Listening to your customer is key.
Posted 05-01-2011 at 08:18 AM by swilliams09
I recently hired a few people to do some work for me, both offline and online and one of the key things I noticed from a buyers point of view is that listening is key. Nothing makes me more infuriated than when I give a clear specific set of instructions and nearly the opposite is done. And why? Mainly because listening wasn't done.
But before I can lay down my righteous and furious anger, I had to ask myself one question. Have I been listening to my clients?
Clients who don't feel like they are being listened to can go several ways in their responses. You can get those who turn up the volume, those who turn down the volume and those who just make calm corrections.
Over email that can be hard to get, email inherently lacks context, but if you look hard enough it's there. Turning up the volume can consist of short strong demands or statements, turning down the volume can be a lack of emails at all.
The best thing I found to do if you are in this situation as a service provider is to one, read over everything, all notes and emails. Make sure you understand what your customer is trying to achieve. Then restate it to the customer and don't be afraid to ask him his opinion on how it's going. Don't get emotional about it. Then follow through and complete the gig.
I've also found as a customer, that, people are people and they do make mistakes, the best way to get results is to stay calm and carry on. Most people want to do a good job and provide a good service. A little patience and communication goes a long way. Which is great because that's exactly what I did with my outsourcers and they came through like the champions I knew they were.
But before I can lay down my righteous and furious anger, I had to ask myself one question. Have I been listening to my clients?
Clients who don't feel like they are being listened to can go several ways in their responses. You can get those who turn up the volume, those who turn down the volume and those who just make calm corrections.
Over email that can be hard to get, email inherently lacks context, but if you look hard enough it's there. Turning up the volume can consist of short strong demands or statements, turning down the volume can be a lack of emails at all.
The best thing I found to do if you are in this situation as a service provider is to one, read over everything, all notes and emails. Make sure you understand what your customer is trying to achieve. Then restate it to the customer and don't be afraid to ask him his opinion on how it's going. Don't get emotional about it. Then follow through and complete the gig.
I've also found as a customer, that, people are people and they do make mistakes, the best way to get results is to stay calm and carry on. Most people want to do a good job and provide a good service. A little patience and communication goes a long way. Which is great because that's exactly what I did with my outsourcers and they came through like the champions I knew they were.
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