Last week I received a phone call from a retail business owner who bought and sold new and used ionic footbaths. An ionic footbath is a device that has been around since the 1700’s. Among other things, it is used to remove heavy metals from the human body through a process of chelating them through the soles of your feet. She had heard that I was selling a used power unit and offered to sell it on consignment for me. I told her, my wife and I had purchased a new one which was a different brand, and we no longer needed the old one. Immediately she told me that any other ionic footbath that was not the brand she carried was no good. Mind you, she didn’t even know the brand we had bought. She went on to say in a very condescending and sarcastic tone, that all the other brands probably did harm to the person using it. I let her go on for about one or two minutes and then thanked her for her interest and told her I wasn’t interested in her service.
Let’s examine what she did, so well, to alienate me from ever even thinking about using her service. These critical mistakes are things every person who owns a business or who is working in a business job should know about, and never make, with their prospects or customers.
First, her tone of voice had a pompous, irritating and “a know it all” intonation. This alone can destroy a customer relationship before it ever begins. There is something bad that happens to the average person when they hear a tone of voice that sounds like a herd of screeching cats. Not only does it sound terrible, but it makes the listener want to put as much distance as possible between him and the source of this negative energy.
The next fatal flaw this business owner possessed was her lack of knowledge of her competition. Although she was not familiar with the company from which we had purchased the new ionic footbath, it didn’t stop her from venting her feelings about it. I kept getting this image of an ostrich sticking its neck in the ground to avoid seeing her ever changing competitive landscape.
Finally, the last critical mistake she made was criticizing the competition. It has often been said, “When you throw dirt you lose ground.” When you criticize your competition, you weaken your position as a company or organization. Let’s look at the psychology of that statement. First most people don’t like to hear someone or something being criticized for extended periods of time. The negative energy creates an effect that repels people.
In addition to that, most people don’t like it when you criticize the purchase they have made. In a roundabout way you are criticizing and telling them they are wrong. As Dale Carnegie says in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Show respect for another person’s opinion; never say "you are wrong’.”
So, to keep your business in business,or to be successful in your business job, follow these three guidelines and you will find your customers coming around, buying and staying.
Tom Borg is a consultant in leadership management, team building and customer service. Please see more of his blogs go to businessworkforceblog.com and csjobsblog.com To view additional job postings go to Nexxt
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