Assemble a small group of thought leaders in your company.  Ask them to put themselves in the shoes of your five most important customers.  Next, ask these six simple questions.

1.  What would your customer executives say is the most valuable thing that your company does for them?
2.  What would these executives say is the measurable value that you bring them?
3.  What would they say you do to manage your relationship with them?
4.  Would these executives aks your selling organization to work with them to develop and execute business-critical projects?  Who would they invite?
5.  What is different about what you do for them versus your competitors?
6.  What would your customers volunteer as the most creative, powerful thing you could do to help them be successful?

And then ask the million-dollar question:  What is the short list of business-critical initiatives you must undertake to exceed the expectations of these five customers?

Squarely facing the reality of today while thinking long-term and focusing the organization on short-term action has never been more important.  The voice of the customer is critical to keep sales professionals grounded.  At every turn, they must ask themselves, "Whare can I extract value for my customers?"