Guess who's back for our guest blogger for October?
If you guessed Matt Espe........well YOU'RE WRONG!
Leslie Simone gave us "You know what they need to do, so why isn't your team selling?" back in April of 2010. Leslie's back and packing heat with.......
Many of us work painstakingly to live by motto ‘The Customer is Always Right.” That’s generous and customer service-oriented, of us, right? Sometimes, . . .No!
Often, executives have stopped having hard and necessary conversations with their clients in the name of ‘good client relations’, and therefore their clients don’t benefit from the very specialized expertise they originally sought. In working with our executive clients, we have heard time after time, things like “the customer will never go for it,” or “the customer said ‘No’ so we have no choice but to give them this. . .” When faced with these responses, let’s challenge ourselves to dig deeper and speak our truth with grace and respect.
· First, check your integrity. Ask yourself ‘is there definitely a compelling relevant advantage to THEM in your solution vs. what they’ve requested?’
· Next, check if there is anything you need to own or admit about what you’ve offered in the past that didn’t meet their needs. I recall having to explain to a customer that we terminated an application we had formerly touted as exceptional because we found it no longer able to meet our customers’ dynamic needs. Typically if you are up front about your proactive response to emerging liabilities, you gain substantial credibility and give the customer peace of mind.
· Then, empathize with any potential fears they might have, and explain what you will do to move them through to success.
· Next, make your request to consider the alternate solution that you genuinely feel would be best for them.
· And finally, be willing to negotiate. Yes, you are there to serve the customer and they have the right to the final call. Lets just make sure to speak our minds and give our expertise boldly, without hiding our feelings in an attempt to “keep the peace.”
If you are still unsettled about challenging your customer, ask yourself a few questions: “Am I and my company really executing my current philosophy of the ‘customer is always right,’ without exception?” “Do we ever complain, gossip internally, or begrudgingly carry out requested implementations that we judge to be foolish or shortsighted?” “Are we resigned to only limited success with the transaction because we see the flaws in their requested designs?”
If you answered Yes to any of these questions, ask yourself, are you ultimately acting in the customer’s best interest -- giving their requests your 100% best energy, attention and can-do spirit? We teach that it’s better to stand toe to toe with your client and have a hard conversation than to passively participate in something that you secretly believe is doomed to fail. Plus, the mutual respect generated by speaking your opinions will either create deep lasting partnerships, or might signal that you should part ways and find other partnerships where your true strengths and contributions can and do shine.
To continue this conversation, please either send comments, or follow the link below to experience an unparalleled immersion into leadership development at the Handel Group’s Executive Boot Camp 2010 at Per Se Restaurant in NY: http://www.handelgroup.com/executive-coaching-boot-camp-in-new-york-city/
Bio: Leslie Simone, Senior Consultant of the Handel Group, has been working with the Handel Methodology for over ten years, co-hosts a monthly TV segment on topics of interest to professionals in the Northeast, leads crash courses to executives in New York, and consults executives one-on-one throughout the country in developing extraordinary leadership.
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