Ask Your 5 Best Customers This Question

I had a fantastic coach for several years named Vince Fowler. He was big on experiments.

Well, here's an experiment I've been asking leaders to try.

Pick five of your best customers and ask them to tell you everything they think your company does. Don't correct them. Just listen. My guess is you're going to be surprised.

I've seen companies with customers who have been buying from them for 10 or 20 years who still don't know half of what they sell!

There's a reason for that. Your brain has a filter called the reticular activating system. The reticular activating system (RAS) is a network of nerve cells in the brainstem that helps regulate:

Wakefulness and alertness
Attention and concentration
The transition between sleep and consciousness
Which sensory information reaches your conscious awareness

Think of it as the brain’s attention filter. Your senses constantly receive enormous amounts of information, and the RAS helps decide what is important enough for you to notice.

It's the same reason you buy a new car and suddenly see that model everywhere. It was always there. Your brain just wasn't flagging it.

Say you're a window company that also does siding and doors. Customers do the same thing with you. They buy windows once, and from then on, you're the window company. Nothing else registers. When they finally need siding, they won't think of you. They'll go find someone else who's filed under that.

I saw this play out with my home improvement client. He and his team stopped assuming their customers knew everything they did, and started asking what else they needed. The result? Sales grew 61% over the prior year. Without adding salespeople or spending more on advertising.

Try this experiment and let me know what you learn.