Stop talking about yourself, your product, & your company; the best brand engagement starts with simply asking “the right questions”.
Your customers, readers, participants want to be asked questions about what is important to them, not only on a professional level, but on a personal level. The friction sales people perceive may be based how they “engage” customers?
No one wants to have to sit through 20 minutes of scripted I am good at / the product is this or that information dumps.
Customers need to be heard & feel like they were heard. You want to be sure you are always asking open ended questions, that are relevant to that specific customer. These are questions that require a response other than just a yes or no & allow the customer to speak, fell heard, + you will develop trust as a partner & team asset.
Developing & always asking open ended questions is step 1, a huge one, but all effort is lost if you do not: “Listen” – or be perceived as not listening, leaving the customer feeling like they don’t have a voice.
The best brand engagement experience requires that the customer knows, for a fact, that you are listening to them. A great way, to not only offer tremendous value to the relationship, but to make this skill a habit is by: Repeating back & confirming mutual understanding of main points.
The Best Brand engagement experience
Creating the best experience for your customers isn’t all that different from getting to know someone personally, non-work you.
Open ended question are simply questions that should not be able to be answered with a simple yes or no. Questions that create the need for an explanation, a background, a review of the processes, etc.. When you learn to ask the right open ended questions, & keep quiet (as hard as it is to not talk), not only will your relationship with the customer grow, but you are creating brand trust & recognition.
Try questions like:
- How & Why questions specific to their business process
- Questions about previous experience with (last rep, last solution, last meeting, etc.)
- Ask about what they know or have heard about: product, company, you
- Ask questions related to “how do you feel about”, let the customer express the + & –
- & this is really the most important to creating the best brand experience: “Tell me about yourself”
When asking open ended questions, you never know what information the person will give. You may be surprised at what kind of information people will offer when you give them the chance to talk. Remember let them do the talking, take mental notes so that you can respond by showing your concern.
When you can repeat back to them the main points of their conversation, they will be a) impressed, b) grateful that you actually listened to them.
When you garner some great information don’t immediately turn around and try to sell them something. Instead offer to follow up by sending them some information that will help them. The offer of help will be appreciated, and of course, is the perfect excuse for you to follow up at a later date.
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