What An MSP Company Can Learn from the Jar Jar Binks Sith Theory
In your MSP company, you will encounter different types of people. You have your employees, partners, suppliers, competitors, clients, and prospects. Somehow, business people especially those in sales, tend to stereotype the people they meet at work. And here lies the error of many MSPs. They only cater prospect customers who fit the ideal client look and they take no notice of or give much importance to other prospects who do not look dignified enough to afford their services. If you are guilty of this, then you must consider the Jar Jar Binks Sith Lord Theory which is making rounds on the web.
Not everybody is who you perceived them to be.
In this theory, the annoying, clumsy but well-meaning Gungan outcast, Jar Jar is a Sith Lord in disguise. He supposedly does this in order to manipulate pivotal characters including the Jedi to fall under his schemes. It is also said that he is even the real Master of Palpatine.
Those who are in sales can relate to this. They may have encountered a few times customers who do not fit the profile of their ideal customers. They have treated customers poorly which hurt their bottom line – thinking that the guy in t-shirt and jeans does not have the buying power.
Stop prejudging your customers
Let’s be honest here. We constantly judge people either consciously or unconsciously base on how they dress, what car they drive, the place they come from, the education they have, the way they talk, etc. It is in our very nature as human beings. However, this hurts our businesses. What could have been the biggest sale of your MSP company could turn out to be a flop because you prejudged a prospect or an existing client. Prejudging clients means that you make assumptions or decisions even before engaging in a sales conversation or presentation. You may totally ignore them, give them a different treatment or make decisions for them. So how do you go about this?
• Do not judge a book by its cover. Do not let your opinions on how a person looks affect how you would treat them. Give every client the same respect you would give to someone who wears tailored suits and Rolex.
• Ask and evaluate. Do not assume that you know what your clients want. You are not a mind reader. Learn to ask the right questions and listen to what they have to say.
The Decision
Prejudging is one of the biggest mistakes in business. Hence, stop prejudging! This entails that you go against your instincts to naturally judge people. The people who you think have no money may have lots of it and the customers who you think are rich may not actually be. So always be fair and respectful towards everyone. Do not make the decision in your head for them because this way, you automatically lost the sale for your MSP company. Present them the facts and let them make the decision.
