Dear Friends,
I recieved this email from a fellow JeffreysJournal reader and thought i would make it the topic of this weeks tip...
Jeff,
Thank you for your tips.
I have been a lender and in the title business and for the past 5 years I've been a full time Realtor. Your referral tips help to keep me motivated and on track.
I have a question.
What do our customers expect us to do?
Since we can't change the market, what do they really want?
DL
WOW!!!
That is one of the best and most important questions I've heard in the past couple of years.
What do our customers really want?
It looks like a simple question on the surface but it's not. As service providers we often think we know what our customers want.
Who knows better than us? Actually, the customer does!
We hear them say this and say that, ask for this and demand that, struggle with the realities of the marketplace, ignore warning signs, and sometimes behave in a manner that is completely opposite to get the results they are looking for.
They say left and go right, you say black and they say white.
Then their cousin Earl the plumber offers his insight as a financial expert and the room gets crowded.
Effectively navigating through any volatile market requires a skill and compassion to really understand what our customers want, really want, even if they can't express it.
It's enough to make us crazy. Enough mumbo jumbo!
I'll answer your question the way it was answered for me when I asked the same questions a long time ago.
Maybe you would like me to give you a short list to answer your question. I could but it wouldn't be as effective as what I will give you today. It would be easier but if you finish the exercise it will stay with you forever, regardless of the market conditions.
Note: In customer service 101 the foundation of all effective human interaction is based on the ability to see things through the Other Persons Point of View.
This is the first step in building a successful referral business.
No matter what business you are in.
Here's your answer:
CUSTOMER SERVICE - What do customers really want?
You know what it feels like providing service to the customer but you should also know what it feels like to be on the other end, when you are the customer.
A large part of customer service consists of adopting the customers point of view. When you are the customer what kind of treatment do you want to receive?
You can answer this question by yourself but it is more revealing in a small group of 5-7 people. Managers ask this question at your next sales meeting.
Stay on track and focus on what you and the others "really wanted" as a customer in your past experiences. How did you want to be treated? Be careful, may get sidetracked so stay on task.
The process is a process. Do not underestimate the effectiveness in the simplicity in this exercise.
Remember, as Thor Heyerdahl said in Fatu-Hiva"Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity."
You don't need me, a customer service course, or a dozen business books to tell you what you already know.
You need to talk about it. Use your intelligence and creativity to flush out the answers of how customers want to be treated.
You will have a tendency to hear a couple of things and then want to start solving the problem. You'll have ideas about what you can do and what you'll say and then you will be focused right back on you.
This process is about the other person...the customer's point of view. Stay focused on "When you were a customer and what kind of treatment did you want to receive?
Empathic thinking and listening takes practice and is risky. Be empathetic and listen to everyone's answers.
You'll have plenty of time to evaluate your behaviors and select a course of action that will assist you on giving the customer what they really want.
Thanks for spending 3 minutes with me.....
The best is yet to be!
Jeffrey Stanton
Your Trusted Advisor For Life
347-466-3047
One of the fastest ways to build a successful referral based business is by training. Now, with me, I like to invest significant time immersing myself in training, while some people prefer to take it in bite-size chunks. Whatever your preference is, now is the best time to contact me.
If you have found this tip useful, please share it with any friends, family, colleagues and associates who you think will be interested. Feel free to print it (with credit and subscription information) and continue to enjoy the tips. I am always grateful for any comments, criticisms or other feedback that you may have. Please send them to feedback@jeffreysjournal.com
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