We’ve got to sell our ideas. There’s no way around it. And, we have to advocate for what we are selling. If we can’t, we’re doomed because nobody will believe in us. The catalyst for this, I believe, is a deep desire to make a difference: Our ideas should change lives so profoundly, that people can’t imagine going back to the old way.
But how do we put ourselves in this mindset?
I found the following two questions at the end of Daniel Pink’s To Sell is Human:
- If the person you are selling to agrees to buy, will his or her life improve?
- When the interaction is over, will the world be a better place than when you began?
I believe innovation and customer service go hand-in-hand because if we’re not focused on delighting people, then what are we doing? Making more stuff just for the heck of it. That’s not innovation. That’s un-innovation.
Related articles
- The 5 essential questions at the heart of any winning strategy – Part 1 (business.financialpost.com)
- How Tim Cook Should Really Be Running Apple (forbes.com)
- Innovating the Toyota, and YouTube, Way (blogs.hbr.org)
- Leading a culture of Innovation (customerthink.com)