I’ve been thinking – when I’m having a conversation with my customers, am I really listening and working hard to learn something from them? Or am I just waiting for my turn to speak?
Marketing experts and serial entrepreneurs coax us to talk to our customers – to do customer discovery. They write an endless array of articles and even whole books on learning about the needs of our customers. But do I heed their pleas? Do I intentionally book meetings with prospective customers to learn about them – to show I care about them. Am I curious about their work, their companies, and their lives? I don’t think so – not always.
I think I sometimes go to sell to them. I think I sometimes ask questions just to provide an opening for me to tell them about my product. And others do that to me too. I don’t think that people always ask questions to listen and learn. I think they sometimes start conversations just so that they can be heard.
What do you think?
Until tomorrow, GUNG Ho friends!