What is Client Oriented Thinking®?
An Introduction
Most foundries have no idea how to effectively
market their products. They rely on prospects
contacting them for a quote. Or outside reps
who may or may not be working hard for the
foundry. This puts them at the mercy of
chance. Now I don’t mind a good gamble, but
this is too much. I would much rather have a
system in place that attracts clients like ants
to a picnic. But the emphasis is on ‘system’.
The first building block in creating such a
system is what I have trademarked as Client
Oriented Thinking®. We are all self centered,
no matter what Sister Mary might have
taught us in school. We primarily operate
with ourselves as the center of our thinking.
Not necessarily selfish, mind you, but we
believe the whole world thinks like we do, is
interested in the same things we are, and
makes buying decisions using the same
criteria we do.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Sadly, as foundrymen, we take this thinking
to all parts of our company. It may succeed in
most areas, but definitely not in the area of
marketing and selling. When a foundry uses
it’s normal thinking in these areas, it spends
money and gets no results. Brochures
designed with this approach are useless.
Websites are a cost center instead of a
revenue asset. Over time, engineers believe
marketing is a waste of money because they
don’t see any results- except for bills. At some
point, they give up in frustration. This is the
beginning of the end. Whether slow or fast,
the direction has begun…
Although hard to believe, most of your clients
don’t really want a casting. (You probably
think I am nuts, right?) The real truth is they
want a SOLUTION to their problem. Think
about it this way: when you go to the
hardware store looking for a drill bit, do you
really need a drill bit- or a HOLE? And that
may not even be the final solution. You don’t
need a hole, you need shelves on the wall to
clean up the garage. Why? Because you can’t
get the car in and it’s going to snow! In this
instance, you want the car in the garage, not
a drill bit.
This concept has been adapted by ‘knocked
down’ furniture sellers. Have you assembled
any of this lately? They supply you with
wrenches, screwdrivers, grease-everything
you need. They know you only want an
assembled desk or table- not just the pieces.
They aren’t selling you an end table, they’re
trying to meet your ne eds for a place to set
your beer while you watch the game instead
of spending all day assembling furniture! Can
you see how this fits into the foundry
business?
Your clients have a significantly deeper need
than just a cast. They need a solution, and
one that
1. works
2. fits
3. keeps the boss off their back
4. solves
the
accounting
department's
problems
5. is low risk to his job if something goes
wrong
6. solves innumerable ‘unspoken needs’
These unspoken needs may be taken for
granted by you- but not your clients. No
hassles, on-time performance, zero delivery
problems, satisfied end users, proper
invoicing, agreed upon terms. Founders don’t
consider these, but your clients do. The more
of these you meet, the more loyalty and trust
you develop. Loyalty + Trust = Profit.
A foundry who aligns every part of their
business to meet client needs will grow. Every
area of the business can be adapted to COT.
Specifically People, Processes, Presentation
and the ultimate product. It may sound like
nonsense but it works. Every foundry can
make the decision to do what they’ve always
done and hope for increased revenue, or step
out and meet the clients where they are.
Some will barely get by, others will grow.
Which do you want?
Coming Next Month… A new B2B study shows your prospects don’t trust anything you say.
month…
No trust means no revenue- answers next