Your Customer’s Tennis Ball

My friend, branding authority, and Certified Go-Giver Speaker, Bill Ellis emailed me a great poster that showed a photo of some dogs—apparently at a museum for those of the canine persuasion—staring intently at a painting of a tennis ball.

Now, personally, I can’t imagine the fascination held by a tennis ball. Though, obviously the dogs feel differently. I’m sure tennis players do, as well.

I’m also thinking right now of many other things that hold absolutely no value for me personally but that my customers might find to be of exceptional value.

All this to say, if we want to help our prospective customer become our actual customer we must discover, not what works for us, but what works for them. One of the biggest challenges in this regard is our natural human tendency to believe that what we hold to be of value, everyone else does as well.

Or as my friend, leadership authority Dan Rockwell says:

“Never assume that what works for [us] works for others.”

So, what are the “tennis balls” for your customers (which, in case my metaphor isn’t totally and obnoxiously clear by this point, means whatever they hold to be of value)?

Can you make those tennis balls the thing, even if you are not Lassie… or Roger Federer?