Why Do Businesses Contact Me?
How A 21st Century Expert Educator Can Help
When was the last time you heard of an educator who was capable of helping businesses boost profits or solve organizational problems?
Probably never.
That’s probably because you may have heard a myth that, “teachers are people who teach, because they can’t do it themselves.”
A Software Company
Back in 2020, a software company got in contact with me because they were running into too many obstacles during their sales calls and could not close the sale.
They tried everything they could to overcome the objections.
- They did market research
- They surveyed their potential customers
- They analyzed their Value Proposition
But everything they tried wasn’t working. At the end of every sales call it was the same result — no one was buying their product.
What Were They Missing?
If you were the CEO of this company, would you be frustrated?
You made sales goals and the company wasn’t hitting them.
Anyone in the CEO’s shoes would ask the following questions:
- Was it the product?
- Was it the customers?
- Was it the marketing?
- Was it the price?
The CEO did what every conventional business person does. They hire an outside business coach or consultant. That’s what your MBA degree tells you to do. And it works for 85% of businesses, so why would you expect your business to fall into the 15% of businesses that coaches and consultants CANNOT help?
Here’s the problem this CEO ran into. They were one of the 15%.
There was nothing wrong with their product, in fact it was better software than what most of their customers were currently using. (It was a better mousetrap).
It also wasn’t the marketing or the price.
What were they missing?
Business Analytics
Everyone has heard of analytics, and every business coach and consultant uses them to better study and analyze business health. The CEO sat down with the consultants and looked at the data. They diagnosed the business, but couldn’t find anything wrong.
So they suggested updating the marketing and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars more on advertising to convince customers their software was better.
But the CEO needed to make sales immediately. And he knew he couldn’t afford to waste more money on marketing and advertising in the “hopes” it would work.
So he contacted me.
You might be asking why? And the answer is simple. I’m an expert educator. But not just any educator, I have over 20 years of behavioral analysis expertise. That means when I look at data, I look for the behavioral component of the data.
What does the data tell us about what customers will or won’t do?
So when I sat with the CEO, and we analyzed the data together, we found the real underlying problem.
It wasn’t the market research, it wasn’t the product itself, it wasn’t even their marketing, the problem was the customers they were reaching out to were satisfied with the older software. The core customer had no reason to switch.
Finding the Solution
If you run a company that sells products or service to new customers, then you know the only reason they make a purchase is because they see the value for their business.
For a software company, the purchase must bring high value or be seen as an investment for longer term profits. If you cannot show your potential customer they will receive out-sized value or the purchase isn’t a huge value investment — it’s nearly impossible to make sales.
And that’s exactly what was happening to the company’s salespeople.
The companies they targeted did not see any compelling reason to switch over to their superior product. And we see this story over and over again in business. Why did VHS beat Betamax? Why did Blu-Ray beat HD-DVD? Why did the iPhone beat Blackberry?
Just because you build a better mousetrap, doesn’t automatically mean customers will want to buy it. And the business coaches and consultants simply ignored that reality.
So I offered two solutions.
First, stop trying to sell to well-established businesses. The main objection the sales people were running into was the fact the companies spent years data entering their company info into the old software. The old software had become part of their operating procedures. Unless there was a way to upload that data easily or provide the company with new and improved data, it would cost the customer too much time or money to switch.
If the CEO was going to make more sales, they needed to target startups and less established companies. That way the salespeople wouldn’t run into that objection anymore.
The second solution I offered was to create new and improved data for the software pre-installed. One of the ways the PC competed with the iMac was offering laptop users pre-installed Windows when they purchased a new laptop. It may seem like a no-brainer today, but back in the 1990s, customers had to install the operating system themselves onto laptops. Not having to spend hours installing software, was a compelling reason to purchase an iMac instead of a PC.
If the CEO could offer companies pre-installed data that could help businesses boost profits, the software would provide outsized value for their customers. Now, when a company looked at their superior software with valuable and usable data already included — the decision to switch becomes a no-brainer.
Is your business running into sales objections?
Have you seen your sales dip over the last several years?
The problem may be staring you in the face, but you won’t be able to see it because you’re not reading the data the right way.
The End Result
The CEO ultimately decided to go with option #1, which was to shift focus and target startups and less established companies.
The company and CEO was under pressure to show sales and this was the quickest and most efficient way to meet those sales goals.
Does Your Business Have a Problem That Consultants or Coaches Can’t Solve?
Why should you consider contacting “The School Doc?”
If you run a company, you know there’s a lot involved in making your business successful. From developing products and services, to perfecting the sale process, to dealing with customer service. It’s a never-ending hamster wheel finding solutions to problems.
As an expert 21st century skills educator, I am not only an expert in all five special 21st century skills, but I have over a decade of experience teaching these scientifically research-based skills to others.
For quick reference, the five special 21st century skills are:
- Leadership
- Team Building
- Problem Solving
- Sales
- Communications
Did you know these five special skills are scientifically proven to be the most valuable skills in the 21st century? That’s the difference you get when you contact me, “The School Doc.”
Do you need help with leadership skills building? Do you have a team productivity issue? Does your company identify and solve problems? Is your sales team meeting sales goals? And do your employees look confused by your communications? Or worse, are your customers confused by your sales and marketing messages?
Whatever problem your business is facing, “The School Doc” can diagnose and help you fix them.
For a limited time, you can access the 100% FREE Beginner Leadership Course offered on the Leaf Academy website (link in bio).
This FREE Leadership Course includes 5 Learning Modules, which goes over the 6 Objectives of Leadership, including Vision, Goals, Support, Management and Reflection. Access this Leadership Course now for FREE on the Leaf Academy website.
About the Author:
D.Scott Schwartz, M.Ed. is the CEO and Founder of Leaf Academy and an education think tank. He is a recognized expert in the field of education and also 21st century skills. He uses his skills to diagnose business problems and offers innovative solutions to companies looking to modernize or boost sales. If you have a business question, visit the Leaf Academy website (link in bio) and click on the Programs page.
