Object Permanence

Before a baby reaches eight or nine months of age, out of sight is out of mind. If they see something, it’s real. If it’s gone, the baby has no sense that it has any existence someplace else.

Soon, though, every baby comes to realize that mom or dad or their blanket is still somewhere, even if they don’t see it. That recognition is called object permanence, and it’s much rarer among businesses than it is for toddlers.

Consider where your clients are today, what plans they are making, whose pitch they are receiving, and which offers they are considering. Out of our sight, our biggest assets inhabit their own world and make plans that might or might not include us. Often, their activities put our relationships, and futures, at risk. For example…

Yesterday, your best customer met with your biggest competitor, just to hear them out, nothing serious, no obligation….but the competitor offered a few cost-saving ideas that you haven’t mentioned.

Today, your top client is in a meeting about a new product rollout that won’t include you, simply because that client doesn’t remember that you can play a role. Yes, you described your services in detail during the sales call, but that was three years ago. Meanwhile, at today’s meeting, somebody else in the room mentioned a resource that can also do the job, and the client is following up with them, not you.

Tomorrow, the client that means life and death to your bank covenants is going to cut back sharply on orders, informing you just a few weeks too late for you to adapt.

How can we keep up and stay a part of our customers’ existence? The answer to that question is essentially the same as the plaint every college student gets from mom: Call, write or visit every so often. Obvious? Sure. Implemented? Not so much.

Think of your top ten clients. Now, look at your calendar and find the last time you sat down with them for some quality business time. Not golf, not a dinner, but a real discussion about what they need and where they’re going and why they intend to go there with you, or not. Socializing with clients is great, highly recommended, but the next vendor is likely to be just as sociable as you were. And, just maybe, they have access to a better skybox.

When was the last time your team toured the client’s facility for an update on what’s new, what’s planned, and what’s being jettisoned? Have you ever asked your best clients for their input into your own strategic plan, helping to ensure that you will be well positioned to serve their evolving needs?

Often, we operate like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, assuming we are part of the action when we are quite tangential to our customers’ existence. As was true for Hamlet’s estranged friends, the consequences of this faulty perception can be fatal.

It’s three o’clock. Do you know where your clients are? And with whom?