The Golden Rule Of Salesmanship

I started thinking about the golden rule of salesmanship
the last time I got my hair cut. Let me explain.

I get my haircut every two weeks - it's been a habit of
mine for the last 20 years.

The person who cuts my hair now is Amir. I guesstimate
he's in his mid-20s. He's personable, enthusiastic and
usually gives me a good haircut.

His routine is to cut the hair, wash it, dry it and
finally style it.

Last week he has my back to the mirror so I couldn't
see what he was up to.

When he turns me around to face the mirror I almost
screamed.

The sides of my head are brushed forward and the top
spiked - I mean really spiked.

He said, That's the way he likes it.

Unfortunately he didn't pay for my haircut - I did.

He said it made me look 10 years younger.

A couple of shots of Botox would make me look 10 years
younger - but not his haircut.

Remember - I get my haircut every 2 weeks.

Do you think he has any clue what the lifetime value
of my business is?

And to boot - half his business in the winter is snowbirds
and guess where they're going now, you guessed right
if you said back up north for the summer months.

If I were Donald Trump I'd be tempted to say,
"Amir - you're fired!"

Well, I'm not Donald Trump so I'm going back to see Amir
on Friday for another haircut.

Before he gets his scissors working I'll ask him to read
this newsletter. Better yet, maybe I'll wait until he
finishes my haircut.

As a result of thinking about all of this I think it's
fair to say, at least in my opinion, the golden rule of
salesmanship is "Know thy customer."

When you know your customer it makes it easier for you
to give them what he wants. Don't ever make the mistake
of giving your customer what you want. It's not about
you, it's about your customer.

The customer writes the checks and pays your bills.

You can really shake up your thinking about the value
of your customers by doing some simple math. Calculate
the lifetime value of your customers. Determine what
each customer is worth over your lifetime.

As soon as you determine the lifetime value of your
customers you'll probably start treating them
differently - I know I did.

Now that I got that off my chest I feel much better.

Of course I don't look any better, so maybe I ought to
look into the Botox shots.

Always remember the golden rule of salesmanship -
"Know thy customer."