I had the opportunity to give a talk to a group of distributors from the south of the country, as they questioned the benefit of co-investing in promotional activities, since they did not see the value in it and considered that all the achievements at the sales level were related to the way they served the farmer, our main customer.
After presenting different scenarios that explicitly showed the value that a brand has at the level of the functional and emotional dialogue of our product portfolio, of the possibility of creating memorable experiences and thereby increasing the engagement of customers with our organization, we discovered that their main concern was not the joint investment, but multiple reasons, among which we find the erosion of the margin due to the aggressiveness of the competition, the shortage of certain products, the need to have more information on the use of resources in the marketing plan and the new price list… nothing necessarily related to the original theme of the brands.
And like this, various examples such as those leaders of an association who, after verbalizing an alleged lack of fairness in commercial conditions, revealed their desire to be distributors, or when a group of farmers showed their rejection of the launch of a new product (which later it was the most relevant in the history of the region) because in reality they were dissatisfied with the lack of government support.
The agricultural market holds nothing back, and its protagonists are always forthright and ready to openly express their joys and disagreements, however, as this is a high-maintenance relationship, developing our listening skills is the best tool to find the real causes, the root causes.
Some resources to find the primary reason
The profound why and other questions: One of the field researchers used to say that to carry out an analysis of diseases or the presence of pests in our crops, it was necessary to “read” those symptoms and signs that could be detected so that, based on the interpretation of the same, we could look for the root causes of the problem and with this, find potential solutions.
Extrapolating this experience, and according to the gurus of the research, they issue an express recommendation to try to unravel the dialogue and thus find the cause behind the complaint or disagreement. Exploring based on questions and consistently repeating the why question is often a highly effective route.
Although it seems like a curious infant discovering the world, typically after the third moment of exploring about the why, it is that the true causes of the annoyance that are the object of the discussion in progress arise. Try it, I assure you that the conversation will flow very naturally after a while.
Resisting the temptation to offer an immediate solution looks like this (excerpted from a real conversation where price seemed the main barrier:
- The product you brought me is very expensive.
- doWhy Do you think so if our increases are below inflation?
- Well, what happens is that the competition is cheaper.
- doWhy Do you consider it so if the operation / performance of our products pays up to 3 times the value of your investment?
- Yes, it is true, but it is not so easy for me to acquire your brand.
- If you had a customized financing scheme, would you have any problem closing the deal with us?
- Come on, now we understand each other.
Empathy in action: There is nothing more incendiary for a client (and more so in the field) than systematically telling him armed phrases like “I understand your disagreement”, “I recognize your annoyance” or “Your reaction is understandable” especially if a “but” appears afterwards: I understand your anger but Unfortunately we can’t do anything about it.”
Your client does not need compassion, but understanding and empathy commercially speaking, he finds his value when there is a clean interaction that privileges the exposure of the annoyance by the interlocutor. Resisting the temptation to give an immediate solution without first knowing some general details of the point of conflict is a skill that requires discipline and practice, since empathy is also trained.
Deserve feedback: The performance models designed by human resources have a very high level of applicability in commercial management and one of them is the feedback model which, within its many components, includes a very tangible lesson for me: feedback is a privilege that you have to earn and even deserve.
In the middle of a session with clients, there was a specific complaint about the level of service that one of our collaborators provided to the group with whom we interacted, an indication that unfortunately did not occur in the presence of my colleague and for this reason I asked our client what was the which was why she hadn’t taken the time to let him know, to which he replied, “Because he hasn’t earned it… why do you think I should let him know something that should be obvious to him?”
Little to add and that is why it is said that there is no worse complaint towards a product or brand than one that is not expressed, hence the importance of constantly taking the pulse of our customers and our industry in general, to consider the pulsations that this complex entity called market, can present.
SOWING REFLECTION
When we are parents, it is a triumph to hear the first words of our children and we celebrate each advance. Pending matter is learning to listen, since it is a skill that has little recognition but infinite utility.
How much do you listen to your client, kind reader? I will be fascinated by hear it on @soyjuanbecerril