Why You Shouldn’t Turn Angry People Into Your Biggest Fans
One of my super powers is turning any angry customer into a raving fan.
The only trouble is that sometimes it’s quick and sometimes it takes all day.
An important realization about this:
There’s the 5% of people who won’t be happy no matter what.Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s a little less—that’s not the point. The point is that no matter what you do, a small percentage will always complain, ask for a refund, or just won’t be soothed.There’s a name for them.
They're called haters.
Trying to make them happy is futile.
Then there’s everyone else.
They could be split up into the groups of “people who just want their money back,” or “people who just want a manager to hear them out,” or “people who are trying to game the system so they can get free stuff.”
There are a lot of people in this category and it’s up to you to decide who to spend your time on.
And that’s the lesson.Are you going to make a customer for life with your effort to transform them? Will empathizing and listening and collecting their feedback make them feel heard enough to give you a second chance?If the answer is “they’re going to be unhappy no matter what,” then it’s probably time to bail.
2 Minute Action
Whats something that’s taking up 80% of your time right now?Now is a good time to prioritize fixing that.Make a call, make a list, send an email, whatever you need to do to start fixing that.Its usually the bottom 20% of your tasks that take up 80% of the time required to complete it.
The Secret, Unharnessed Power of "No."
The price is too high.I can't commit to that timeframe.You can't be serious with that offer.
It doesn't matter if it's a hostage negotiation, if you're buying a used car, or if you're convincing your boss that your idea is actually her idea . . .The words "no," "can't," and "won't," are just starting points.They're not the end of the conversation, they're the beginning.If your goal is a win/win situation, you won't get there with just "yes" and you won't get there by bullying.It requires empathy which means doing the work to truly understand your counter's point of view.Just to be clear:
- A compromise is a lose/lose strategy.
- Bullying is a win/lose strategy.
- Backing down and just saying "yes" is a lose/win strategy.
2 Minute Action
Before you agree to any terms today, legal or personal, ask why the terms are the way they are.You might just learn what your counter-part values enough to both get what you want without compromise.
If You React, You'll Always Fail
What happens when someone criticizes your idea, writing, or product?
Do you get defensive?When you're listening to the blasphemer who is bashing your hard work, are you just waiting for your turn to talk?
Are you listening to win?
The sooner you regulate that emotion and start listening to understand, the sooner you'll be building better products, writing better blog posts, or communicating better ideas.Be reactive and you'll alienate yourself from the people who care the most.Be responsive and you'll start transforming angry customers into customers for life.
2 MINUTE ACTION:
If you're like me, you probably have a mental vault of every time someone criticized your idea/project/blog/etc.Unlock your vault and take a look around. What's something someone criticized recently? Did you respond or react?How would you change your response, now?