I can remember the first time I saw this picture. It was a very long time ago; before computers, cell phones, faxes and most of the technology we take for granted today. After returning to the office from a weeklong trek across Iowa, I found the picture taped to the wall near my desk (it was the pre-cubicle era too). I got a heartfelt chuckle, then proceeded to make a couple of copies to pass along to other sales buddies at the local watering hole later that night. Over the years, I have seen variations of the picture literally dozens of times. Today, a client used the cartoon as an example I hadn’t thought about. Allow me to tell the story. We arrive too late in the customer process If you don’t understand customer issues until after the customer tells you about them, you may be arriving too late. Great sales teams uncover problems and make their customers aware of them before they actually turn into emergencies. Once the customer is knee deep in fixing things...