For a moment, picture VITO driving to work early in the morning in a high-powered ride. What do you suppose VITO is thinking about during that drive? What would you guess is on VITO’s mind?
It’s my privilege to know the answer to that question. I’ve recorded the key points from several decades of interviews with hundreds of VITOs in a series of personal journals. The more VITOs I sold to, interviewed, and wrote about, the more journal entries I made about the goals, plans, and objectives that drove them. I analyzed the journal entries closely and made two critical discoveries:
- VITOs in similar industries have similar goals, plans, and objectives.
- VITOs in all industries share the same basic “short list” of critical goals, plans, and objectives.
Once you know what’s on the “short list”, you can connect with a VITO in virtually any industry; that is, if you can offer something that appeals to one or more items on VITO’s “short list”.
Here is VITO’s “short list”:
- Increasing all sources of revenues and exceeding the projected revenue plan
- Increasing efficiencies and effectiveness of:
- Revenue-generating employees
- Mission-critical employees
- Mission-critical processes
- Workflow and related operations
- Procurement
- Capital resources
- Customer-facing services
- Cutting and or containing costs and moving away from unpredictable expenses and toward accurate, forecasted budgets
- Staying in compliance including:
- operating well within the corporate culture on critical decisions
- staying on the right side of all relevant governmental regulations
- staying on the right side of the law
- staying out of jail!
With this critical list in mind, let’s focus for a moment on the product, services, and solutions you sell. Focus and think more about the “whole” or what “does”, and not at all about the “drill bit” or what “it” is. What result(s) do you have a track record of delivering to your best existing customers, or what do you suspect your product, service, or solution can deliver to your potential prospects that connects to each of the results listed above? Don’t rush through this question. Take your time.
Use the following “Mind Joggers” to help you get started:
MJ #1: How does what I sell impact top line revenues?
MJ #2: How does what I sell impact the efficiencies of direct sales, online sales, brand awareness, marketing, operations, finance, manufacturing, or customer service?
MJ #3: How does what I sell help contain or cut costs?
MJ #4: How does what I sell assist in compliance operations, keeping people and organizations out of legal trouble?
The big question:
Of the four results where all VITOs want to overachieve, how many can your product, service, or solution help them with?
If your answer was “none”, then I suggest you find another product, service or solution to offer to the VITOs of the Free World!
