When I was a teenager, Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show. I found him to be more than entertaining. I found him to be interesting. It didn’t take long for me to realize that what made him interesting was that he was truly interested in his guests. He not only asked great questions, he listened to his guests and seemed to always have the perfect comment that led to a better conversation, not just an interview with questions and answers.
I took this idea to heart – being interesting by showing more interest – when I was dating. I would ask lots of questions to get to know my date. They did most of the talking, yet they still said that I was a great conversationalist. The same idea applies to business. If you want your customers to be interested in doing business with you, be interested in them.
Thinking about this idea, I put together a list of seven ways to show interest in your customers:
- Ask questions. Let the customer do most of the talking. Good questions lead to good answers.
- Listen to the answers. Actively listen and pay attention to what your customer says. Take notes, if necessary. Show you’re engaged.
- Respond appropriately. If you want to elevate the conversation, don’t just listen to the answer, make a comment that shows you understand your customer’s answers.
- Ask extra questions. Sometimes, the most appropriate response isn’t a comment but an extra question – or two or three. The goal is to understand what the customer is saying. Sometimes, they say one thing and mean something different. Miscommunication can cause problems that make it hard to win back the customer’s confidence in you.
- Make it personal. Don’t just ask questions about their business. Get to know them – at least a little bit – on a personal level.
- Make the customer feel exclusive. Some people have an amazing ability to make you feel like you are their most important customer. You don’t have to go to that extreme but find things to say to make the customer feel connected to you and your company.
- Recap the conversation. Summarizing the conversation lets the customer know you understand. I like to use the example of a server at a restaurant repeating the order just to ensure they didn’t misunderstand.
The current host of The Tonight Show is Jimmy Fallon. Like Carson, Fallon is an interesting host because he is an interested host. In addition, he is a master at tip No. 6, which is to make the customer feel exclusive. His enthusiasm can make a guest feel as if they are the most important interview on the show. So, if you want customers to be more interested in you, your company, and your products, first be interested in them.
