Page 143 - Free the Idea Monkey

fear was alleviated, if insurance would cover the cost, they would buy
in a heartbeat.

This one insight became fundamental to Doug’s business model,
his marketing, his compensation plan—everything. He trained his
team to literally become Medicare experts. By being able to work
through bureaucratic hurdles, they took away the biggest obstacle to
purchasing. To their customers, it seemed that Doug’s people often
knew the Medicare process better than the people did at Medicare.
He was able to make and keep the promise that mattered to his cus-
tomers and sales went through the roof.

Here’s the point: your team will be faced with hundreds of
insights, any one of which could be the cornerstone of a successful
launch. Get it right and you win; miss and you lose. If you choose
to trust your gut, the likelihood of being correct is incredibly low. I
believe that the mistake of trusting your instinct is one of the biggest
reasons for innovation failure. Think about that the next time you are
relying on your years of industry experience to make the “right” call.

128 I G N O R A N C E I S B L I S S . I T I S A L S O E X P E N S I V E .