CEO and Founder of Gary Tilkin Consultants, Inc.
I was having a conversation with my 18 year old daughter, Alyssa. It seemed like we were engaged when the topic was of interest to her. When the topic was of interest to me, like cleaning her room, giving back the credit card or not smoking in her SUV she disengaged. I know this is normal but I really did not like not having my topics as much of a priority as hers.
This got me to thinking, I wonder if we do that same thing to our clients. Not on purpose, I don’t think Alyssa disengaged on purpose, just it did no suit her to listen. If we were not to intently listen to a client even for a moment, would that and could that effect the results that we would receive during our visit? Answer that obvious question on your own. Now what to do.
The best recommendation I can give is to just be aware of your body and non-verbal actions when the client is talking. If you want to speak, wait for a pause. If you want to address a clients concern, summarize the concern first to verify you got it right. Then your answer will make a lot more sense and the summarizing proved to your client you were in deed listening. Finally, remember, you may not agree with your client; you may not be interested in what they say; you may think they are boring. The one thing we can all agree on is that they are the CLIENT and we are here to meet and exceed their needs. Remember, always be a “Professional for Life”.