By Ahmed al-Akber/Dubai

What matters most to your clients? It may not be what you think.
The other day I sat down with a client (who has also become a good personal friend) and asked him for some feedback on a recent project we carried out for him. The answer he gave me shocked me.
I was expecting him to say something about the staff interviews, collaborative workshops and training I had ran for him. I was expecting him to comment on how good they were and how they could have been improved.
Alas, he didn’t. What he told me was that the results that his marketing and sales team got. He went straight into the heart of why I was even hired in the first place, which was not to interview, conduct workshops, or carry out training. It was to help him and his company to sell more, and it was on that basis that he gave me his opinion (most of which was positive, I should add).
That was an existential moment for me. I put a lot of effort into delivering on what I promised, but all along the client only cared about the results I was providing. Viewed another way, I could have sat at home and put my feet up on my couch throughout the project, and provided he got the same results (an increase in his sales attributable to my work) he would have been just as happy to pay my fee.
We sometimes get too caught up on what we sell (which at the end of the day are mere deliverables) and not the value or results it provides our clients. If we speak 80% of the time about those results, and what value they provide the client, our conversations and our marketing and sales efforts would be far more effective.
Computer sellers don’t sell computers, they sell tools to help their clients be more productive. Lawyers don’t sell legal advice (or their time), they sell the ability for companies to have business continuity, with owners that have peace of mind.
The next time you have a moment with your client, ask her what she gets out of working with you. Ask why that is important to her. The feedback she provides may give you the key to what matters most in her eyes, and to your business.

*Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on [email protected]

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