Great points. Especially liked your emphasis on: “Listening to customers gives you the why behind the what that you can use to build lasting value.” I think that this, along with maintaining a productive two-way dialogue w/customers regarding their needs/problems and the actions you’re taking to address them, is the secret to becoming part of their team – not just a sales rep.
I swear to God that everyone makes the same mistakes over and over again and by doing the same things they want their results to be different. Most people don’t even know what it truly means to “listen to your customers”… and are just enforcing their subjective point of view – well we all know where this leads right ?
You are right. Our customers are a vital source for determining our future course, but our erroneous behaviors are so hard to change. We get set in our ways and find it difficult to adapt, even when we know we need to. The key is to make small course corrections and develop habits that stick, always keeping an eye on the outcomes to see if we need to change more.
As a server, I had to learn from others what they were doing to be successful. Even now that I’m one of the better ones in my restaurant, I still try to pay attention to what some of the other servers are doing so that I can see what they are doing and what they may be better than me at. I learn new ideas all the time, both from things the managers tell us and from other servers, that have helped me along the way.
Grady – Good to hear that listening to customers and peers has proved beneficial. So often we get stuck in a rut with regard to our work. What things have they taught you lately?
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Great points. Especially liked your emphasis on: “Listening to customers gives you the why behind the what that you can use to build lasting value.” I think that this, along with maintaining a productive two-way dialogue w/customers regarding their needs/problems and the actions you’re taking to address them, is the secret to becoming part of their team – not just a sales rep.
Stephen,
Well put. That relationship piece takes hard work sometimes, but definitely pays off in the grand scheme of things.
I swear to God that everyone makes the same mistakes over and over again and by doing the same things they want their results to be different. Most people don’t even know what it truly means to “listen to your customers”… and are just enforcing their subjective point of view – well we all know where this leads right ?
You are right. Our customers are a vital source for determining our future course, but our erroneous behaviors are so hard to change. We get set in our ways and find it difficult to adapt, even when we know we need to. The key is to make small course corrections and develop habits that stick, always keeping an eye on the outcomes to see if we need to change more.
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As a server, I had to learn from others what they were doing to be successful. Even now that I’m one of the better ones in my restaurant, I still try to pay attention to what some of the other servers are doing so that I can see what they are doing and what they may be better than me at. I learn new ideas all the time, both from things the managers tell us and from other servers, that have helped me along the way.
Thanks for sharing!
Grady – Good to hear that listening to customers and peers has proved beneficial. So often we get stuck in a rut with regard to our work. What things have they taught you lately?