"Nobody needs a drill, they need a hole." - Theodore Levitt
The respected Harvard economist Theodore Levitt famously said: "Nobody needs a drill, they need a hole." In other words, peoples real needs are sometimes hidden behind apparent solutions.
A simple example may help illuminate what Levitt was getting at. Image you own a travel agency. A customer walks in days before winter vacation; he's in a panic because he hasn't arranged that big vacation he promised his wife an children. You listen patiently. he says the family is so excited but he's worried that he's left the arrangements too late. He tells you that the vacation is hard to plan because his three children have such different interests -- from going to museums to rock climbing -- while his wife just needs to have some down time. he bras abut how the cost issue is not a big deal to him.
When salespeople hear stories like this, many immediately start thinking up solutions. "What can we offer him that will address all his issues? If he wants to spend more, let's help him -- it's more commission for us. 'What your family needs, sir, is a spa vacation in Dubai.'"
This might indeed be a satisfactory solution, but the salesperson has done little to understand the customer's needs. a little analysis, and further questioning might reveal that the client has a need to impress and be respected by his family; to act quickly; to carve out some adult time on his vacation; to have a safe, supervised environment; and many other needs besides. Taking this longer approach has real benefits: the customer feels understood and valued; he'll buy this vacation from you, and come back for your guidance and advice, year after year.
ACTION POINT: Take time to understand and hear the needs of your customer before offering up solutions.
1 comment:
According to a business legend, a large tool manufacturer once called in a consulting team to look at the company's whole operation, from drawing board to packing case. At the exit interview, the lead consultant addressed the tool company's executives. "Ladies and gentlemen, the most important thing you need to remember is that you're not in the business of making drills. You're in the business of making holes."
First, he was stressing the importance of knowing what business you're really in. In nineteenth-century America, the railroad companies were wealthy and powerful. If you asked one of the barons what business he was in he would tell you, "the raileroad business." Wrong answer! If, instead, those powerful barons thought of themselves as being in the transpertation business, they might have survived and ended up owning airlines, UPS, and maybe NASA. I think Bill Gates maybe an offer to the US goverment for NASA.
"What are you in business for?"
rg3
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