Conference hydra::dejavu

601.0. "Arrogance and Complacency" by CLUE::PAINTER (Imagine all the people...) Tue Dec 15 1987 11:28

    In light of the most recent events, I find this message particularly
    humbling.  Thought you all might be interested in reading this.
    
    
[FORWARDING MESSAGES REMOVED]

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                   I N T E R O F F I C E   M E M O R A N D U M

                                         Date:      7-Dec-1987 09:04am EST
                                         From:      SHIELDS 
                                                    183@DECMAIL@FRICK@MRO 
                                         Dept:      SSMI ADMINISTRATION
                                         Tel No:    276-9890

TO: See Below

Subject: ARROGANCE AND COMPLACENCY


        A MESSAGE TO ALL SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WORLDWIDE


The dictionary defines ARROGANCE as a feeling of superiority 
manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims.  
COMPLACENCY is defined as self-satisfaction accompanied by 
unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.  These two words 
were the subject of a speech I gave to this year's DECATHLON 
winners.

Based on a considerable amount of positive feedback from some of 
our more senior sales personnel about my comments, I wanted to 
make sure that each of you were sensitive to the fact that some 
of our customers and consultants have been quoted in the press as 
perceiving us to be ARROGANT and COMPLACENT.  We must change 
this perception quickly.  When even one customer holds this view, 
we have no choice but to reflect on the behavior we all exhibit 
on a daily basis.

Before suggesting some ideas on how to change these perceptions, 
let me acknowledge some of the conditions that might lead 
customers to these conclusions.  You are good!  You are well 
trained!  You have a winning attitude!  With your management and 
your field team, you have learned to go the extra mile to win the 
customer's business.  The world's best authorities (our customers) 
give us extremely high marks for customer satisfaction, service 
quality, and the enthusiasm and knowledge of our support team.  We 
have listened well to our customers over the years, which has 
resulted in an integrated product set that meets their needs.  
Marketing programs designed to leverage your sales activities have 
gained in stature and professionalism over the years, allowing 
consultants to compare us most favorably to IBM when they are with 
prospects.  All of these are characteristics of a large organization, 
operating as a single company, with a single strategy and goal set in 
mind--win customers and maintain customer satisfaction.

As I said at DECATHLON, we are proud of you, your management, and 
your support team.  We are confident that you can win fairly, and 
keep customer satisfaction at the highest level in the industry.

But, let us also admit that it is exactly these strengths, 
resulting in the great number of enthusiastic new hires that we 
brought into our organization over the last several years, 
coupled with the great many new customers that we have been able 
to win over the past years, that increase the opportunity for 
ARROGANCE and COMPLACENCY to set in.

Most of you know you cannot lead a large organization toward an 
objective by stopping midway and saying... "folks, you are really 
not as good as you think you are."  That would be self-defeating.  
And, my message is about winning.  But, to win continuously means 
having long-term successes built with customers with whom you 
have a lasting relationship.  Such a relationship demands that 
you never take it for granted.

Let us talk about some of the factors that can lead customers to 
the perception that we are becoming complacent and arrogant and 
how to avoid them.


    -    During this period of industry-leading growth, it 
         is clear that we have not spent as much time 
         training our many new sales reps and managers on 
         the "Digital Style" of dealing with customers as we 
         should have.  It is okay to say "I do not know the 
         answer," as long as you get back to the customer in 
         a prompt manner with the answer.

    -    It is not appropriate to disparage competition.  
         Frequently overheard comments about the inadequacy 
         or irrelevance of our larger competitors' product 
         set often offends many customers and users of those 
         products.  We should be careful to stress the 
         advantages of our way of doing computing and never 
         the negatives of our competitors.

    -    We should remember that one of the cardinal rules 
         of a successful sales organization is to never 
         argue with the customer.  The customer is always 
         right.  That is one of the first rules for success.  
         The second rule is:  if you are in doubt about 
         whether the customer is right, assume they are.  
         Nothing leads to the perception of complacency and 
         arrogance more than arguing with the customer, 
         particularly over trivial technical matters.  But, 
         within this spirit we have an obligation to provide 
         customers with the best information available to 
         us........that is our commitment to technical 
         honesty.

    -    Pay attention to the experience factor of the 
         personnel you are calling on.  For the first time 
         ever, you are calling on some people who have made 
         nothing but IBM decisions for decades.  Be cautious 
         that no matter how conservative and eloquent your 
         presentation, you are indeed challenging the prior 
         decisions of this management team.  It is highly 
         likely that no matter how good you are, they will 
         perceive you as arrogant when you challenge those 
         older decisions.  Acknowledge that they made the 
         right decision at the time.  Propose Digital 
         solutions that complement their original decision.  
         We are the only vendor that has consistently, for 
         many years, offered solutions that do not require 
         the obsoleting of existing investments either in 
         our equipment or our competition's.

    -    Understanding the roles and measurements of your 
         teammates will allow you to become a much more 
         effective account manager and team leader.  This is 
         the kind of leadership customers are looking for.  
         They do not want to deal with eighteen different 
         Digital people to get a problem solved.  When they 
         have to, it usually leaves them dissatisfied and 
         feeling that we do not care about solving their 
         problem as much as our competitors do.

    -    Each of us continually needs improving.  Just 
         because you are organized around an account within 
         an industry does not mean you should not have a 
         firm grasp on the Digital style of computing and 
         what makes us unique.  Lack of depth about our 
         product strengths can be perceived as glibness or 
         complacency.  In addition to taking advantage of 
         formal training programs, each of you should 
         develop your own personal plan for understanding 
         more about our products and services.

    -    Understand where your support resources are and 
         brief them thoroughly about what is going on in 
         your account.  Remember that we are shifting the 
         support resources from the Headquarters area out to 
         the Field in order to improve the access to our 
         customers.  You will not find many more technical 
         support people in Headquarters than you did five 
         years ago, yet the Sales and Service organization 
         has more than doubled over that time.  It is 
         important that you begin using and growing a 
         competent support organization closer to your 
         customers and exposing your customers to the 
         breadth and depth of local support.


DECATHLON winners seem to have many traits in common.  Four of 
these stand out in my mind.  They are extremely honest, admitting 
when they do not know something and clearly explaining something 
when they do.  This builds credibility.  They are very responsive, 
training everyone around them that the customer comes first.  This 
means getting out of internal meetings to answer a customer's phone 
call, returning ALL phone calls promptly, etc.  They live and 
breathe customer satisfaction.  Most of them will not go home in the 
evening until every customer problem they have identified has been 
solved or is being resolved.  Finally, they are the essence of 
professionalism.  They know how to get things done within their 
customer organization and within Digital.  This behavior is something 
that each and every one of you are capable of, but it takes continuous 
effort and focus.  "The customer comes first" is not a slogan; it is a 
way of life with DECATHLON winners.  For our company to continue to 
win against heavy competition, we all must believe this every day.

In conclusion, continue your winning effort, but be careful to 
steer clear of ARROGANCE and COMPLACENCY.  These factors, rather 
than our competition, are all that stand between us and our goals.  
Each of you individually can make the difference by increasing your 
sensitivity to these factors and by letting our customers know through 
actions, not words, that they are the true force behind our success. 

Jack Shields

    Hi Cindy.  I just finished reading this message which was forwarded
    by hubby (also a DECee!).  Yes, it is very humbling.  Going through
    the various day to day tasks, we often forget how we treat people
    and how we come across to them.
    
    (Humbled once again!)