The topic of Apple, Inc. can be nearly as polarizing as religion or politics; but whether you love or hate Apple, there is no denying their tremendous success across many measures. In 2018, Apple became the first public company to reach a worth of $1 trillion dollars. Forbes has ranked Apple as the most valued brand for the last nine years in a row. And it is no coincidence that the world’s most valued brand has also done an exceptional job of honing its value proposition for customers.

Here Are the Sales Leadership Lessons to be Learned

Apple is known for product innovation and function, but more than anything, Apple excels at user experience, which is at the core of their superior value proposition. The takeaway for sales leaders is not the physical aesthetics of Apple stores, but what happens inside. The Apple store is like a beacon of solutions for its customers, be it new products, product repair, user insights or general trouble shooting. If you have a question or problem, the Apple team has you covered. Apple team members are consistently cheerful, empathetic, knowledgeable and, most importantly, helpful, and that has become a key differentiating feature for the company.

It’s interesting that so much of this tech giant’s value comes from human interaction, but that is Apple’s secret sauce: superior human engagement to connect customers to their technology. Brandmatter’s Paul Nelson aptly observed that Apple has been able to stay atop of the heap because, “They have kept the human at the center of their ecosystem, and at the center of everything they do.” It is hard to imagine a more compelling data point for prioritizing the communication, relationship-building and problem-solving skills of our sales teams, as well as assessing the culture that drives every policy, decision and action in your organization.

What services and solutions can your sales and customer service teams deliver to clients in order to cultivate extreme customer loyalty?