My wife and her friends’ conversations. Nothing personal, but that’s just not going to cut it in the business world. The problem is that this type of conversation happens too often in the business world.
@Jerry Hocutt calls these types of interactions, Thumb Twidding. Coincidentally, I was just thinking on Thursday that I should blog about this type of communicating.
This is OK for non-essential personal conversation, but not for business productivity interactions. It’s imperative that when a customer asks for your opinion, you give it to them. They need it. You’ll know they need your advice because they say “What do you recommend?” “What would you do?” “What’s your opinion?” When you hear things like this, pretend I’m whispering in your ear, “This is where you come in.” (this is where the picture comes in) Close by saying, “I recommend you buy this model.” Or, “I would buy this one if I were you.”
Other times, customers will want to make up their minds themselves after they have asked you feature-advantage-benefit and comparison types of questions. If they aren’t asking for your advice, be hesitant in giving it. Especially if you hear a customer saying things like, “I’ll have to decide for myself,” “I’ll consider that,” “me, me, me” ”I, I, I.” With this customer, close by saying “It’s up to you, but I would buy this model.” And, base your recommendation on their observable actions and comments regarding that particular model, not what product you want to move off the floor.
Get the lay of the land, pay attention to your customer, so you’ll know which close to use.
Photo Credit: Nicholas Gray on Flickr
