Podcast Overview:

• Host: David A. Rosen, CEO of Acrelic Group.
• Guest: Darrin Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell Industries.
• Theme: Insights from successful business leaders in manufacturing and innovation.

Key Highlights:

1. Darrin Mitchell's Success Story:

• Grew a manufacturing business successfully from a remote Canadian island.
• Developed a global supply chain and patented intellectual property.
• Achieved profits significantly higher than industry average.

1. Strategic Business Decisions:

• Focus on creating innovative, complicated products to gain a competitive edge.
• Successfully turned competitors into partners/customers by understanding their limitations and offering solutions.

1. Customer-Centric Approach:

• Emphasis on spending considerable time with customers to understand and meet their needs effectively.
• Example: Customized equipment for specific customer requirements, leading to substantial sales.

1. Leadership and Management:

• Importance of a strong management team that aligns with the company's growth and vision.
• Encourages leaders to be actively involved and connected with all aspects of their business.

1. Overcoming Challenges:

• Strategies to manage cash flow and payroll challenges.
• Innovation in product development and business model to stay relevant and profitable.

1. New Venture - Manufacturing Masters:

• Post selling his business, Mitchell launched 'Manufacturing Masters', a digital platform providing quick, expert insights for manufacturing businesses.
• Focuses on practical, actionable advice across various business functions.

1. Advice for Business Growth:

• Encourages being customer-centric and innovative.
• Stresses the importance of courage and proactive problem-solving in business.
• Highlights the need for businesses to adapt and evolve constantly.

1. Utilizing Digital Technologies for Business Growth:

• Darrin Mitchell emphasized the power of digital platforms for brand building and customer engagement.
• His approach included using YouTube for outreach and sensors on trailers to provide real-time data to clients, enhancing customer service and business partnership.

1. Navigating Global Supply Chains:

• Mitchell highlighted the importance of understanding and effectively managing global supply chains.
• He shared insights on direct sourcing from countries like South Korea, China, and Taiwan to overcome markups and supply chain inefficiencies, demonstrating a proactive approach to cost management and resource allocation.

1. Leadership in Adversity:

• The videocast showcased Mitchell’s ability to lead through difficult situations, including a significant warranty issue in 2008.
• His decisive actions during this crisis, like forming new partnerships and managing financial challenges, underscore the importance of resilient and adaptable leadership in sustaining business growth.

Key Interview Sections:

• Secret: Turning Competitors Into Partners - Customers
• Secret: Spending Ridiculous Amount of Time with Customers
• Pounce on Opportunities - The Call from an Elon Musk Company
• Secret: Being a curious leader and finding information about the end result of my supply...

Explore the transformative power of customer obsession in episode #107 of our podcast series. Join us as we discuss prioritizing customer needs, navigating the middle market, harnessing data, and strategic board governance with expert Marbue Brown.

In this enlightening discussion with Marbue Brown, Founder, The Customer Obsession Advantage and an expert in customer obsession and business strategy, and  David Rosen, CEO of Acrelic Group,  delves deep into the realm of transformative growth and customer-centricity for businesses. The conversation uncovers valuable insights and strategies that every business executive should consider for driving success.

[00:04:26] Illustration of Customer Obsession Value – Customer Reviews

[00:08:23] Critical tool for customer service: Andon Cord!

[00:12:03] How JP Morgan, Amazon, Costco Move the Needle Applying Customer Obsession?

[00:13:48] Businesses came together to apply the principles of Customer Obsession!

[00:27:05] Customer Obsessed Companies Treat Customer Service as a Marketing Expense

[00:38:14] B2B Must be Customer Obsessed! Not just B2C

[00:45:39] How Do you get Started in Being More Customer Obsessed?

[00:51:43] Product companies should ask... New Product or features?

