Revenue Journal®

It's so easy to rationalize. We are so eager to think of ourselves as successful, to have others think of us as successful, and to want things to turn out a certain way, that we are willing to ignore all the signposts along the road and keep driving, full-speed, until we realize that we have driven right off the cliff and we are on our way down. Even then, we rationalize.

"Gee, this isn't so bad. I'm sure I'll survive."

When it comes to generating revenue, rationalization is one of your biggest enemies. It's especially common for entrepreneurs to ignore what their own customers are telling them. "Oh, they always say that," is a common response we get from the rationalizing entrepreneur or CEO. In other words, "I don't think this problem is worth worrying about, it's always been that way, and I'm still here."

Many rationalizers manage to limp along for years, in spite of themselves, when they're lucky enough to have a product that people actually need. But when things get tough, or the market shifts, or buyers become more skeptical, those rationalizers start to slide downwards. As they slip, they start to panic, and do all kinds of crazy things. They become deceptive and manipulative, desperately pulling vendors and customers down with them as they start to swirl down the drain.

The longer I'm in business, the more I have come to appreciate the business owner or leader who doesn't rationalize, but who faces reality square-on, and starts dealing with it. When we present a report on what customers, prospects and partners are saying, the realist pores over the report and the analysis. In subsequent meetings, it's obvious that he has taken customer comments and recommendations to heart, and has thought hard about them. He engages with the bad news, rather than dismissing it.

Therein lies the difference between the rationalizer and the realist. The realist jumps into the ring. The rationalizer runs away.

The realist is not afraid to face the problems revealed in candid, in-depth interviews. We find in these interviews that the same perceptions of a company - and its products, people, processes, policies and website - are shared by almost everyone we talk to. Patterns emerge after just a few conversations. People even use the same phrases to describe a problem or a positive trait, even though most of those people have never talked to each other. When we bring these results and recommendations back to the realist, he is pensive and thoughtful. He makes sure he understands exactly what is going on. He asks intelligent questions. When he is satisfied that he understands the problem, he sets to work with us to solve the problem.

Projects are designed and implemented. People are put to work. New policies are created, tracked, enforced, and improved. Whatever the market has said to this leader becomes his new reality, and he adjusts his actions to conform to this new reality.

What happens? The problems get solved. His revenues go up. Customers and prospects always appreciate and reward the realist. "Oh, look - this was a problem and now they've fixed it! My friends should know about this."

The rationalizer, on the other hand, gets the report and starts making excuses. "You just didn't talk to the right people," he'll say, even though the same care was taken with that contact list that was taken with the realist's contact list. "You didn't ask the right questions," he'll say, even though we always ask open-ended questions that result in the interviewee saying whatever is on his or her mind. "This isn't what I expected you to find out," he'll say, as a way of dismissing the results completely.

As Benjamin Franklin said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." This is what the rationalizer does. Instead of accepting the messages that his customers, prospects, and partners are sending, he either decides they just don't know what they're talking about, or he blames the messenger. Or both.

One of the CEOs I have worked with hired a listening coach for leadership team meetings. One of the best things that coach said was that the responsibility of communication lies with the person creating and delivering the message, not the person receiving the message. Marketing and selling is all about creating and delivering messages, messages that reflect reality. Reality is not just the positive, but the negative as well.

Sure, there are "problem customers," people who are unhappy no matter what you do. But when a dozen customers, who have never spoken to each other, describe the same disappointment, we're not talking about an isolated, dismissible case. We're talking about a real problem that is costing you sales. Unhappy customers tell others to stay away, which creates a countervailing force against all of your marketing and selling efforts.

Unhappy customers also keep looking for another solution, and will abandon your poor product or service as soon as they find something better. They're easy pickings for aggressive competitors, especially competitors who have figured out what your weaknesses are. Don't forget, that's easy for them, since they're "interviewing" your customers all day long. After they hear those tales of woe, they then claim to have a solution. Even if their solution doesn't really solve the problem, if your customers are frustrated, they believe the sales pitch and jump ship.

In fact, if you think about it, your competitors are probably interviewing your customers more than you do, which means they are more aware of your weaknesses than you are. Hmmm.

No matter how much we wish it would disappear, reality just doesn't go away. Left unattended, real problems only become more pressing. The longer you ignore reality, the more serious your problems become.

I recently interviewed a number of applicants for the Executive Director position for one of the largest sailing organizations. One of them, a lifelong sailor, said that he believed in the sailor's ethos, which is that a problem isn't fixed until it is really and truly fixed. That little leak, that broken fitting, that chafing line are all little problems that can quickly turn into a big, serious problem in a second, given a downturn in conditions.

Of course, the joke among sailors is that the real "salty" repairs are so good that the rest of the boat can disintegrate around it, but the repair will still be standing, doing its job, long after the boat is on the bottom. You don't necessarily have to be that thorough, but it sure won't hurt to approach the problem with that kind of intensity.

Are you rationalizing about anything right now? Is there something you know is "broken," but you just keep putting off "fixing it"? Is there a theme to the issues that your employees and customers keep bringing up, and you continue to dismiss it? Do you have a bad habit that you know is bad, but you continue to ignore it? Maybe it's time to decide to start facing reality, head-on, and solve that problem once and for all.

If you do, your revenues will increase. That's just the way it works. Markets always reward realists, and punish rationalizers.