Yapping Dogs and Customers

   What do yapping dogs and customers have in common? Well, let me tell you a story.

   My neighbors believe in leaving their dogs outside all day while they are at work. The problem is that the dogs hate it. Especially when it’s too hot or too cold outside. Here in Albuquerque we get both those weather conditions, so the dogs are pretty unhappy most of the time. This situation is far beyond the loneliness dogs experience when mama and daddy leave the house. The poor pups are uncomfortable, maybe even miserable. Naturally, they express their misery by yapping on and off all day long. They yap and yap, then stop for a rest, and start in again. They are very clear about voicing their misery. But their owners are deaf to the dogs’ pleas for a change.

   Maybe your potential customers have the same problem. They are miserable and want a change. While they look for a solution and hope someone can help, their pleas fall on deaf ears. Why is that? Believe it or not, it’s because many people who are selling something don’t really listen to their potential customers.

   The average sales training tells sales agents to hustle their way past a gatekeeper and then dazzle the business owner with features and benefits, whether or not they have anything to do with that business owner’s needs. If you are in business or in sales, you can picture this scenario easily. As the owner, you seldom have the opportunity to express your needs or frustrations first. The sales person is too busy baffling you with garden compost to hear what you want. Or, even worse, you tell him what you need, and he ignores you in favor of telling you why his product will do things you don’t care about!

   Rather than belabor the point, I believe you understand the underlying problem. So let’s look at the solution. If you want to get a message to potential customers about what you do, you must first look at their needs and think about what they want. It doesn’t matter what you want, what your boss thinks people want, or what some sales professional tells you people want. You are the one standing face to face, either literally or figuratively, with your customer. Find out what he needs and whether or not you can actually provide a solution.

   The short way to say this is: yapping dogs and customers need your immediate attention with something that can help them. Put the customer first, forget about what you want, and focus on customer service.

   Establishing a reputation for actually helping people will win you the referrals you want to grow your business. The Golden Rule is really the best business model. Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay cosmetics, built an empire using the Golden Rule: Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. You can’t improve upon that one!