Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Did you see Apple's earnings release today?  Just read an article in Fast Company which highlights some of Apple's accomplishments. 13 Billion in profits with increased revenues of 73%, 37 million iPhones sold, 97 Billion in cash on hand. Wow, mind boggling!

As I sit at my desk with my iPhone to my right, streaming Pandora radio on my iPad to my left. I understand why. Quite simply, they consistently exceed their customers expectations, from the purchase experience, to the overall quality, to the user experience. That's just it, you don’t buy and use Apple products, you experience them.

Over the past year I have purchased an iPhone and iPad2 for myself as well as 8 or 10 iPads as sales spiffs for my team. Nothing gets the team fired up more than the chance to win an iPad.

Last month I was on my way to the Apple store to pick up an iPad for one of our team members who had referred a friend to join our team. Our VP Marketing, (a big Apple fan) asked to join me simply because he enjoys the Apple store experience. Can you think of another company that has had the ability to create such customer loyalty? I can’t. Amazing. No surprise that they have more cash on hand than a number of small countries total GDP.

Anyway, my point is, whether you are an individual or a large enterprise, if you focus relentlessly on the customer experience, giving them what they need, you will get what you want. To often, we look at our customers as a means of getting us what we need, doing just enough to make them happy while maximizing profit margins. Why not just build the best possible product or deliver the best possible service and charge what you have to? People are happy to pay for quality, and those people have the highest loyalty by far. I could have purchased a perfectly good tablet for half the price, but I opted for a high quality device and a great user experience. I don’t have money to burn, I just appreciate value. Apparently I’m not alone.

Apple built it and man did they buy.