Ram Charan offers sales advice

Execution co-author Ram Charan has a new book out:  What the Customer Wants You to Know.  In Execution, Charan and Larry Bossidy tell you how to get things done; in What the Customer Wants You to Know, Charan offers advice on how to get things sold.  From chapter one:

The heart of the new approach to selling is an intense focus on the prosperity of your customers. This is a radical departure from what most salespeople and selling organizations do. The entire psychological orientation is shifted 180 degrees. No longer do you measure your own success first. Instead, you measure success by how well your customers are doing with your help. You’re not focused on selling a specific product or service; you’re focused on how your company can help the customer succeed in all the ways that are important to that customer. By tapping the many resources you have at your disposal to help customers meet their business goals and priorities, you are adding value.

Good advice, yes.  Who can argue with focusing on your customers?  But probably a little simplistic for dedicated readers of cool marketing books.

Ram Charan, management author & sales advisor.