- Improve upon your skill sets (computers)
- Find Interest in things you are not interested in
When visiting customers, the one thing that is guaranteed is that information will be exchanged at some level. Even if you are stuck meeting with someone who wants you to do all the talking (see strategies for dealing with these types in section 9), there are non-verbal cues being elicited that give you a ton of information if properly recognized. It is critical that you optimize this flow of information by talking about subjects that your customer is interested in and that you ask pointed, open ended questions to gather information that you are seeking in a non-invasive way. Not that you need to know the batting averages for the entire Atlanta Braves lineup, but it if you are dealing with customers in that territory and you are aware of a major win streak, that could help form a bond between yourself and your target that could open the door to other discussions. Most importantly, the discussions will be launched from a point of congruency. Of course, your knowledge base needs to expand in correlation to the customer’s infatuation with the subject matter. While travelling in Atlanta, I would frequently visit a customer who was a Georgia Bulldogs football fanatic. Every visit, I could count on his dissertation on the history of their team and their chances for winning the national championship in the coming year. In order to enhance my bond with this customer, I was sure to spend just a few minutes prior to my visit on a sports website investigating recent Bulldog news. When I would subsequently meet with this customer, my bond with him grew at an accelerated rate just by showing a minimal understanding of his favorite topic.
When you are entertaining customers, you never know what topic may come up. Being well versed on a broad range of topics will help keep you in the conversational flow. With the virtually unlimited range provided by the internet, you should never be short of reading material. I recommend reading two newspapers everyday. Reading a business newspaper like the Wall Street Journal will keep you abreast of any changes in the economy and the business landscape. When reading the newspaper, always keep your own business in the back of your mind and think about how everything you read relates to your business. For example, in the steel industry, you may read about the price of oil skyrocketing. Although the price of oil does not directly impact the steel business, it may give an indication that additional domestic oil production will be coming on soon, and as a result facilities and oil rigs will need to be built out of steel. Reading a national publication, like USA Today, or better yet a local or regional newspaper that covers the area in which you will be traveling, will keep you current with general news, sports scores, and any other information specific to that locale.