Show people, customers you care about them

On a national sports radio program recently, two talk-show hosts were discussing star quarterback Peyton Manning and the enormous impact he is having in his new football home, Denver.

They mentioned that Manning had already learned the entire playbook, but even more interesting was that he had learned the names of the entire press group and as much as he could about them and their families. One host opined how brilliant that was of Manning.

Perhaps Manning does this because he knows the value of scouting reports, which colleges and major sports leagues use to assess their competition and draft choices.


I don't know if Peyton Manning is familiar with the Mackay 66-Question Customer Profile, which I wrote about in my book, "Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive," but Manning certainly knows the power that it yields when used properly to build relationships.

I have been preaching about the power of the Mackay 66 for my entire career. It's a tool to help you humanize your selling strategy. To be successful in life -- and especially in sales -- you must have a desire to help people. Studies show that you can't talk business all the time. Your customers are people first!

I developed this 66-question customer profile when I was 21 years old. (The Mackay 66 is available for free on my website, www.harveymackay.com.) At MackayMitchell Envelope Co., we require all our salespeople to fill it out about every customer.

You wouldn't believe how much we know about our customers. The IRS wouldn't believe how much we know about our customers.

And I'm not talking about their tastes in envelopes. We want to know, based on routine conversation and observation, what our customers are like as human beings. What do they feel strongly about? What are they proudest of having achieved? Are there any status symbols in their offices? In other words, we want to know the person behind the desk.

And remember this is not just for our customers. It's also for our suppliers. We want the best paper suppliers in the country. We want the best ink suppliers.

Use the Mackay 66 for employees, competitors and anyone you can benefit from knowing more about. Every time you encounter those people, you learn a little bit more about them. You will probably never fill out all 66 items, but 30 are better than 20, and 15 are better than 10. They cover things like education (high school and college), family (spouses and kids), anniversaries, hobbies and interests, favorite sports teams, vacation habits, previous employment, professional and trade associations, clubs and so on.

Question No. 66: Does your competitor have more or better answers to the above questions than you have?

The Mackay 66 is a concept, a philosophy and a tool. You still must perform. But if you perform and build a good relationship, you not only get the order, you get all the reorders.

You simply cannot know enough about your customers, employees, suppliers and competitors.

Here's a story that dates back about 100 years that illustrates the importance of noticing the little things and knowing your audience.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was quite impressed with the observational powers of a cab driver who picked him up at the train station after a vacation to the south of France. As he stepped into the cab and put his suitcase on the seat next to him, the driver surprised him by asking, "Where would you like to go, Mr. Doyle?"

Doyle was shocked that the man knew his name and asked whether they had ever met.

The driver said no, which prompted Doyle to ask how he knew who Doyle was.

The driver replied, "This morning's paper had a story about you being on vacation in Marseilles. This is the taxi stand where people who return from Marseilles always come. Your skin color tells me that you have been on vacation. The ink spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I deduce that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. That, and your name is on your suitcase."

Mackay's Moral: People don't care how much you know about them, once they realize how much you care about them.

by Harvey Mackay May 13, 2012




Show people, customers you care about them