Here’s how some high school coaches work:
They meet their team at the first practice of the season. They never really know what material they’ll have to work with until that first day. Sometimes it’s good material, sometimes not.
These coaches take advantage of the opportunities that come their way. They have good years and bad years.
Don’t get me wrong. These are dedicated coaches and their players learn a lot and have a good experience.
But it could be much different.
Here’s how other coaches do it:
These coaches build programs. They think about where they want their varsity team to be in five or six years.
They start a club team for kids in middle school. They teach the younger players the fundamentals, give them lots of informal tournament experience, and get them hooked on the game.
By the time these players get to high school they have mastered the basics and are committed to the sport.
Coaches that build a program run a club team for their high school students in the off-season.
By now the coach knows these players well, their strengths and weaknesses. When these players join the varsity team, they are seasoned, mature players. They’ve played with each other and for this coach for many years. They know what to expect out of each other and they communicate well during a game.
These teams have winning seasons and losing seasons also. But they do well more consistently and even when they do not as well, they are always working toward the next season, towards building the team.
Companies are like coaches.
Some are like the first coach. They simply troll for potential customers, focusing their efforts on prospects who are ready to buy now. They never know at any particular time how many customers will buy. Forecasting demand and revenue is a real challenge. These companies are subject to the ups and downs of their market and the economy.
Other companies work more like the second coach. They build a program. They are interested in potential customers who are ready to buy now. But they also find and communicate with potential buyers who aren’t ready to buy, some of whom don’t even realize they have a problem that can be solved.
These companies work with potential buyers that are at the early stage of their journey, just like the second coach works with middle schoolers. These companies educate buyers about the problems they know how to solve and answer buyer questions. The buyers learn from the company, gradually become committed to solving the problem, and develop trust for the company that has been educating them.
By the time these buyers are well along in the journey they are like the player that joins the varsity team. These buyers are mature in their thinking, they know what needs to be done to solve the problem, they have internal support to make the investment.
Companies that build robust customer programs capture more of their market. They grow faster. They are less subject to the vagaries of the economy and the marketplace.
Is your company more like the first coach? Or the second?
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About David Crankshaw