Third in a series of Seven Essential Executive Skills. For the first in the series, click this link: Teambuilding Without Trust Falls.

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

– Zig Ziglar

One winter, in college, I went with a girlfriend to help her buy a car. We went to the dealership, explained what we were looking for and in what price range.

“I’ve got just the thing!” Says the salesman.

Then he took us out into the lot. He started selling her a totally different vehicle than what we asked for.

He was almost successful. In sub-freezing weather, he pointed out a lime green Jeep with a removable top. He started selling her the image of carefree driving, in any road condition, with the wind in her hair.

She was hooked. It was green and a convertible.

Of course, it wasn’t what we were looking for. Or in her price range.

No sale.

Years later, my wife needed a new car as our family was growing.

I prefer to buy used cars.

I went to a different dealership this time. Continental Auto. They’ve since become a client.

They asked me a lot of questions about what I was looking for. I told them. They said, “Give us a couple days.”

Then I got a call.

I came in. What I was looking for was parked at the entrance.

I was told to take it home for a few days and see if we really wanted it.

There was no pitch. They just found out what I wanted and made sure I was happy with it.

I bought it immediately.

They helped shuttle it to my house.

They went out of their way to find out what I wanted, to provide it and to make it easy.

Great leadership is very much like a great sales experience.

What is unique about the most successful organizations? What is it that all effective leaders do?

They create and provide more value then you expected.

It doesn’t matter what kind of organization you lead.

If you don’t offer something that others need or desire – your efforts are largely irrelevant.

It is a critical leadership skill, a critical skill for executives and owners – to ensure that they are creating and providing value throughout their organizations.

What is value?

True value is in the eye of the beholder. Your beholders include customers, employees, shareholders, investors, vendors, partners, etc.

They don’t all want the same thing.

Therefore: Get to know your beholders and what they really value.

This isn’t always easy to do. Many people don’t think much about this. They might not know how to answer your question.

But you ask. You frame your question in different ways. You observe behavior. You learn what they want.

We all have done this in a dating relationship. Or, now that I’m married with small children, I do it with them.

What others value must be discovered. Once you’ve found it and offer something to meet that desire – most of your work is done.

It’s not primarily about money.

Money is nearly never the answer. Too many leaders refuse to believe this.

One reason for that is money is often referenced as an answer. However, for nearly everyone, money is just a symbol. A symbol of significance, security or satisfaction.

So, offering discounts don’t work on their own. Higher pay doesn’t retain staff on its own. Not if either leaves a deficit in what people really want.

Many executives miss this. It’s a costly and common mistake.

As a result, they struggle with turnover. Or they are able to retain their staff – but their staff isn’t ideal.  Or their shareholders never really seem content. Or their customers seem fickle.

Here’s one example: Let’s consider a shareholder who sits on a board of a medium-sized company.

Sure, they want a financial return on their investment.

But if they were purely driven by a financial return, they wouldn’t so frequently make the kinds of decisions that frustrate financial success.

They might like saying they are an owner of your company. They might like the perception of status or power. They might like the deference they are showed by a respected CEO.

They might like the board meetings in Vegas.

They might like the intellectual challenge of running a business. They might be looking for interesting ways to fill their time.

My point is, money, on its own isn’t what is driving them. It isn’t the sole value they seek.

Who Should Value Be Created for and Offered To?

Short answer: Everyone.

Or at least as many people as possible.

What really motivates your leadership or management team?

What about your staff?

What is it that your customers are really looking for?

What about your shareholders?

What about partners, suppliers or vendors?

What is it you really want?

The more you are able to create and provide value to each of these groups, the more successful your leadership will be.

This is about tapping into their motivation. Their sense of drive. Their sense of “what makes it worth it.”

When you know that, and offer that, leadership becomes easy. Success becomes easy.

How to Use Value to Hire & Retain the Best Employees & Strongest Leadership Team

Most people really wake up in the morning looking forward to the day because they do meaningful work, with leaders they respect and people they like.

Ideal employees (motivated, creative, ethical, etc) nearly always have choices of where to work. And as long as they do, compensation alone won’t attract them.

However, it will attract plenty of non-ideal employees who are either only motived for mercenary reasons (and will quickly turnover) or don’t have options elsewhere (and may not turn over fast enough.)

• Why do people come and work for you? Who isn’t applying (or accepting) that you wish would?
• Why do they stay? Why do they leave?

