What a wonderful thing it is to encounter a customer that thinks you are the bees knees! Yesterday, we presented to a prospect and ran through a very clear, very targeted demo of our product. The team had done all the right things: researched the customer’s industry, created a demo using their logo, used real-world products and dealer names, etc. It was a thing of beauty.

Now, this is not new. We are big fans of Jill Konrath and her book Selling to Big Companies. The idea that you really need to prepare for every pitch is not new, but she provides a load of insights about ways to not only tune your pitch once you get in front of decision makers, but also how to get to the decision maker in the first place.

It’s all about knowing your customer, and this is something that pretty much everyone in business needs to do well in order to be successful. We all have products or services to sell, some value to add – indeed, regardless of whether we are for profit, working for the government or a charitable organization – and we all need to deliver on what we sell. And the way to satisfy your customer, to make them your advocates and make them truly fanatical about your business is to know who they are and understand their needs.

That’s why yesterday’s meeting was such a great thrill. We prepared and it showed. We’re not saying the deal is done. There’s still a lot of work to do. And of course, once the deal is signed, we have to deliver. And deliver and deliver value to our new customer.

If you are a retailer and you run a bricks and mortar shop, you probably have a very good idea of what your customers want and need. But, there is probably a lot you DON’T know about your customers, and that’s when you should ask yourself “how can I get better intel on my customers?”

There are some easy things you can do, like post-sales surveys, to get a better idea of your customer’s needs. You could also open a regular dialog with your customers by, for example, sending them an email newsletter, write a blog or engage with social media like Facebook or Twitter (ok, these are maybe not for everyone, but you get the idea). You could even go to your competitor’s stores and start a conversation with their customers (not everyone can do this of course…), see what they like and don’t like about the store, the products, the prices.

The point is you have to keep learning about your customers. They change and so does the environment they live in. Experiment. Measure. Avoid complacency. And by all means, keep a focus on some level of regular communication with your customer base. These days email is a cost-effective way to keep a regular dialog with your customers, but don’t forget they are also increasingly searching on the web (across all industries), so having a great website with relevant content is key.

Motherhood and apple pie? Yes, I guess it is a bit of that. But just thought I would share how good preparation and knowledge of your customer’s needs and their business worked – once again!

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