Imagine you ordered a pizza from a restaurant menu and a burger arrived. When you tell the server that you didn’t order a burger, they respond “that’s how we do a pizza here!”. What would you do?
I had a comparable situation last week when I ordered a smoothie from a café I went to. I assumed that the smoothie would be drinkable however, what arrived was a granola base with yoghurt and fresh fruits on top, edible only with a spoon. I told the waitress that it wasn’t what I ordered and she replied “this is how we do smoothies!”.
The sarcastic side of me wanted to use my pizza/burger analogy however, rather than take that route I simply told her that I didn’t want it and asked what else she could recommend that was like a normal smoothie. She took the smoothie away.
A minute later, the original waitress who had taken the order came to the table and with a smile, apologised for the misunderstanding and asked if I would like her to blend the ‘smoothie’ it with milk so that I could drink it. Since this is what I had expected anyway, I agreed. I enjoyed my smoothie, problem solved and a happy customer.
What was memorable about this situation was not the questionable smoothie recipe, but how the waitress thought outside of the box. Not only did she resolve the problem without cost to her employer, but she also created a happy (and impressed) client. Where her colleague wasn’t able to think outside of what was on the menu, she came up with a solution.
In the corporate sales world, this approach is referred to as ‘solution sales’ and focused on understanding clients’ goals, needs and pain points before then providing solutions for them. My ‘goal’ in this scenario was simply to drink what I had ordered, so taking the same ingredients and blending them was a logical solution. However, the vast majority of people who are not trained in sales techniques default to a blinkered response, usually dictated by their company T&C’s which does nothing to build client or brand loyalty.
It is this latter point that is why I was so impressed by the young lady who solved my smoothie problem. I assume that she has never had the benefit of corporate sales trainings which suggests this problem-solving skill is natural to her. I told her how impressed I was and that, if I had a consumer facing business here in Dubai, I would hire her. That made her day, I’ll never forget her smile and the spring in her step as she left the table.
It costs nothing to give a compliment, and in doing we positively impact others. Giving compliments and showing appreciation are linked to increase levels of oxytocin which foster trust, reduce absenteeism and drive productivity.
In summary for today; adopt a solutions focused mindset and be strategic with compliments as part of your business strategy.
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