Learnings – Monday March 15

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A Change of Perspective –

Wearing someone else’s shoes can be refreshing. A change of scenery, something new, a fresh look. Working in Customer Success, it’s easy to put my head down and grind, sometimes forgetting that my own interactions are likely the customer’s first experiences with our Product. When the time came for me to look at software, the shoe was on the other foot. I became the customer. A fresh look.

I was now the one filling lead-scoring forms on websites, answering automated reach out emails, filling in company data just to be segmented in someone’s marketing/CRM platform or given a “score”. Things that are cornerstones and staples of our own business, become so obvious when going through the process yourself. I know, it’s all built for “scaling” in mind. Finding the right customers at the right time, using the right amount of resources. We’ve all heard it.

What my meetings with various software providers taught me was, all things being equal, personal connection still reigns supreme. A quick meeting with someone who actually cares about me and my issues went way further to influencing my buying emotions than a long drawn out demo where I was shown all the shiny features and buttons. Features don’t matter without a Problem. Say it louder for the people in the back.

In my case, a really nice, 15 minute chat about my business, what problems we were facing and what we were hoping to accomplish easily led to a next-step demo. No hesitation. I never once saw the product I was reaching out about, but the AE on the other end took time, showed empathy, understanding of the market and showed domain knowledge without being pushy or sales-y at all. I left the meeting feeling very optimistic. Credit where credit is due Dan @ UserIQ.

While not intentional, putting the shoe on the other foot can be a really nice refresher on the important things. If you’re feeling in a rut, try out of the role of a “buyer” and take note of all the things you like and the things you don’t like. Then go and actually put those learnings to use.

Fun things

I set a goal for 2021 to listen to 100 albums that I had never listened to before. At the time of writing I have 20 down, 80 more to go.

I got lucky today. I found two that stood out, two in a row. Shoutout Tame Impala. Seriously good pair of albums. In contention for best of the bunch so far.

Best Parts:

  1. Let It Happen – so vibe-y, how can you not stop what you’re doing and move to that beat? I mean c’mon.
  2. ‘Cause I’m a Man – Again, so groovy. What a jam.
  3. Is It True – That guitar riff cannot get out of my head. It’s permanently stuck.

Quick Hits

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