How well do you empathize with your clients, customers, or prospects?
If the prospect or client you’re talking with doesn’t truly feel that you’re interested in understanding, and empathizing with their point of view, predicament, or current situation, then they’re just not going to do business with you — it’s as simple as that. We, also, can’t expect to build loyalty from this point. It’s almost impossible to create a relationship based on an incompatibility of emotional understanding.
The moment the customer feels you’re more interested in YOU than THEM, they disconnect and pull away from everything else we’ve got to say.
However, if you can see the world and understand it through your customer or prospects eyes, then you can provide value to that customer or prospect on a much more impactful and meaningful level. The bond can be instantaneous. They immediately understand you “get them,” you can identify with them, and you feel their pain.
When you’re empathizing with your prospects, basically, you’re trying to convey one of the following key feelings:
“I understand how (insert emotion here – frustrated, confused, angry) you feel.”
Or….
“We’ve walked in your shoes before. We’ve been through this; we understand this position, and we know it’s not going to be easy.
As a brief thought experiment, consider from your customer’s prospective, what situation they might be in before doing business with you. What might that narrative look like? Is it a painful experience, or is based on frustration not knowing what to do or how to solve a specific problem? Perhaps it’s a positive experience? Are they trying to book the best and most exciting family vacation ever?
How do you empathize with them – in copy, on your website, over the phone? Focus on their feelings and the emotions they’re likely feeling at that very moment. Move them beyond that point and you’re many steps closer to solidifying a meaningful connection.
