Marketing Lesson: It is All in the Presentation

A lesson to help you learn how to accomplish more of your personal and business goals

Question: I say to you: You are advised to listen to everything the customer is saying. While she is talking, you should be thinking of ways to:

a. find the customers weak point so you can manipulate her thoughts; or
b. understand the needs of the customer and offer suggestions that will be beneficial to the customer

Which answer above sounds like the moral and ethical thing to do? Of course the answer is B.

Why do I think the answer is B?

The difference between the two answers above is an age old question that has been debated throughout all of history. Both answers above provide a glimpse into two basic human needs. Those basic human needs are (1) good; and (2) evil. Both of these spirits exist in all of us; but we all have more than one versus the other. Either you believe you need to control others in order to achieve your goals (evil) or you believe that by putting the needs of others ahead of your needs will achieve goals beyond your wildest dreams (good.) Therefore, the way you choose to run your business is ultimately your decision.

Presentation is the key

Even if you are person who believes the correct answer should be Letter A in the above example, you are not going to get anywhere if you do your presentation in a manner that reveals these true intentions. This is one example of why it takes more effort to commit evil instead of committing good. Therefore, if you think like a person who would answer the question above with Letter A, you will have to think really hard and come up with a presentation that is masqueraded to achieve your goal of control and manipulation in order to accomplish it.

But if you think like a person who would answer the question above with Letter B in the above example; you do not have to waste your mind on thinking up an alternative presentation. Instead, you can be honest in your presentation and go on with life; saving a great deal of time and effort.

How Not to be a Wimp

I was training a new attorney a few months back and I was explaining the good and bad advantages to running a moral and ethical law practice. He said that all the philosophy was good, but he wanted to know how to avoid being taken advantage of and becoming a wimp in the marketplace if he implemented the idea of treating his clients like royalty (the [customer is always right] rule) instead of under his control and manipulation.

Unfortunately, this attorney did not realize that being taken advantage of (because you do not have the ability to say NO to customers who make irrational requests) is not the same thing as being a wimp. You should always be in a position to defend your company. It is perfectly fine to go the extra mile and treat your customers like royalty and put their needs first. But when a customer comes along and they make demands that are unreasonable or outside the scope of your company policy, you need to take a stand and stop treating the customer like royalty. It is at that point that you not allow them to cross over the line. Adjusting your character to react in this manner is certainly not being a wimp.

Other Examples of Presentations

Scenario No. 1: An attorney calls a virtual bankruptcy assistant because he found her on the NAVBA.ORG website. The attorney says: “How much experience do you have?”

Bad: I never worked for an attorney before.

Good: I have recently completed the VBA Certification Exam and I have been tested on several different bankruptcy petitions. I have recently only begun accepting new clients. Can you tell me something about your law firm and practice?

Notice how the GOOD response leads into a question. This question throws the ball back into the customers court and encourages the attorney to provide you with information. During the time the attorney is talking, listen closely, understand the needs of the customer and offer suggestions that will be beneficial to the customer.

Scenario No. 2: While sitting at a law firm waiting to see an attorney, the receptionist asks you what line of work you are in. You reply:

Bad: I am a virtual bankruptcy assistant. I prepare bankruptcy petitions.

Good: I provide services to attorneys that help to relieve the law firm workload. What type of duties do you perform here at the law firm?

Remember, you are talking to a receptionist. You need to understand that the receptionist is asking you this question because he or she wants to know if your service will benefit them. They don’t care how much time you will save the attorney. They want to know how your company will make their job easier. By providing the GOOD answer above, you have addressed that question in a language the receptionist will understand. Why is this crucial to do? Because the receptionist will tell other co-workers about your company if they understand it. Providing them with a presentation they can understand will accomplish your goals much better than manipulation and control. Plus, you led into a question so you could throw the ball back into their court. (See previous example.)

Summary

I hope this article helps you to understand two very important key elements in all manners of communication whether it be business or your everyday life. Even if you are at the grocery store and you run into someone you know; you can still use the skills you were taught in this article. For example: Most conversations in the grocery store begin with: How have you been? Your goal should always be to NEVER talk about yourself. The person is not really interested in how you are anyway (unless it is something juicy and exciting gossip they can carry elsewhere.) Instead, they want to talk about themselves. All it takes in order for this to happen is for you to ask them a question:

You reply (with a smile): I have been great. How have you been doing?

You have just placed yourself into a very SAFE place. You will never need to worry about this person taking a word you say and knitting it into a framework of gossip. Instead, you get to listen as this person tells you about their world, which is probably not going to be that exciting to you either. But regardless of whether the person is telling you things that are interesting or not, you never need to worry about this person carrying gossip about you or misinterpreting anything you say. Instead, they will think you are a super nice person because you took time to listen to them, nod your head in agreement and maintain a kind and caring demeanor. The person will leave the conversation and talk about you to others in a positive manner.

Or, if you are lucky enough and the other person understands this same philosophy in communication, they will only reply that they are doing fine and continue down the grocery isle. These are the best conversations to have in a grocery store. Remember, other people can hear your conversation, so make sure you always try to do the least amount of talking there.

I wish you a blessed and wonderful week.

Victoria Ring
Certified Paralegal and Bankruptcy Specialist
http://www.713attorney.com
http://www.713training.com
http://www.navba.org

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