Give a hoot. Actually assign value to what the person in front of you is saying.
If I were to stop here and you were to implement this alone, I can guarantee that your results – in nearly any area of your life – would immediately change for the better. For validation purposes, here’s what happens next:
1. You get a strange look as if you were from another planet.
This is especially true when changing your approach with people who know you well. “This isn’t how he normally behaves. What’s wrong with him? Is he dying?”
2. Your customer’s guarded position melts and you gain better depth of information.
If you don’t know the person in front of you well (i.e. it’s a stranger), you may actually skip #1 and start right here. When a person knows that you actually care about what they’re saying, that they’re not just a number or a widget on the assembly line, they will open up. They will give you the depth of information you need to actually help their specific problem(s). But we’re not focused on solving their problem just yet. We’re still listening here. Valuing what the person in front of us is saying is the ONLY thing happening at this point.
3. Your strategy to solve the problem with which you’re presented is tailored to the individual setting you up for success.
This one is pretty straight forward. Better information in yields better results. When your customer feels valued, there is understanding that you are invested in them on a person-to-person level. Some may call what’s happening “gaining buy-in.” We like to call it: Establishing Therapeutic Alliance. It is the foundation for enormous results.
4. Your customer says something like, “I’ve never had an experience like that before,” or “This is so much better than the last _______ I went to.”
This is the point where you tell them, “Thanks, I learned it all from The Voice of the Patient.”
Enjoy.
Leave a Reply