Latest / Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay / Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

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Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie · Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay

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  SPEAKER_00: The most dangerous competitor you will ever face isn't a human.
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  SPEAKER_00: In sales,
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  SPEAKER_00: leadership,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the marketplace,
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  SPEAKER_00: we often think our largest competitor is the company two aisles over at
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  SPEAKER_00: the trade show.
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  SPEAKER_00: But for many of us, the real enemy is the status quo and its parent, the comfort zone monster.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today, our focus is Proverbs 26 because it's the 26th day of the month.
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  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie,
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  SPEAKER_00: where a proverb a day keeps stinking thinking away.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Ernie Lansford,
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  SPEAKER_00: and my desire is to help you connect biblical wisdom
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  SPEAKER_00: to everyday marketplace decisions,
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  SPEAKER_00: allowing you to build relationships that far outlast any transactions.
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  SPEAKER_00: We work our best to bring timeless biblical truth into the marketplace where influence is real.
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  SPEAKER_00: Choices are constant and relationships matter more than results.
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  SPEAKER_00: So pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea or whatever it is that you like to enjoy
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  SPEAKER_00: when you listen to this podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today, I am sharing from Chapter 26 of Marketplace Proverbs Volume 1,
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  SPEAKER_00: A Sales Navigator's Compass to Customer Success Mastery,
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  SPEAKER_00: written by yours truly and co-author John Kluter.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read two versions,
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  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 26,
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  SPEAKER_00: verses 25 through 26, from the Message, MSG translation, as well as the NIV.
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  SPEAKER_00: From the MSG, quote,
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  SPEAKER_00: your enemy shakes hands and greets you like an old friend,
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  SPEAKER_00: all the while conniving against you.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when they speak warmly to you, don't believe them for a minute.
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  SPEAKER_00: They're just waiting for a chance to rip you off.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's Proverbs 26, 24 through 26 from the message.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the NIV puts it this way.
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  SPEAKER_00: Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their heart.
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  SPEAKER_00: Abominations fill their heart.
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  SPEAKER_00: As Zig Ziglar once said, I paid $1,000 to get my eyes fixed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now my mouth won't work.
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  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, as we continue...
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  SPEAKER_00: I recently read from Matthew Henry's commentary.
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  SPEAKER_00: He warns us, quote, a wise man will fear the flatterer more than the slanderer.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, in the marketplace, that flatterer doesn't have to be a person.
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  SPEAKER_00: It can be our mindset.
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  SPEAKER_00: I found one of the greatest flatterers in business is the status quo.
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  SPEAKER_00: It whispers, hey, you're doing fine.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why change?
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  SPEAKER_00: Why fix what isn't broken?
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  SPEAKER_00: And if you listen long enough,
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  SPEAKER_00: it will keep us in the same place, allowing opportunities to pass us by.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, just who is this comfort zone monster?
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  SPEAKER_00: I believe the status quo is the child of the comfort zones.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, Cambridge Dictionary defines a comfort zone as, quote,
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  SPEAKER_00: a situation in which you feel comfortable in which your ability
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  SPEAKER_00: and determination are not being tested, end quote.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've seen this.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've experienced this firsthand.
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  SPEAKER_00: In my early corporate sales leadership years,
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  SPEAKER_00: I traveled with territory managers to visit customers,
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  SPEAKER_00: and we focused almost exclusively
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  SPEAKER_00: Why?
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, because it was easy.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was familiar.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was comfortable.
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  SPEAKER_00: And frankly,
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  SPEAKER_00: I had been taught that from all of the sales managers that traveled with me
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  SPEAKER_00: when I was in a territory as a personal production person,
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  SPEAKER_00: or I affectionately called a payment pounder.
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  SPEAKER_00: The mantra among all of them was, quote, always visit Amazon.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your existing customers, end quote.
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  SPEAKER_00: But you know, that comfort came with a cost.