How to Use Value to Attract Plenty of Ideal Customers

There are many ways to slice the psychological pie regarding what drives customer behavior. However, there are two primary drivers:

1. They are dissatisfied: An unfulfilled need or unmet desire.
2. There is a promise of transformation or fulfillment.

A customer may not be satisfied in their relationships, their level of confidence, their hunger, their desire for stimulation, their sense of power or connection to meaning. Or many other drivers.

In my case, many of my customers want confidence that certain processes or changes will be effective.

Many others recognize that the school of hard knocks is too expensive and it makes sense to bring in someone to help guide them through a situation.

And then there are differentiators between whether or not your products or services are viewed as

• Commodity or
• Specialized

Regarding commodity services: At the most basic level, I drive past two gas stations to get to the one I most often use. I pass the first because it’s difficult to cross traffic and get to it. I pass the second one because for several times in a row their machines wouldn’t read my credit card or were out of order. So, now I don’t bother.

I can’t tell the difference between their gas and the gas across the street. I’m paying for convenience and consistency. One is easy to get to and the pumps always work.

Regarding specialty services: At the most basic level, I pay more for a cup of coffee, which I think tastes better and is made by a company that has earned my loyalty. The beans and the blend are carefully chosen. The staff is consistent and well trained. They know who I am. They look out for me. The product and the service are higher than most other places.

I can tell the difference between their product and their service and anywhere else I go. It’s specialized. If I go to a competitor, even if a quality competitor, I know I won’t be able to have the same kind of positive experience.

• Do you know what your customers really want? Or are you assuming?
• Is there a way to give them more of what they want?
• Is there a way to meet related desires or needs?
• Are you offering commodity services? What differentiates you?
• Are you offering specialized services? How do you know you are best matching what your customer is looking for?

How to Use Value to Satisfy Your Shareholders, Employers, Board, Etc

I once sat down with a client to establish the goals of our coaching relationship.

He was very prepared. He wanted to generate one million dollars a year in personal income. He explained all the ways this was going to happen.

I asked him, “What does that number mean to you?”

He was stumped.

He didn’t need one million a year. That number was symbolic.

Then he got emotional. Nearly started crying. And he told me everything he hoped to accomplish in the next chapter of his life.

One million a year would make that dream possible.

So, his real goal wasn’t one million dollars. It was the dream. We could accomplish the one million and miss the dream.

Figure out what the dream is for your shareholders, your employers, your board or anyone else you report to.

Don’t ask them, “What’s your dream?” Ask them questions like:

• Where would they like to be in five or ten years?
• What are they hoping this will accomplish for the company? For them?
• How do they see what we are doing now contributing to that future goal?
• What does accomplishing (any specific goal) mean?
• What happens if this isn’t accomplished?

Then you’ll start to find out (or get hints) what they really want.

Wrapping It Up

Before anyone becomes a client, I spend a significant amount of time with that individual making sure that I know exactly what that client wants. What makes this important. What a lack of success means.

This helps me target my work more effectively. It helps me connect with the needs of my client.

In some cases, it lets us both know whether or not I can actually meet those needs. Sometimes I can’t or I’m not the right person. It’s better to know that up front.

It’s a big part of why most of my business comes from repeat clients and referrals.

I work to identify the value my customers want and allow that to calibrate my focus and efforts throughout the engagement.

How about you?

Beyond the average – What value are you offering your customers? Employees? Shareholders or board?

What are one or two ways that you might be able to get a better sense of what value might be wanted or appreciated?

What are one or two ways that you might create or provide a little more value?

Value a solid business investment.

Take good care,

Christian

P.S. Interested in a free resource for building a high-performance leadership team? I’ve created an e-mail mini-course called How to Quickly Build a High Performing Team. In it, I’ll walk you through the actual concepts and techniques I use to rapidly bring teams to the next level. Click here for access today!

P.P.S. Would you like to talk to me, one-on-one, about how you could rapidly build high-impact leadership behaviors or habits? Or perhaps you’d like to increase your ability to accomplish your priorities, decrease your unwanted workload, boost your profits or do more of what you love?

Coaching has been a high-value answer for many of my best clients. In fact, the results are so consistently positive I’m able to confidently offer guaranteed growth: 95% of my clients report positive results within the first 90 days of working together.

Actually, the reports come from the people who they lead, their colleagues and supervisors. It’s real, quantifiable change. I guarantee it.

Additionally, they report adding between $120K and $1M in new, annual revenue or savings, usually within 12 months.  Contact me to learn more: christian@vantageconsulting.org or 907 522-7200.