Give More Value to your Business

What makes you unique in your business? Why should I do business with you? I know with some of you, you will answer right away "personal service!". Unfortunately, since there is so many people claiming that same answer, it actually is no longer "unique".

I'll tell you what is unique though - an experienced "listener". How many times are we sold products and services and something somewhere got screwed up and had to be redone? How many times have people "dropped the ball" and could not deliver what was promised? I'll tell you, if you work at being a better listener, then you will be able to decrease miscommunication errors by 50%!

In my experience, it has been those individuals who truly want to provide great personal service, but are horrible listeners that repeatedly cause problems within the business. And these problems cost a business thousands of dollars considering the time and effort it take to fix the problems.

So how do you become a good listener? Well the first step is to increase your self awareness and determine if you are a person who maybe talks a bit more than other people. Most people actually want to do the talking and share stories, information, etc. Let them! You will notice when you listen more to others, you will learn not only about the needs of your clients, but you may also be able to determine if there are others possible referrals for your business or referrals you can pass on to your business partners. For instance, a telephone equipment vendor was chatting with his customer after finishing a service call and he asked the customer how he advertised his business (he was a plumber). That one question sparked a 10-minute monologue how the client was so unhappy with the rising cost of advertising and how his current advertising agency was not performing their services as promised. Of course this led the telephone system vendor to be able to recommend a colleague specializing in radio advertising and it promoted another sale for the telephone vendor when he proposed a customized on-hold messaging commercial (a product of the telephone vendor) to promote the plumber's services when callers were put on hold. By spending extra time and listening the the woes of his client, a few businesses were able to help each other.

Another way to become a good listener, is to recognize when you are engaged in a conversation with someone, that not only curb your urge to interrupt, but also do not begin to think of responses while the other person is talking. Think about it, especially when someone is complaining, when you begin to think of a response, you tend to miss valuable information being said and that can lead to more problems.

Excellent listening skills should be standard in our businesses, but really it is optional. So here is an opportunity to be unique and bring extra value to your business and to yourself as a person!