For today’s post, let’s play pretend, as my five-year-old calls it Assume that you’re experiencing lower back pain. For the last month or so, your back hurts every time you get out of bed, and the pain lingers throughout the morning. You have no idea what is causing your pain, and you haven’t gone to the doctor. Imagine that you’re on a business trip and have a ton of work to do while on the outbound flight. The person sitting next to you is a physics professor at a university. After mentioning something about your back pain, the teacher asks you questions about your back. How do you answer? Are you fully transparent and helpful in your answers? Are you anxious to hear their input? Since you’re so busy, do you offer short answers, so they get the hint and let you go back to work?
Now, on your flight home, you’ve got to catch up on more work before the flight lands. You sit in the same exact seat, but this time next to an orthopedic surgeon. After mentioning your back pain, your new neighbor asks the same questions asked by the physics teacher. How do you react this time? If you’re like me, you’ll be fully engaged. You’ll provide transparency and wide-open answers. You’ll probably start asking the doctor questions in response to their questions. You’ll forget about your work and everything else that’s on your mind.
What’s the difference? Both scenarios were the same – you have back pain, were on a flight and preoccupied with work. The physics teacher is no dummy. Why did you give the doctor so much more attention and candor? Obviously, these questions are rhetorical, and lead us to completing the title of this post…
Before asking your customers questions, establish credibility with them.
The above statement represents one of the fundamental shifts in modern-day selling. In the past, a sales person could ask their customers dozens of questions and receive transparent answers. It was a nice partnership – the sales person gave their customers information, and customers answered questions honestly and openly. That partnership is no longer valid. Today, your customers can immediately find any information they need online. The price for receiving candid answers today is not just information, but competence. Unless you can establish yourself as competent, your customers will answer your questions as quickly as possible because they see no difference between you and Google.
