Are we intent on answering the challenge of growing sales like this?

If the method and mindset of growing sales focuses on the me/my/mine and not how we can most effectively serve our prospects and clients in the interest of helping them achieve the best possible outcomes for them...what do we set the table for?

Lemme share my thoughts in the story below about what we get when we invest with good intentions with the wrong strategic business partners who are in business to exploit and profiteer as a singular purpose.

Imagine hosting a spectacularly hyped, high-ticket dinner as a Business Owner/Leader/Decision Maker for your clients and prospective clients who have all paid their own way to attend. The event of the year if you will!

Their expectations are that we would serve them and treat them to a an amazing experience including passed hors d'oeuvres during a cocktail hour, a delicious appetizer, a fresh, tasty salad, a succulent main course and dessert that they would gush over for months, maybe even years!

Now picture this, you've paid the bill, a big bill, months prior to the actual event. So you are all in...committed to the event.

As the event begins, you are surrounded by smiles, excitement and appreciation for the invitation. As the event begins, the hors d'oeuvres are passed, the champagne is poured and the initial feedback looks like the event is a smashing success. Everyone is buzzing and the event hits a fever pitch as your guests begin to take their seats for the dinner portion of the event.

As the appetizers and salads are consumed, the crowd is still buzzing and all smiles. You are genuinely happy, as your intention was to deliver a world-class experience for everyone in attendance.

The dinner is now served, and as your plate is presented to you, you are treated to the aroma of the plate before you with expectation of something decadent and mind-blowing. But as you take a second inhale, you notice something is a little off about the smell. You take a bite, it tastes OK, but not what you expected and still something isn't quite right.

As you gaze about the room, you see virtually every guest with a similar puzzled look on their face, but most just offer a half-hearted smile in return and continue to politely eat their meals.

As the main course is cleared, you sense a buzz returning to the room, but it is different than before, It isn't a sense of excitement, but more so a murmur of dissatisfaction. Some begin to get up and quietly leave without so much as a goodbye.

As the coffee and dessert is being served, you look down at your plate and what you though would be an exquisitely rich final plate, you see a small piece of dry cake with a miniscule dollop of whipped cream. You sip your coffee and it is cold and tastes like dishwater mixed with dirt.

Now guests are leaving in droves. Some even commenting on the disappointing end to what seemed like an event and experience they would remember for a lifetime and invite others to every chance they got. But it gets worse...

For months after the event, you hear that most of the guests ended up sick with food poisoning, because the main course was prepared with leftover, stale old ingredients masked in heavy sauce.

How many of these guests do you think will attend your next event or any event you hosted in the future. Very few, if any...

The moral of this story is simple, quick fixes, ego-driven hype and tired old sales tactics that manipulate our people, and worse, our clients and prospects may offer temporary lift to sales, but the long-term effect is devastating and causes predictable team turnover and dissent, as well as deadly client churn. The end game...catastrophically lower profits over time.

Sandy Cerami is a nationally-recognized Business Development Expert and Speaker. He is the creator of THE 7PILLARS OF KILLER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT™, the most relatable and successful B2B and B2B selling strategy in business today and the industry-leading SCA365 HIGH NOON™ Recruiting System designed to attract TOP TALENT quickly and easily. He speaks, teaches and writes about topics ranging from Sales, Personal Branding and Business Development to Recruiting & Retaining Top Talent, Organizational Culture and Leadership. For more information or to contact Sandy to speak at your next event or on-site with your team schedule a quick call here today!