Empathy for Your Clients is Key in Communication
Empathy for Your Clients is Key in Communication
What’s most important to remember is to always keep in mind your client or prospect. If you pay more attention to your clients and prospects and put yourself in their shoes, you’ll be practicing empathy. And empathy is the most important communication skill a person can have at work or at home. By putting yourself in the other’s place, you’ll get a sense of how it feels to be bombarded with 20 emails in a week from the same person trying to sell you something, for example. You’ll understand how it could take a little while to make a sale until the other person knows you and your business and feels you are trustworthy.
Empathy is different than sympathy. Sympathy says, “I understand.” But empathy says, “I feel your pain.” And THAT’S what people most want. We want others to “get” us in a way that understanding alone cannot bring about. Here are a few tips to help you express empathy for your clients and prospects:
1. Show them how you’ve been where they are and tell them how you felt while you were in the same situation. Whether you’re selling jewelry or virtual assistance services, you can probably relate to your clients’ problems in a very personal way.
2. Stop selling and start listening —intently.
3. Never, ever in any circumstance say, “I know how you feel.” You can say, “I had something similar happen to me and when it did I felt X. Is that how you feel?”
4. Remember the Golden Rule and then take it one step further. Don’t only treat others as you would like to be treated, but treat others the way you would want your Mother, sister, best friend, or other person who is important and special in your life to be treated. After all, these people (clients and prospects) are so special they may give you some of their hard-earned money!
5. Try to look at the situation from the other’s point of view, rather than your own. What possible message could s/he be receiving as a result of your actions or words?
6. Validate others’ feelings as often as possible. People have a right to feel their emotions, regardless of if you agree with them or would feel the same way. Ask, “How can I help?”
By following these simple guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to practicing empathy regularly. Once you do, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by the results!
Empathy for Your Clients is Key in Communication - To learn more about this author, visit Felicia Slattery's Website.
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As a communication expert, I am often asked what is the one communication skill business owners should possess in order to be as successful as possible. The best advice I can give is to be receiver-oriented, which is the fancy communication way of saying stay focused on your clients’ and prospects’ needs and wants.
What’s most important to remember is to always keep in mind your client or prospect. If you pay more attention to your clients and prospects and put yourself in their shoes, you’ll be practicing empathy. And empathy is the most important communication skill a person can have at work or at home. By putting yourself in the other’s place, you’ll get a sense of how it feels to be bombarded with 20 emails in a week from the same person trying to sell you something, for example. You’ll understand how it could take a little while to make a sale until the other person knows you and your business and feels you are trustworthy.
Empathy is different than sympathy. Sympathy says, “I understand.” But empathy says, “I feel your pain.” And THAT’S what people most want. We want others to “get” us in a way that understanding alone cannot bring about. Here are a few tips to help you express empathy for your clients and prospects:
1. Show them how you’ve been where they are and tell them how you felt while you were in the same situation. Whether you’re selling jewelry or virtual assistance services, you can probably relate to your clients’ problems in a very personal way.
2. Stop selling and start listening —intently.
3. Never, ever in any circumstance say, “I know how you feel.” You can say, “I had something similar happen to me and when it did I felt X. Is that how you feel?”
4. Remember the Golden Rule and then take it one step further. Don’t only treat others as you would like to be treated, but treat others the way you would want your Mother, sister, best friend, or other person who is important and special in your life to be treated. After all, these people (clients and prospects) are so special they may give you some of their hard-earned money!
5. Try to look at the situation from the other’s point of view, rather than your own. What possible message could s/he be receiving as a result of your actions or words?
6. Validate others’ feelings as often as possible. People have a right to feel their emotions, regardless of if you agree with them or would feel the same way. Ask, “How can I help?”
By following these simple guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to practicing empathy regularly. Once you do, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by the results!
Empathy for Your Clients is Key in Communication - To learn more about this author, visit Felicia Slattery's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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