[00:58:14] Role of the Board in Customer Obsession

[01:03:53] 3 Board Questions

The discussion is filled with insights and real-world examples from best-in-class companies, highlighting the importance of making customer obsession a core principle in your business strategy.  Here are the top seven (7) highlights of this revealing program:

1. Customer Obsession as a Core Principle: Marbue stresses the significance of putting customers at the heart of your business strategy. Companies like Amazon and Zappos exemplify how customer obsession can drive long-term success.
2. Seeing Around Corners: The ability to "see around corners" and anticipate customer needs is a trait of customer-centric companies. Costco and Trader Joe's are cited as examples of businesses that excel in this area.
3. Continuous Innovation: Marbue emphasizes the importance of relentless innovation. Companies like Apple and Amazon consistently launch new products and services to meet customer demands, fostering loyalty and growth.
4. Metric Insights: Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Effort Score (CES) offer valuable insights into customer sentiment. These metrics help companies understand their customers better, just as best-in-class companies have done.
5. Transformative Growth: Middle-market companies can achieve transformative growth by embracing customer obsession. Examples, such as Amazon Prime, illustrate the impact of innovation in meeting customer goals.
6. Board Governance and Customer Focus: Boards play a critical role in promoting customer-centric thinking. They should consider digital transformation, diversity, and data security in shaping the company's customer-focused approach.
7. Success Blueprint: Marbue outlines the importance of setting ambitious goals and fostering customer obsession within the organization. Best-in-class companies serve as...

1. Human beings hate being told 'what they need to do.'
2. Most salespeople prematurely elaborate.
3. Discovery Resistance is preventing good salespeople from connecting with, and building trust with their prospects.
4. Peer curiosity is the first step in a buy cycle, and
5. Peer envy is the number one B2B emotional buying reason.

See and Review and Read His Books: Mike Bosworth Books on Sales

Mike's Books:

 Book 1: Solution Selling

Book 2: Customer Centric Selling

Book 3:  What Great Sales People Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story 

[00:07:16] "Most Great Salespeople are Intuitive... They Do NOT Follow a Model"

[00:09:56] The One Minute Story...and they invite you in!

[00:11:06] Through my Sales Approach (Stories), I Sold More in 5 Months than Anyone, in History had sold in One (1) Year!

[00:13:54] Sales Secrets - Storytelling Creates Peer Envy!

[00:14:44] Discovery Confirms and Scopes the Problems

[00:18:40] Bosworth - Three Pieces of a Startup are Needed!

[00:20:08] Microsoft Example in the "Chasm"

[00:23:13] Ill bet that >50% of those new better mousetraps were a solution, looking for a problem...

[00:24:34] 90% of our Customers Purchased Our Software without a Live Demo

[00:26:44] 1. Solution Selling - Intelligent Discovery Approach

[00:27:55] II. Customer Centric Selling - Easier to Have a Stranger Share a Goal than Pain

[00:30:22] III. Story Seekers - Discovery Resistance is the #1 Problem Sales People Face... and its not their Fault!

[00:34:09] Bosworth: Each Salesperson Needs Three Distinct Stories!

[00:36:23] Three Stories: Hero Stories - Personal Stories - Company Stories

[00:39:20] Shifting Sales Cultures and Behavior Examples

[00:39:38] Best Sales People Diagnose and then Offer a Solution...

[00:41:00] Sales Tip: Be Careful of Jumping to Conclusions That You Know What the Prospect Needs to Do!

[00:43:50] Rosen: The Thing that Separates Success from Failure are the People Issues!

[00:44:23] Accidental Team Building - Workshop Story

[00:50:24] Bosworth – Key Attributes of Successful Leaders - Authenticity and Vulnerability!

[00:51:17] The Hardest Thing in Selling is Connecting with Strangers!

[00:53:10] Mike Bosworth Rule in Teaching People to Connect... Vulnerability and Go First!

[00:54:26] Bosworth: The Number One Problem of CEOs is Not Managing Silos

[00:56:01] Bosworth - Transformation Requires that People Leave their Comfort Zones and Get Out Into Their Learning Zones

[00:56:40] Rosen - What do you make of a CEO that Doesn't Want to Lead Culture?

[00:58:24] The Meaning and Value of Balanced Leadership

[01:05:07] Mike's Book Pick #1: Naked Sales by Ashley Welch & Justin Jones

[01:05:29] Mike's Book Pick...