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Book Summary: Stripping Down – The Three Fears That Sabotage Customer Loyalty by Patrick Lencioni

Customer loyalty is the Holy Grail for all businesses. This should be the number one focus for the entire team. Everything else does not matter. According to Peter Drucker, the only objective of a company is to win a customer. I would like to add as a corollary that the sales team must ensure that customers become loyal.

Why is this important to me?
I understand that you are going to spend your time reviewing this book, so it must be important and relevant. I have been studying ways to generate business income for years. Every book on marketing, sales, management, and leadership has something good to say. The problem is what can you put into action today and get results tomorrow? The number one way to build any business is what I call WOM (word of mouth) referrals.

This trumps any sales technique, marketing campaign, or pricing strategy. As you know, loyal customers buy more (have a higher lifetime value), forgive mistakes, and refer businesses. Think of the power of having an entire sales force on the street that you don’t have to pay. This is what creating true customer loyalty will do for your business.

Acquiring customers is not always easy. You have to be unique in your value proposition and approach. People want to do business with people they like. Wall Street arrogance may work in the back room, but on the street it won’t win you deals.

Getting Naked is really a simple concept. For reasons of time, I will talk about the most important areas of the book.

1. Egoless – Tell the kind truth – This seems like total common sense, but it’s hard for salespeople and executives to do with customers. It doesn’t mean they are lying, it just means they are withholding their full opinion for fear of losing business. When you tell the kind truth and offer solutions up front, customers will love you for it. The fear of losing the business is the barrier that must be overcome.

2. Fear of feeling inferior: Have you ever been in a sales presentation and the salesperson uses a bunch of buzzwords? Usually what happens is that the salesperson feels smart using all this jargon. The problem is that this language alienates customers because people have a hard time admitting that they don’t know what you’re talking about. The same is true if you offer consulting to clients. Every business is different and there are different industry terms. When the client spews out a smorgasbord of jargon, he must be willing to ask for clarifications and simplistic explanations. Most technicians (engineers, accountants, and researchers) won’t do this for fear of looking stupid. An easy way to avoid this is to simply make a statement to protect the client.

It sounds like this:
“Who else besides me doesn’t know what this means?” When you do this, you protect others who aren’t sure and make it easier for them to admit it.

3. Empathy – I realize many people will disagree with showing true empathy in business situations. At the end of the day, union and true relationships are based on empathy. Active listening and true empathy will consolidate your relationship with the client. Once again, ego gets in the way because some executives and salespeople have a need to “look professional.” Let me put this in context. Have you ever had a serious illness and the doctor had no bed treatment? The doctor shows no empathy. I know most people will kick that doctor, even if they are the best in the field. Bedside treatment and human relationships are just as important as the experience.

Getting Naked is a good book. The concepts it contains are very simple. The interesting part is that if you follow them, you will grow your business, but the question is: can you put your ego aside to do it?
I hope you found this short summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is humility. When you are humble and empathetic with customers, you can provide real solutions and help them, even if it means changing their perceptions. This is not always easy for fear of losing business, but it works.

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