Erika Jones, CFO, CCTAProfit First Professionals · Certified Fractional CFO and Profit First Professional

Listening To Your Customers Empathetically-Recession Response

19 Apr 2020 · 1 min

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1:04

In this brief sales coaching talk, the speaker warns businesses against giving away products or services for free during tough economic times, emphasizing that such generosity is unsustainable. He stresses that companies still have an obligation to sell, but must do so fairly to both customers and themselves. The core of effective selling, especially in a recession, is empathetic listening—truly hearing the customer rather than merely waiting for a turn to speak. To improve listening, he introduces a simple "three‑breath" technique: inhale, exhale, inhale again before responding. This pause forces the seller to slow down, acknowledge the customer's words, and respond more thoughtfully, enabling responsible, empathetic sales.

Chapters

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 three 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've responsibility, but sell the right way empathetically.