How Trust Shifts Focus From Price to Value, Netflix CTO on Building a Culture of Excellence : #0074

"You ever notice how trust can make you overlook the craziest prices? 'This bottle of water is $10.' But since I trust you, I assume this water must have been blessed by monks and can cure my back pain. Alright, I'll take two!"

08/03/24

How Trust Shifts Focus From Price to Value

Why Read ( 5-7 minutes ):

• Learn how to master trust-building in sales.

Author:

• Collin Stewart, CEO at Predictable Revenue

Link: 

• “Trust and Value in Customer Relationships with Larry Levine”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Trust as a Sales Catalyst: 

  • "Trust acts as a catalyst in sales interactions. Levine points out that when trust is established, the sales process accelerates, shifting focus from price and product to value and solutions."

• Establishing Trust Early: 

  • "The initial minutes of any sales conversation is crucial for laying the groundwork of trust. Levine shares that establishing trust early on sets a positive tone for the entire sales journey."

• Customer References and Trust: 

  • "The stronger your relationship and trust with the client, the less they will rely on references. This shift occurs because your credibility and the value you provide speak for themselves."

• Honest conversations about potential outcomes enhance trust.

  • "Setting clear, realistic expectations is pivotal in fostering trust. Larry and Collin discuss the importance of engaging in honest conversations about what can be achieved through your product or service."

• Like athletes, sales professionals must continually refine their skills.

  • "Levine draws a compelling parallel between sales professionals and athletes, emphasizing discipline, continuous improvement, and the relentless pursuit of excellence."

• The Four Pillars of Trust: 

  • "Building Authentic Relationships, Bringing Meaningful Value, Creating Inspirational Experiences, Discipline: Trust is not a one-time effort but a consistent practice."

• Authentic Relationship Building: 

  • "The initial step towards establishing trust is to forge authentic relationships. This requires a deep understanding of clients personally and professionally, achieved through genuine interest, empathy, and consistent engagement."

• Confidence and Empathy: 

  • "Confidence is believing in the product or service and one’s ability to address and understand the client’s needs. Empathy through preparation ensures a deeper connection and understanding."

• Active Listening and Curiosity: 

  • "The Power of Listening: The discussion underlines the importance of active listening, not just hearing but understanding what the client truly needs."

Netflix CTO on Building a Culture of Excellence  

Why Read ( 6-8 minutes ):

• Learn about creating a high-performing culture through talent density, transparency, and leadership, vital for scaling a company successfully.

Author:

• Lenny Rachitsky, Author at Lenny’s Newsletter Interviews Elizabeth Stone, Chief Technology Officer at Netflix

Link: 

• “How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO)”

Key Concepts and Tactics:

• Importance of High Talent Density:

  • "It’s just so intrinsic to who Netflix is as a company...in order to do that you have to really hold yourself to a lot of stuff that doesn’t feel like natural human behavior...including candor, learning, seeking excellence and improvement, freedom, and responsibility if you don’t start with high talent density."

• Fostering a Culture of Candor:

  • "Giving the feedback...being candid around your expectations when they’re not being met, what could be better, in helping people improve and be able to receive that type of feedback yourself in order to keep talent density high."

• Maintaining Excellence Through the Keeper Test:

  • "It’s a mental model...when we talk to managers about what does it mean to be a manager at Netflix it would mean you should be with some frequency asking yourself this about the people on your team...If I’m asking myself the question if this person on my team came to me and said I’m leaving today I have a different opportunity and I would like to take it, would I do everything I could to keep them at Netflix? If not, then I should be having that tough conversation."

• Embracing Transparency for Trust-Building:

  • "I am generally a transparent leader meaning I share information freely and open...it’s part of the culture to context not control which means part of my job is to make sure that people have the context they need to do their jobs well."

• Centralized Data and Insights Teams for Objective Analysis:

  • "At the scale of company that Netflix now is, is very often data-oriented teams are embedded in other parts of the business...we’ve resisted that and kept a centralized team that is both functionally diverse...and works on nearly every area of the business from within the team."

• Prioritizing Personal Connections for Effective Leadership:

  • "A lot of it is how I spend my time and fighting to preserve opportunities to connect with people...I still have bi-weekly office hours people sign up for slots...and I do as me anything sessions with teams of different sizes...truly anything is fair game as a way to get to know me as a person."

• Maintaining Presence and Mindfulness in Interactions:

  • "I truly enjoy it; it’s what I get out of especially work...I do preserve a lot of time to have one-on-one conversations where I’m genuinely curious about how someone’s doing, how I can help them, what they’re excited about. That’s authentic."

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