Transcript 11 Lansford.ErnieSN13

Course Title
Ernie Lansford—47 3/4 years in the MI Products/Pro
Audio Industry
1965 HS senior working part-time selling VOX,
Hofner, Gretsch, AMPEG, Magnatone
Worked as district sales manager, regional sales
manager, National Sales Manager, VP of Global
Sales interfacing with dealers and distributors
around the world.
Customer Success is The Mission; Valued Vendor is
the Goal was developed over many years.
Three important words to remember this
week.
1. Connect
2. Abundance
3. Profit
"Everyone communicates, few
connect.”—John C. Maxwell
Everyone we meet is a current or probable
customer. There are no difficult customers or
impossible probable customers. We either
connect or fail to connect. When we
understand WHY people buy what they buy,
we have the basis of 'connecting.'
"Help enough people get what they
want and you will get what you
want.”—Zig Ziglar
Abundance is the opposite of need. When we work
from a position of abundance filled with a desire to
help our customers succeed with the profit
opportunities available to them vs. 'need to make a
sale', we move closer to 'connecting' with them and
creating customers for life.
"We must look upon ourselves, not as misers' chests
to be kept locked for our own benefit, but as centres
of distribution; and the better we fulfill our function as
such centres the greater will be the corresponding
inflow.”—Thomas Troward
Profit is the net gain the customer receives from the
relationship, products and/or services offered. Profit
transcends dollars and cents. Net gain is the feeling,
pride of relationship and perceived value greater than the
dollars or effort invested. Work to be a “valued vendor”
VS. just a “vendor”.
“21st Century Technology allows
people to drown in information
while starving for knowledge.”
— Ernie Lansford
Studies by CEA and E-Commerce
Platform providers show that less
than 10% of shoppers visiting a
website actually check out, BUT 63%
of shoppers visiting a brick-andmortar store make a purchase.
WHY?
Studies indicate that brick-andmortar stores enjoy a greater
‘conversion’ rate because of
‘HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND
INTERACTION’
“Brick-and-mortar retailers have a secret
sauce that online retailers don’t: Highquality, experienced personnel who sit
on the front lines and understand what
their customers want. This is “Human
Intelligence & Interaction,” a critical
component exclusive online merchants
won’t offer.
“There is no better place to discover, explore, and
learn about our products than in our retail stores. Our
team members, they there are the most amazing,
awesome, incredible people on earth. It’s the best
retail experience. It’s a retail experience where you
walk in and you instantly realize the store is not here
for the purpose of selling, it’s here for the purpose of
serving….I’m not even sure ‘store’ is the right word
anymore. They’ve taken on a role much broader than
that. They are the face of Apple for almost all of our
customers”—Tim Cook CEO-APPLE
"If you have to beg em', beat em' and
drive em' crazy to join you, then you
will have to beg em' beat em' and drive
em' crazy to keep them."--Tim Davis.
10 Ideas I recommend if You Desire to use the secret sauce of Customer
Success is The Mission; Valued Vendor is The Goal.™
1. Do what you need to do now, so you will eventually get to do what you want to do later.
Learn why your customers buy what they buy.
2. Discipline is the ability to get things done regardless of how you feel about doing them.
Demo all new products to everyone who walks in the door, even if your self-limiting beliefs
say customers aren’t interested.
3. Passion only pays off when channeled into productive effort. Your words are pennies; your
actions are dollars.
4. Others may believe in you, help you and support you, but ultimately, nobody will do it for
you. You are responsible for your own business. Network among the seven streams of
influence in your community.
5. If you just facilitate business transactions like everyone else, you won’t get paid more than
everyone else.
10 Ideas I recommend if You Desire to use the secret sauce of Customer
Success is The Mission; Valued Vendor is The Goal.™
6. Adopt the 10-foot rule. Every time a team member comes within 10 feet of a customer
without an associate, greet the customer, and thank him or her for coming in your store.
7. If you think a little better and work a little harder, you will always accomplish more than the
bigger guys.
8. You can't service and sell all 269 million people over 18 in the USA, so get over it. 20% of
your customers provide 80% of your revenue. Understand it, and connect with your 20% to
grow your business.
9. If you do not appreciate where you are, you will not appreciate where you are going. Work
from a position of abundance vs. a position of need.
10. Be clear on what really matters to you and your business. Communicate your vision to
your team, get buy-in from them and get busy pursuing it.
THANK YOU!!
Ernie Lansford
Signal Flow Leadership
615-656-5330
[email protected]