Have you ever had someone throw up a barrier when you are just trying to determine if you want to work with them? This week, Eliot and Jodi talk about how a $50 charge at a travel agency might relate to your business.

Why is that important for business?

Sometimes, businesses value their needs to the exclusion of the needs and expectations of the new client, and in so doing, they establish the first step in a new relationship as a barrier.

There is a fear that if you give away, you will go down a slippery slope of giving it all away. But often the thing you do to protect yourself from something puts you on the fast track to that very thing you were trying to avoid.

It might seem like a good idea to establish a policy that protects you from someone who will pick your brain and then not use your services; however, at the same time, that very policy may act as a barrier to the very customers that you are looking for.

This isn’t about creating a policy that will protect you. It is about figuring out the generalized emotional state of potential clients. It is about asking yourself, “What would smooth the road between my client and saying yes?”

Part of the issue is the blurry line between the sales process and the service process.  Staying focused on their emotional experience and needs helps you to avoid policies that create barriers in order to solve a problem you are experiencing.

In this wonderful article, “Using Customer Journey Maps to Improve Customer Experience,” Adam Richardson (@Richardsona) explains how you can map out your customers emotions so that you can pre-calm fears and assuage periods of uncertainty or anxiety.

If you can’t find the empathy for your clients and what they are worried about – which, frankly, might be you – you are missing a huge opportunity.

It is important to understand your clients’ needs and expectations, and to smooth their anxieties. And it is also about having confidence in the value you provide, and your ability to convey that value. And trusting that you know where to draw the line where to stop giving for free, and that if they don’t get the value, it’s okay.

Some key things to remember:

• Are you addressing their fear or yours?
• Where are you skittish as a buyer, and are you overly protective about that part of the sales process in your business?

 

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