Thoughts for your consideration… Old thoughts demanding renewed action TODAY!!!

Let’s see if we can get unstuck….. out of that BOX that most folks find themselves glued inside of!  It’s killing you as you put out fires all day.

A privilege exists for me now, as I am linked to just my own perspectives and in sync with a few of the innovative thinkers in our space known as “selling”.  That privilege is the ability to interact with a very wide client base both inside and outside of the technology arena.  It is eye-opening to see firsthand the absolute sameness that exists and the “selling” battles that EVERYONE has, regardless of size, market, nationality, or even political nature.  We are ALL facing the biggest challenge ever. 

DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAT MATTER TO THOSE WE SERVE!

As the world churns today, supply chains are still a mess, in every industry.  If you think semiconductors are hard to get, try finding plastic to make dashboards out of.  Cardboard boxes are a pain to find like “you used to use”. Compromise is the KEY word in getting all that you need to keep a manufacturing line up and running, although probably at a reduced capacity.  

Most people are just plain delighted to get back to as close to where we came from as they possibly can.  And that includes the entire selling structure.  We will accept a mixed mode work-from-home/office structure because we are told we should, and compromise our certainty that those that execute have a clearer understanding of reality than those that only manage. (last blog.. summary).

And the saddest thing of all is that in this time where serving with a difference is HUGELY impactful, about 95% of the clients that I talk to nowadays are quickly running BACKWARDS into “productville”.  Web sites that once had a flavor of client-focused awareness have become great product sites of OLD.  Some are spinning up “solution selling” as if it were new and unique.  While in fact, it is old and ineffective today.  But we are comfortable with it, so that makes it OK.  We are all most comfortable in our well-worn pajamas and old slippers…. I have mine too, I get it!  It’s just NOT that time to slide backward.  There is a missing element that needs a renewed flame of inspiration and restatement.

Our business savior from “death by sameness” is not a new term, but a relook at how to best create….

INNOVATION!

And this is NOT about innovative products, as there really is no such thing these days.  Heck even a really brand new, never been seen ever, absolutely killer product…. Takes about a week to clone from hundreds of different entities worldwide.  

New products do not really make a difference!  

However, new ideas can change the world!

The following quote comes from many different sources in various forms… here is my iteration!

It is NOT what we sell…. It IS what we DO… that makes an acknowledged difference with our clients and all those that we choose to serve.

It is NOT what we sell…. It IS what we DO… that matters!

The world’s products are all great, wonderful, meaningful, effective things of beauty to US.  In reality, the differentiation in the minds of our clients between what WE sell, and what our COMPETITOR sells, is not significant enough to be seen and realized by our clients, if in fact there even is any at all in any case.  

We make a difference with our clients when we help them see their world and THEIR own client’s world in new and different ways that enable them to gain perspectives that they did not have before.  This enables our clients to serve their clients in ways that they had not considered before.  

Products are good, and technology is great.  We make a DIFFERENCE with our clients in ways that no one else will when we engage with our clients in INNOVATIVE THINKING.  

INNOVATIVE THINKING does NOT require new innovative products or technology.  It is NOT about the products!  It is totally about the great 2-way conversations that you create, build, test, revise, plan for, and execute with your clients.  

INNOVATIVE THINKING is the challenge that we all face as we wind our way out of the malaise that is the “old” come back to life… think Zombie movies “Night of the Living Dead (1968)”.

INNOVATIVE THINKING requires all of the tenants of CUSP…

• We do this because we CARE greatly for those we choose to serve and we really want to help them make a difference in the world.
• We take the time needed to deeply UNDERSTAND all aspects of their challenge.
• We know it takes time to make a difference that matters so we start and continue to SERVE our clients endlessly, without reserve
• This is always done by clearly having a complete and solid grasp on the PURPOSE that those we serve are working hard to achieve and that we will support totally.

INNOVATIVE THINKING can also be the catalyst to really old and ineffective practices like quotas and commissions as the time to implementation of client-created ideas in this vein can actually be a fraction of the time they would spend on creating and launching a new(?) product idea.  Much faster return on EVERYONE'S behalf.

This old idea, reborn, is easy to grasp.  It may need help from others like Dave Brock, Brent Adamson, or myself, to fine-tune and help you create. I suspect you will see both respond to this blog, so feel free to grab any of us by the virtual neck and get some time and attention.

OK, LET’S ROLL!   On to INNOVATION!

It’s a difference-maker!

Mitch