CustomerSoniX
The NUMBER 1 SKILL Our World Needs Right Now
INTRO
Let us go directly to the book that was written by Taylor Caldwell in 1963 “The Man Who Listens”
You might think that this book has nothing to do with marketing. After all, it is just a novel.
THINK AGAIN.
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You would do well to get hold of a copy of this book and read it immediately, from cover to cover.
So, in this article, I want to refer to this book BRIEFLY and then drill down further into the concept.
The plot is about a man who builds a chapel that is far removed from today’s complexity. Essentially, he makes available an avenue for people to talk about their problems. There is just a dark, silent room with a set of heavy curtains. The man sits behind the curtains and listens to the particular person’s problems. The story is about how the man responds to what each person has said, and of the impact on the person’s life thereafter.
I cannot really improve on the book as such, and feel it would not be productive to do a review on it.
YOU MUST READ THE BOOK.
Here is the Amazon link to the book: (well worth the preview)
In the rest of this article, I want to dedicate to the skill most needed in the world right now.
LISTENING
1) Why is listening the world’s most needed skill
Listening is the STARTING POINT for anything.
Let us refer to complex manufacturing environments. When we have a problem with a product, it needs to get addressed ASAP.
WHY?
Because it is expensive. The rework costs money. It is inconvenient. Normal production is affected. And then there is the problem of unhappy customers.
You can easily see that in a manufacturing environment, without the ability to listen such a company could very quickly become bogged down and even experience huge losses, time delays and customer complaints.
2) How do we integrate listening into all aspects of our company
We let our people know. This just means that we need consensus. In other words, we must acknowledge that without proper listening skills, we risk a lot. We risk huge losses in manufacturing. We risk our customers going to the competition. So the first step is to take time out and let people know about the importance of listening. In practice, this should include tutorials that encapsulate the culture and vision of our company.
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3) What must we do to ensure that we have a working solution?
The answer is that we need to design a process. This is not rocket science. However, we need a process or method that works. For instance, if we manufacture widgets everyone must know what to do of our widget has a problem. So the first part of the process may be to stop the production line. The next part of the process might be to get all the relevant managers and workers together to find out the cause of the problem.
This cannot take place without listening.
If we then decide to have a meeting about the widget defect, most of the activity will include listening. Without listening, we cannot get the information from the managers and departments that we need.
So there must be a process where we listen: we identify the cause of the problem by listening to all the input, and then we get to a point where we have agreement on what must be done to fix the problem, and to ensure that it does not happen again.
The above steps are very basic, but you get the idea.
4) What are the further steps to be taken?
The further steps must include ways that we can integrate these principles into the rest of our business. For instance, we design methods to truly understand our customers. Once again, this involves the skill of listening.
It is a good idea to design a half-day course for your company to ensure that these listening skills are further used within all aspects of our business.
The exact method of understanding our customers may include a checklist of questions, BUT we must ensure that the method to get these answers are carried out with the concern of the customer in mind: many so called customer surveys have failed because they come across as too invasive and impersonal.
So we need to consider the time and schedule of our customers, as well as their culture. Our customers are REAL PEOPLE and need to be treated with consideration even when we implement our “customer understanding” processes and checklists.
5) An example from auditors
There are many different kinds of auditors in the world, auditors have a very important job to do. But can auditors do a good job without listening?
NO!
In fact, the very meaning of AUDITOR is “one who hears”!
We are also familiar with the word “auditory” such as auditory canal, part of our listening system, which does not just consist of the outside ear.
Auditors are in a unique position to practice the skill of listening. It is ironic that many of us are somewhat scared of auditors; when we see an auditor performing his work in our company we tend to walk on eggs around him. However, an experience auditor is very good at his job. In order to do his job properly, he must be very good at listening. Otherwise he would not be able to act impartially when obtaining information. And the report that he finally produces must be 100% accurate.
6) A Lesson From Psychologists
Today, many psychologists are fully booked weeks ahead.
Why?
Well, have you ever watched a scene in a movie where a man goes to his psychologist. He walks into the consulting room, sits down and starts talking about his problem.
What happens next?
The psychologist says to the man: What do you think?
"WHAT DO YOU THINK?"
We can laugh at the above scenario. We can joke that they charge a lot of money just to sit there and say What do you think?
That is the problem: we laugh at a basic truth: We have to PAY SOMEONE just to say What do you think?
And theoretically, we can make a lot of money and increase our sales by employing the principle:
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
7) The Confessional: Good Or Bad?
The Confessional, or use of is an activity that is hundreds of years old. For many, this practice is seen as belonging to the catholic church.
In reality, there are a number of church organizations who use this practice.
But here we do not want to do a cross-section of today's churches.
I just want to use one example of a person that I interviewed about his own experience of using the confessional practice. He said that it was FANTASTIC!
When I asked him to elaborate, he said that after a session he always felt immensely relieved. He said that he felt an enormous weight lifted off his shoulders.
He further explained that he had given up on his family, and many of his friends, since they never even gave him the time to complete a sentence when he attempted to mention his problems. This particular man was highly educated and experienced. He felt that he did not need a lecture. He did not need his friends and family to point out the obvious. He did not even need them to sort out his problems, after all he is a business owner and has had much experience with the world.
He said that he was FREE to talk about his issues, and not be judged or criticized. The person on the other side of the veil was a "man who listens".
Imagine that!
A MAN WHO LISTENS ...
CONCLUSION
Well, almost. This article is really an entry point for the world's most needed skill. Watch this space for further news and developments.
About CustomerSoniX
CustomerSonix focuses on the art of listening.
There are many methods and approaches to "Communications" ...
CustomerSonix focuses on methods to enhance Listening Skills.
A critical interface would be the interface between you and your biggest customer.
For more information, contact us.
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The World's Number 1 Most Needed Skill Right Now
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