I had a wonderful experience doing a talk/workshop with a group of CEOs, courtesy of Lee Self's Renaissance Executive Forum. We discussed the importance of discovering your customers' Elevator Rant (every customer has one!) and the method for doing this, Agenda-Less Listening. The group was incredibly interactive and creative in their understanding and interpretations of the content. These are the best workshops--when the teacher learns something new to make the next workshop better. Thanks all!

1. HOW TO DISCOVER & LEVERAGE WHAT YOUR
TARGET AUDIENCE IS REALLY THINKING
May 10, 2018
Bob London
CEO & Founder

2. DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH
YOUR OWN SOLUTION.
FALL IN LOVE WITH THE
CUSTOMER’S NEEDS.

3. @chief_listener
PLETHORA OF
HATRED!
CONTRACTS
2012
3
CUSTOMER
ELEVATOR RANT

4. @chief_listener
EMPATHY-BASED MARKETING
• Started with authentic curiosity
• Agenda-less Listening
• Unfiltered
• Identified major Customer Elevator Rant
• First to deliver tangible, unique value
SELFIE-STYLE
MARKETING
(LOOK WHAT WE BUILT!)
4
Fastest-GrowingU.S.
Carrierfor5Years

5. WHAT’S YOURS?
(DON’T SHARE IT WITH ANYONE YET)

6. COMPANY PITCH CUSTOMER ELEVATOR RANT OUTSIGHT RESULTS!
Outsourced IT Firm -
Growth Plateau
We know tech
& we’re great
at service! CFO: “The tech is fine. I’m
anxious about next wave”
Personalized, annual
non-tech briefings
for CXOs.
Enterprise cloud
management software
with $0 in revenue
We improve
governance &
orchestration
of your public
cloud to
increase
efficiency.
CIO/CTO: “Too much stuff.
What one problem does it
solve?”
Automatically turns
off idle AWS
resources, reducing
costs by <65%.
$1.7M in Funding
300+ Enterprise
Customers
Minimal Marketing & Sales
IT

7. Humanity
Curiosity
Empathy
Authenticity
HUGH
Filters
Bias
Agenda
Selling
AND LESS…

8. 8
@chief_listener
BETTER MARKETING
CAMPAIGN METRICS
HIGHER SALES
CLOSE RATES
VALUE PROP / BRAND /
DIFFERENTIATION
MORE RELEVANT
MESSAGING & CONTENT
NEW GROWTH
OPPORTUNITIES
ACQUISITION /
DUE DILIGENCE
GROWTH PLATEAU
COMPETITION /
COMMODITIZATION
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU
AGENDA-LESS
LISTENING
COULD ADDRESS:

9. 9
101-on-1 Calls with
Existing & Former
Customers & Lost Deals 30Minutes Each
6 -10Disruptive, Insight-
Provoking Questions
THE AGENDA-LESS LISTENING TOUR
(TWO EARS, ONE MOUTH)

10. Start with a
quiet mind.
Relax. It’s a
conversation not
an interview.
Let the dialogue
go where they
want to go.
Keep asking
"why?” & “what
do you mean?”
Drop ego, biases
& defensiveness.
Embrace
their rants.
Be agile and
iterative.
Breath,
smile.
IT’S ABOUT
THEM, NOT
YOU
10
NO
SELLING

11. 1. What are your company’s
top 2 business priorities for
the next year or 2? What’s
on your white board?
2. What do you and your team
need to get better at this
year?
3. What are we better at than
anyone else?
4. Does our industry have a
reputation (good or bad)?
5. What’s something annoying
vendors do?
6. If you had a free hour with
an independent industry
expert, what would you ask?
7. What would make you a
customer for life?
8. Is there anything I didn’t
ask about that I should
have? Anything you’d like to
add?
8 DISRUPTIVE,
THOUGHT-
PROVOKING
QUESTIONS YOUR
COMPETITORS
AREN’T ASKING
(YET)

12. I wish we had more ________.
We can’t keep doing ________ this way.
I’m so tired of bumping up against ________.
Why can’t vendors just ____?
Stop trying to be ____.
Their software would be great if they just ____.
I hate writing that check every month for ____.
Why does _____ have to be so complicated?
12
RANT: What are they
dissatisfied with?
OUTSIGHT: What are they
really trying to tell you?

13. YOUR CUSTOMERS’
ELEVATOR RANT?

14. “Did you ever notice that a lot of
firms promise you they’ll (rant)”
“88% of companies complain about
(rant).”
“Most companies come to us after
they’ve had (rant) with other firms.”
“We started our firm because
customers said they needed a way
to (rant).”
A
“Our approach is different. We’ve
addressed that by ________.”B

15. AND NOW,
A MESSAGE
FROM YOUR
TARGET
AUDIENCE
1. Understand—or at least
ask me about--my goals.
2. Help me solve one
problem really well. Then
we’ll consider more.
3. Am I doing it right? What
are industry best
practices?
4. Educate me on what’s
coming next.
5. Put more details and less
fluff on your web site.
6. Send me an SME instead
of a sales person.
7. Stop saying you’re my
“partner,” and find
tangible ways to align
with my interests.
8. Explain your
differentiator without
saying things you
competitors also say.
9. Be in touch when you
don’t need anything.
15
@chief_listener

16. Get the FREE Customer Re-Discovery Playbook at www.customerrediscovery.com
Complimentary ”FOL” Elevator Rant Session at www.chieflisteningofficers.com/book-a-call-with-bob-london
16
BOB LONDON
BOB@CHIEFLISTENINGOFFICERS.COM
+1.240.994.7644
THANK YOU
& HAPPY
LISTENING
HUGH