OK, I’m a procrastinator … am I alone? I didn’t think so. On Tuesday I was searching for a florist to get roses for the lady in my life. I called one florist and asked if I could get some roses delivered Wednesday and the guy on the phone said “no.” No apology, no explanation that the cut off date passed … nothing … just ‘no.’ An uncomfortable silence followed his ‘no’ and I said “OK” and hung up. I called another florist and a very pleasant woman politely said they couldn’t accommodate me because the cut off date had passed and they couldn’t guarantee they could deliver them on time. Then she did an amazing thing … she recommended I call one of their competitors who, she knew, could accommodate my order. Wow … she recommended a competitor to accommodate MY needs. How many of you would recommend one of your competitors to a prospect you couldn’t help?

Of the three florists I experienced who will I think of first and want to do business with when I have a need for flowers again? Did you say the third florist who was recommended to me because the second florist couldn’t accommodate my needs? If so, you would be incorrect. I was impressed with the second florist who wanted to solve my problem and make my search easier. To me, she was more than a florist, but rather a “problem solver” who made my search easier.

As a selling professional are you a “problem solver” for your clients or are you simply “selling a product or service”, meeting quota and collecting a paycheck? Are you willing to tell your prospects “The way I work with my clients is to help them get exactly what they want and if I discover, after asking you a few questions, I can’t help you I will make a recommendation of a competitor who can. Is that fair?” In our research, if you can make a statement like that (and mean it) you are in the upper 5% of the top selling professionals in the world.

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