Diane GardnerFounder, Adept Business Solutions · Profit First Professional

Listening To Your Customers Empathetically-Recession Response

19 Apr 2020 · 1 min

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1:04

In this short advisory video, Sandy Waggett warns businesses against giving away services for free during an economic downturn, emphasizing that they must continue to sell in order to stay viable while still being fair to customers. The core premise is that effective selling—especially in a recession—relies on empathetic listening. Waggett highlights a common mistake: salespeople often listen only to plan their next response. To counter this, she introduces a simple “3‑breath technique” (inhale, exhale, inhale) to pause before replying, which forces the seller to truly hear the customer’s needs and signals acknowledgment. The overall message is a call to responsibility: sell responsibly, using empathy and deliberate listening, so businesses can support their communities without jeopardizing their own sustainability.

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I see businesses right now giving everything they can to support their community, which is a wonderful thing, but they are giving it away freely. And the problem is those businesses won't sustain. I want you to realize you have an obligation to still sell in this market, but you must be fair to your customers as much as you're fair to yourself. That's the key. The foundation of effectively selling, particularly in this market, is empathetic listening. It's always been listening. They say the reason we have two ears and one mouth is so we listen twice as much as we speak. But most people mess up the listening part when they sell. In fact, they're just waiting their turn to talk. So there's a real simple strategy you can use. It's called the 3-breath technique. Next time you're listening to someone about their needs, before you respond, inhale, exhale, inhale again. You don't have to be that dramatic about it, and then respond. What that will force you to do is to slow down and truly listen. Plus, because you're taking pause, they see that you're acknowledging what they're saying. So go out there and sell. You have responsibility, but sell the right way, empathetically.