advice: don’t duck. Here are six more: Face it, take it, fix it. It’s that simple.

Face up to the challenge of the difficult customer, and you will learn what it is that you need to know. For BigTime, he always looks forward to the toughest possible client as the greatest opportunity. He knows that he can offer what others cannot, that’s why he’s BigTime. A demanding client, in his business, means that the competition is out of the mix. The best way to defeat your competition is unequaled customer service. Disqualify your competition by being the one who doesn’t duck the tough stuff. When you resolve the really scary issues, you learn, you grow, and you create customers for life. The only way to know if you have what it takes, is to get started. If you’d like one suggestion on what you could do today, make up your mind to astonish the most difficult customer you know (and yes, the people you work with are internal customers). What can you do to make a difference, and show that when it comes to customer service, you are BigTime?

Difficult times show us what we are made of; difficult customers force us to be better and help our companies to demonstrate competitive advantage.

[ The names in this post have been changed to protect the guilty ]

The New Color of Luxury? Green

I had a big realization this week when I saw this picture, of a hybrid Ferrari. Actually, after my jaw hit my desk, I had a bit of an epiphany.
And some uncomfortable swelling.

V-12 Ferrari Concept - Still fast enough to make a nun curse. Click the photo to see it all.

Why is Ferrari developing a hybrid vehicle? Why is the latest Ritz-Carlton in Lake Tahoe a certified LEED hotel? Typically luxury brands like these have stood for the utmost in discretionary spending - now that discretion is turning towards the environment? In a word, yes.

I've been doing some research as part of a June article for Residential Systems Magazine, on how to "sell" green initiatives. In my research, I contacted George Velazquez, principal at Integrisys in Chicago. George just installed the electronics in the first Gold-certified LEED residence in Illinois. His company has created an innovative energy-management and home automation solution called the Liv (tm) system (link to livsystem.com here) His company is one of the most progressive firms for energy management in the smart home arena.

I was running down my list of questions with George, drilling into my ideas on what it meant to "sell green". As we spoke, I realized that "being green" or being energy efficient (or call it what you will, the meaning is "environmentally responsible") is not something to segment and sell; it is an expected part of good design. For discerning clients, there is an expectation that a home automation system (or any home electronics installed by a systems integrator) would include energy management, and efficiency of both an electronic (and human) nature.

High net-worth individuals that can afford luxuries such as the above Ferrari are accustomed to more choices than the average Joe. Luxury is about many things, but at its most basic, luxury is about options. The same idea, explained conversely: luxury is about eliminating sacrifice.

Automating a luxury residence requires a design that does both: provide options for controlling the entire home ecosystem, and eliminating sacrifice. For smart luxury brands like Ferrari, Ritz-Carlton and even Integrisys, the best options are the ones that don't sacrifice anything for their clients - including the environment.