Key to success: Empathy

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I was having lunch with a friend when this philosophical question came in: what makes a person’s success with his clients different from another’s?

In less than 10 minutes of considerations, we realized empathy is THE factor that influences the success of client services.

To give satisfaction to a client = give the client what he’s asking for?

For example:

rbd_1

 

rbd_21

 

rBD_3

 

rbd_4

 

rBD_5

 

rbd_6

 

RBD_7

 

Some of you might think this is a good relation; and you’d be right! But there’s a little rub…

Why did the supplier make 3 deliveries? Did the client make 3 requests?

The client had only one issue to solve not 3.

An empathic supplier would’ve been able to ask certain questions right from the start to understand why his client made this request.

–          Was this report requested by the reps; what will it be used for?

–          Are the sales in $ enough for this report?

–          What is their schedule? What time would be best to send them the information?

To find out what the client really needs we have to be able to put ourselves in his shoes: empathy.

We need to get involved and ask questions to really understand his goals and the context in which our solutions will be used.

The client may need me to solve only one part of his issue.

The real value of a consultant lies in his capacity to find to right solution for his client; even if the client himself cannot precisely identify what his issue is.

Ultimately, the goal is to recommend a solution to the client’s needs and not to his requests.

Same lunch time 10 minutes later: we even pushed the concept to understand that a good amount of empathy could probably solve most of our society’s issues.

 

 

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