Making money off my customer’s weaknesses: rewarding, profitable,but not sustainable!

Who hasn’t heard sales colleagues boasting of having taken advantage of their customer’s poor organisation or limited skills? You’ve laughed heartily, and you may also have congratulated the sales person for their cunning move. And then, on reflection, a feeling of unease sets in: how does the customer feel about it?

This situation actually takes place often, even if it is not very visible for obvious business confidentiality reasons. Under which circumstances does a sales rep manage to extract a hefty profit, literally fleece his customer?

The customer’s position of weakness appears against five different backdrops: the strategic context, technical barriers to change, economic constraints, a suboptimal organisation, and the human factor.

In each context, sales people derive immediate benefits and rewards. They are eager to protect the rent. Yet they are clear-headed about the fact that the situation is undermining the relationship and sowing the seeds of future difficulties.

Is it possible to break the status quo by coming out of it on top?

Yes !

It is up to the company’s leadership to embrace a culture of innovation and continuous improvement rather than a culture of rent-seeking. Sales forces will follow suit by offering to help customers meet their own challenges. By aiming to build a great relationship, the kind that makes us stronger when we work together than when we work separately.

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