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  SPEAKER_00: The more we visited the same customers, the more we risk taking them for granted.
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  SPEAKER_00: And slowly,
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  SPEAKER_00: we became professional visitors instead
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  SPEAKER_00: of business development market expansion specialists.
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  SPEAKER_00: I believe comfort breeds contempt,
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  SPEAKER_00: not necessarily outright dislike, but a dangerous level of assumption.
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  SPEAKER_00: We start thinking, oh, they'll always buy from us.
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  SPEAKER_00: And before long, we stop adding new value.
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  SPEAKER_00: We stop adding deeper significance.
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  SPEAKER_00: Which brings me to the point of talking about transactions versus relationships
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  SPEAKER_00: and You've heard me say many times, relationships always trump transactions.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
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  SPEAKER_00: However, do not misunderstand.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the transactions that pay the bills.
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  SPEAKER_00: But we cannot deposit a relationship in the bank.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yet, without relationships, we won't have transactions to deposit.
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  SPEAKER_00: Rabbi Daniel Lapin calls transactions certificates of appreciation.
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  SPEAKER_00: I call them celebrations of a mutual commitment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yep, the comfort zone monster feeds on transaction chasing and not relationship building.
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  SPEAKER_00: It tells us that one more quick deal is all that matters.
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  SPEAKER_00: But in reality,
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  SPEAKER_00: the deeper the relationship,
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  SPEAKER_00: the more consistent and meaningful the transactions become.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think on that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today's customer success code, the status quo is the comfort zone in disguise.
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  SPEAKER_00: Break it before it breaks growth.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray for discernment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, please,
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  SPEAKER_00: through your Holy Spirit dwelling in us,
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  SPEAKER_00: give us wisdom and discernment to know when we're feeding the comfort zone monster.
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  SPEAKER_00: Show us the difference between staying in the status quo and stepping
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  SPEAKER_00: into growth opportunities directed by you.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, I've got some expanded action points for you today.
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  SPEAKER_00: The theme is escaping the comfort zone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number one, identify the status quo.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pick one existing customer and ask yourself,
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  SPEAKER_00: what stayed the same for too long in this relationship?
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number two, spot the comfort zone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Name one reason you've stayed in that same pattern.
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it convenience?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it fear of change?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it overconfidence?
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  SPEAKER_00: Just what is it?
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number three, value them anew.
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  SPEAKER_00: Write down three ways that this customer brings value to your business beyond transactions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number four is add fresh value.
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  SPEAKER_00: Plan one tangible way to serve them differently this week,
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  SPEAKER_00: a way that you have never done before.
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  SPEAKER_00: Introduce a new idea.
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  SPEAKER_00: Connect them to a new resource or solve an unspoken problem.
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  SPEAKER_00: And action point number five, measure their gain.
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  SPEAKER_00: After adding value, after adding significance, note how it impacts their success.
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  SPEAKER_00: This helps us to see and show the profit of significance-driven service.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me in today's episode of Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie.
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  SPEAKER_00: As I share insights from Proverbs to inspire better leadership in the marketplace,
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  SPEAKER_00: better customer success mastery, I want to be clear.
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  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to offer practical applications from my own experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm not teaching doctrine.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm committed to staying true to God's Word,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I want to avoid the appearance of teaching false doctrine.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm focusing only on these verses in a manner of how they've guided me
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  SPEAKER_00: in serving my customers with deeper integrity and wisdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if you hear me spreading false doctrine, please call me out, ernie at ernie.coach.
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  SPEAKER_00: I truly do appreciate your comments.
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  SPEAKER_00: I speak chapters 624 through 26 from the book of Numbers on you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord bless you and protect you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: If this message encouraged you or inspired you, please share it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And remember, success is temporal.
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  SPEAKER_00: Adding significance to others is infinite.
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  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to meeting with you again on the next episode of Marketplace Proverbs
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  SPEAKER_00: and Coffee with Ernie.