Tom Peters, in his excellent and inspirational collection of little things that have a big impact (The Little Big Things-163 Ways to Pursue Excellence), reminds us how important our internal customers are to our success.
We focus on external customers for all of the right reasons, but often forget that the people that get things done for us are typically sitting somewhere deep inside an organization, deciding what to do and when to do it and whom to do it for. If you’ve ever been in a sales role…especially in the tech world, you are fully aware that the people behind the scenes in your own firm are the ones that will make or break your year.
While your view might be that those behind the scenes have jobs that are all about serving you in your external customer-facing role, don’t forget the human factor. People love to serve and support those that they like and respect. I would much rather spend time paying attention and getting to know the people that control my success from behind the scences, and deal with them as equals based on respect, than demand their compliance because it’s their job.
The best sales manager that I’ve ever worked around understood that when it came to crunch time at the end of the month for last minute orders, rush shipments and extra-ordinary help getting things done, that he needed a lot of people in his camp. Trips into corporate for him involved a lot of hall time, lunches, small gifts, mementoes from customers (pens, notepads) and a genuine attitude of warmth, fellowship and thanks. His region topped the sales charts every year.
Flip your view on those that serve you from behind the scenes. They are your customers. Now metaphorically speaking, go hug one today and every day going forward. You’ll be glad you did.