Page 48 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

Quick Ideas 29 to 30

Epilogue
Prospects don’t care how much you know until they know
how much you care. If you really care, you’ll transfer that to
your associates and train your employees to believe in delight-
ful customer service.

30
Fix the Problem

If you’ve ever called on a potential customer and un-
knowingly walked into a hornet’s nest, you know how critical
it is to defuse the difficult situations. A small dose of training
can cure a large case of unhappiness. It can also help you
avoid an argument that you will rarely, if ever, win.

Fortunately, when Brian Assignment
got blindsided by a mad en-
gineer, he knew how to har- Learn how to defuse an
monize with the complainer. angry customer. The key
After Brian assessed the phrase is: What can we do
problem that had upset the to fix the problem? Remem-
engineer, he asked an impor- ber that if your customer is
tant question: “What can we not satisfied with the solution,
do to fix this problem and you could easily lose that cus-
make you happy?” By avoid- tomer. It’s not a pride issue,
ing a confrontation with the so be sure to keep your ego
customer in which both par- out of your responses.
ties become defensive, he
was able to get to the root of

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