How Well Do You Know Your Customer's Business?

Your job is to solve your customers’ problems. Period. That’s all. You need to become a part of their organizations. This is vital if you want to earn the right to charge a little more and be compensated for your expertise.

Think of your job as earning a job at your target prospects' companies. This means doing a lot of research. You need to learn not just what they buy, but why they buy. What problems are they trying to solve? What is going on in their industry, in their market? You come to this knowledge through observation. You look at their situations. You understand their problems by listening. You ask knowledge-based questions and then listen for their answers. You listen more and talk less.