My friend Terry Brock, a professional speaker and marketing coach, reminded me of the story that is told of Andrew Carnegie's mother when she went into a furniture store to buy a stove. The young salesperson talked about all the wonderful features of the stove he was selling. He talked and talked and talked about what the stove did. Mrs. Carnegie patiently listened to this salesman wax eloquently about this “fine stove,” and all the magnificent things that it did. When he was finished she looked at him and quietly asked, "But, will it keep an old woman warm?"
The untrained salesman never was able to really communicate with Mrs. Carnegie. He couldn’t see things from her point of view. What she wanted was a stove that kept her warm, and that was her main concern. Unfortunately, for both of them, that salesman didn't connect with Mrs. Carnegie. He didn't see it from her point of view, and thus he lost the opportunity to help her buy something of value.
How many times does one of your managers or employees allow that to happen in your business or organization? The client or customer shows up wanting to buy a service or product from someone in your organization, and goes away empty handed. Your representative fails because he or she didn’t look at things from the perspective of the client.
Dale Carnegie (no relation to Andrew Carnegie) had a principle he discusses in his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” that stated, “Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.” The beauty of that philosophy is that it looks at the world from the other person’s perspective. You begin to realize what is really important in that person’s mind.
My suggestion is to educate and train your people to first, find out what is important to their clients and customers, before they try to help them. When they do this, they will really be helping them get what they truly need and want.
Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. He helps companies and organization become more profitable by increasing their value and lowering their costs through the professional development of their managers and employees. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsBlog.com and view additional job postings at Nexxt
The untrained salesman never was able to really communicate with Mrs. Carnegie. He couldn’t see things from her point of view. What she wanted was a stove that kept her warm, and that was her main concern. Unfortunately, for both of them, that salesman didn't connect with Mrs. Carnegie. He didn't see it from her point of view, and thus he lost the opportunity to help her buy something of value.
How many times does one of your managers or employees allow that to happen in your business or organization? The client or customer shows up wanting to buy a service or product from someone in your organization, and goes away empty handed. Your representative fails because he or she didn’t look at things from the perspective of the client.
Dale Carnegie (no relation to Andrew Carnegie) had a principle he discusses in his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” that stated, “Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.” The beauty of that philosophy is that it looks at the world from the other person’s perspective. You begin to realize what is really important in that person’s mind.
My suggestion is to educate and train your people to first, find out what is important to their clients and customers, before they try to help them. When they do this, they will really be helping them get what they truly need and want.
Tom Borg is president of Tom Borg Consulting, LLC. He is a business consultant, speaker, coach and author. He helps companies and organization become more profitable by increasing their value and lowering their costs through the professional development of their managers and employees. Please see more of his blogs at csjobsBlog.com and view additional job postings at Nexxt
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