04.29.15
Proving Them Wrong or Proving Them Right?
Season tickets for your local professional baseball team are always a great way to entertain clients. A manufacturer did just that. Yet when he showed up at the game with his clients, his representative, unbeknownst to him, had switched that day’s tickets. The representative was convinced he was right and did everything to prove his customer wrong. In the end, it became very obvious that the representative had made a very bad error and he lamely attempted to salvage the relationship.
Unlike this situation, there may be times when our customer is dead wrong and the temptation may be to prove to them how wrong they are. Most customers can be reasoned with but if our goal is to prove them wrong, we are missing the opportunity to strengthen a relationship, even though there may be adversity. Taking a strategy of finding a solution instead of proving who is wrong or right will show the customer that you care about their business. If they are wrong, it can be addressed diplomatically and in their embarrassment they often will be more receptive to alternatives that can solve the problem at hand.
Proving them right can lead to a deeper relationship and many more years of continued business.
Permalink Comments off
