In sales, one often asks leading questions to discover what the customer’s specific needs are. According to Harvard Business Review, checklist and leading questions rarely elicit all the information you need to provide customers with the best guidance. In only using checklists and leading questions, clients can be made to feel that their weaknesses or failures are on display. That is counter to what we as sales professionals we are striving to achieve.
Sometimes, customers request a solution that does not actually square with their desired outcome. This is when our listening skills come into play. What do we gain by listening? It changes our perspective by allowing us to enter our customers’ minds. It keeps us centered in the conversation at hand and prevents us from getting caught up in anticipating what the customer is going to say next.
An article in Entrepreneur suggests that empathy in business can increase sales and encourage employees to be more productive and innovative. Google studied key employee traits in 2017 with Project Aristotle. They found that “soft skills”, including empathy, are essential to the success of contemporary businesses. Surprisingly enough, the B-teams came up with the most important and new ideas and they were not even the smartest people in the room. The B-teams used “soft skills” consisting of equality, curiosity, emotional intelligence, generosity, and empathy.
So, what does empathy help us learn about our future customers? Well, we get a more accurate assessment of the customer’s emotional state and readiness for the close. This allows salespeople to take each step toward the close at just the right time, in a manner that feels appropriate to the customer. In employing empathy, you truly are doing right by your customer by taking a demonstrable interest in their goals and well-being.
Benefits of customer empathy
Gaining a better understanding of the customer and not just their needs will benefit your business in several ways.
- Customer loyalty stands to benefit as they recognize the concern they are being shown, as opposed to being viewed merely as transactions to be completed.
- Retention is also made easier through meaningful engagement with your customers and will reap dividends for you in the long run.
- Finally, you are giving your customers value in exchange and making it easier for them to trust you.
Credibility and integrity are essential in today’s business world and they always should be.
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