From failures to superhero status, Elon Musk is the equivalent of a real-life Iron Man. Creating 3 separate billion-dollar companies. Each company solves different world problems with innovative solutions. Elon Musk, one of the most influential entrepreneurs on the planet, with his estimated US$21 billion net worth, it’s fair to say that he has achieved big things in business. If you examine his career, you can discover all sorts of ways to improve sales performance.
How has Musk achieved such huge success throughout his career? The key is that he’s a talented salesperson at heart. As a result, his companies look to improve sales techniques regularly. You can see this in many of the interactions that Musk has with others. This article highlights Elon Musk’s problem-solving and will examine some of Musk’s best advice and help you come up with some ideas to increase sales in the process.
“ELON MUSK, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS ON THE PLANET, WITH HIS ESTIMATED US$21 BILLION NET WORTH, IT’S FAIR TO SA THAT HE HAS ACHIEVED BIG THINGS IN BUSINESS.”
ELON MUSK’S REMARKABLE PROBLEM-SOLVING IN DIVERSE FIELDS
PROBLEM:
First he could not find an appropriate payment method to pay for goods bought on the internet.
SOLUTION:
He created PayPal, which revolutionized the way goods were paid for on the internet.
PROBLEM:
He was not happy with how the world’s vehicles, ultimately customers, were dependent on raw unclean fuels.
SOLUTION:
Offered innovative solutions as the CEO of Tesla. He launched electric super sports car, which paid for production of luxury cars, which are now cars for the mass market.
PROBLEM:
Customer satisfaction was very low for major car manufacturers from their car dealerships, sales, re-sell and servicing model.
SOLUTION:
Revolutionised the model for car dealership, service and re-selling model by listening to the customers and innovating customer service using “First Principles Thinking”.
PROBLEM:
Existing batteries were expensive and inefficient to produce.
SOLUTION:
Used “First Principles Thinking” to create new batteries completely from new raw materials.
PROBLEM:
Space Travel was considered very out of reach due to expensive materials and no-reusable rockets.
SOLUTION:
Build fully and rapidly reusable rocket to reduce the cost of Space Travel. And in time, Musk wants to build a city on the Red Planet!
WHAT CAN THE ELITE SALESPERSON LEARN FROM ELON MUSK? HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF HIS HIGHLIGHTS AND SECRETS.
DON’T HIDE FROM CRITICISM – TAKE ACTION WITH CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
It all started on Twitter. Musk often finds himself interacting with people on the social media platform towards the end of his day. One such interaction was eye-catching because of the immediacy of Musk’s action.
A Twitter user sent Musk a message, telling him about an unpleasant experience in a Tesla dealership. She made particular note of the pushiness of the salesperson. Musk took immediate action. Within an hour, he had responded to the Tweet with a simple message:
“Def not OK. Just sent a reminder to Tesla stores that we just want people to look forward to their next visit. That’s what really matters.”
With this message, Musk highlights two ways to improve sales performance. Firstly, the action he took on the customer’s behalf generated a positive buzz around the Tesla brand. That customer, and those who read the Twitter exchange, see a leader in action. This makes them more likely to explore Tesla’s products further, which would improve sales.
Furthermore, the exchange also shows how Musk tries to improve sales techniques at Tesla. He identifies a sales issue and takes immediate action. In doing so, he ensures his company’s representatives understand exactly what he expects from them, ultimately making them more effective salespeople.
But when you truly mess up, as he has done recently with the SEC, be prepared to deal with with the situation and pay for your consequences. The key is, what did you learn? How fast can you fix the damage and reapply what you learned to avoid the same mistake?
YOUR CLIENTS CAN SELL FOR YOU – FIRMLY ALIGN TEAM GOALS WITH CUSTOMER NEEDS
Did you know that Tesla does not pay for endorsements or product placement? Whenever you see a Tesla product on television, it’s because the people behind the show you’re watching wanted it there.
“A HAPPY, DELIGHTED AND LOYAL CUSTOMER WILL RECOMMEND YOUR BUSINESS TO OTHERS. AS A RESULT, YOUR SALES GO UP, WITHOUT YOU HAVING TO SPEND ANYTHING ON MARKETING.”
Musk prefers to focus on the power of word of mouth. In a recent letter to shareholders, Tesla’s management explains how this works.
“As more people see our car on the road, take a test drive or talk with another Model S owner, more demand is created for our product,” says the letter. It goes on to speak about the effects of this sales strategy. “Importantly, we are seeing orders in a particular region increase proportionate to the number of deliveries,” the letter continues. “[This] means that customers are selling other customers on the car.”
So how can you use this to improve sales techniques at your company? It’s simple. Focus as much on your existing clients as trying to attract new customers. Some would even argue that your existing clients are more important. After all, they’re the people who have already bought your product. If they’re satisfied, they will come back for more.
Moreover, keep your existing customers happy to turn them into a sales force for your business. A happy, delighted and loyal customer will recommend your business to others. As a result, your sales go up, without you having to spend anything on marketing.
BE BUILT TO EMBRACE FAILURE – FIND OPPORTUNITY IN OBSTACLES
Many salespeople find themselves struggling to develop new sales techniques. Most worry about failure. If the technique doesn’t work, they’ve lost a client and have to go back to the drawing board. Musk has one piece of advice for people who are afraid of failure. “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough,” he says.
This is a simple, yet powerful statement. Musk notes that the fear of failure is the enemy of innovation. You can even see how he has put this philosophy into action in his business ventures. Musk is almost always at the forefront of whatever industry he works in, and he will take risks to achieve success.
You can apply this to your own business, making it one of the key ways to improve sales performance in the process.
If your business stagnates, it loses customers. Other companies will move ahead of you, and they’ll take your customers with them. Innovate in all aspects of the business, from the products you create through to your ideas to increase sales. Not every idea will work, but that’s okay. Without innovation, you fall behind, and your company’s sales will suffer as a result.
BE BOLD
Don’t settle for low-hanging fruit. In fact, stop using that term in your day-to-day speech. Reach beyond a stretch goal to something game-changing in your life, the lives of others and in your field. Announce it. Rally people behind it. Map out how you’ll achieve it and get going!
BE BRIGHT
Don’t misunderstand this point. You don’t need Musk’s education or engineering prowess to be bright. You can be the brightest by truly understanding what you don’t know, being curious and finding the people who together, can innovate your process, technology, people or products. It’s not about being the smartest person in the room, but assembling a great team to drive forward and innovate along the way.
BE BULLISH ON DATA TO DRIVE DECISIONS
In the sales and marketing world, data-driven decision-making is all the rage, with a virtual technology arms race of building a formidable tech stack. Based on what I’m seeing today, this ‘stack’ includes a marketing automation platform integrated with your CRM tool coupled with omni-channel integration capabilities to other tools that create, distribute, socialize and manage the content process and a predictive Business Intelligence Dashboard.
While technology has certainly helped us harness knowledge and enabled us to make better decisions, my advice is to be sure you marry that technology with the human touch. Technology is a tool, but you need seasoned experts to help you interpret, pull insights and adjust strategy.
CONCLUSION
It should come as no surprise that there are many things you can learn from one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Elon Musk’s words of wisdom highlight the secrets behind the sales successes of his companies.
