| I was in the local doctor's office the other day | | | | Now in many ways, I am a captive "client" for the |
| (don't worry, I'm fine thank you) and listening to | | | | doctor. We have a free general practitioner |
| the doctor hold forth. The doctor is more or less | | | | doctor service in Britain so there is less incentive |
| my age, so he has been in the business a long | | | | to move to another. Also, overall our family gets |
| time. I have known him a fair while, and know | | | | satisfaction even if it takes longer than necessary |
| that his diagnostic abilities are very good, but I am | | | | in the surgery with the doctor giving vent to his |
| starting to worry he is getting a little complacent | | | | views. However, suppose we treated our clients, |
| and taking matters and his patients for granted. | | | | or worse still, our prospects in the same way. |
| Does that sound a little unfair? | | | | Suppose instead of asking how our prospects |
| Let me tell you why I am having these thoughts. | | | | feel, we tell them how we think they feel. We |
| I had a minor issue to discuss, but obviously it had | | | | may be way off beam. Suppose we do not listen |
| some importance to me. The doctor listened to | | | | to their opinions. Suppose we talk down to them. |
| what I had to say for about a minute, and then | | | | Suppose we bore them with the sound of our |
| interrupted me. He did not let me tell him how I | | | | own voice and with our perhaps prejudiced |
| felt about my problem. He told me how he | | | | opinion. |
| thought I felt, and how my proposed solution, | | | | Having made my escape from the doctor, I felt |
| which I had only just started to outline, would not | | | | better for the clarity he had given me |
| work. Well, I still think it probably would work, but | | | | unintentionally by demonstrating how not to have |
| that was apparently of no interest. | | | | a business meeting with our prospect or with our |
| The doctor then moved on to launch into the | | | | client. It is important to |
| history of a drug first introduced in 1934 that he | | | | - listen to the problem. |
| was not considering prescribing. Therefore I failed | | | | - not tell people how they feel. They know and |
| to see the relevance, but he then moved on to a | | | | we don't until we let them tell us. |
| general appraisal of the commercial attitudes and | | | | - not talk down to people (and do not blind them |
| behaviours of drug companies. By then he had | | | | with science). Try to pitch our conversation at the |
| been talking for nearly fifteen minutes without | | | | right level for them. |
| letting me get a word in. Much of what he said | | | | - remember people are looking for solutions and |
| any reasonably educated person would know, so I | | | | not to be impressed by our knowledge. |
| felt patronised. Moreover, it was one of those | | | | - avoid boring people by talking too much or being |
| situations you get in many more boring | | | | irrelevant. |
| unproductive business meetings where it is hard | | | | - avoid wasting their time. |
| not to look at your watch. In some ways it was | | | | If we listen to someone and understand the |
| almost comical. | | | | problem, we can offer a solution to ease the |
| I escaped eventually with a reasonable result | | | | person's pain. If we spend the whole time talking |
| from my point of view, but having accomplished | | | | we can make ourselves feel important but we will |
| in half an hour what could have been done in five | | | | not get the business and we will not make any |
| minutes and without sitting through the history of | | | | money. It should be obvious, shouldn't it? |
| the world. | | | | |