First, let’s start with something a little counterintuitive. At Starbucks this week, I placed a mobile order, picked up the drinks for me & my wife, and when I got home I realized my wife’s drink was made incorrectly. So, I had to find a customer service contact, and send a note – I didn’t have time to go back. We were out $5+ and my wife didn’t have her afternoon caffeine. They handled it fantastically well. But then, the next day, they asked me to spend more time…filling out a survey about how they handled it. This is a double-whammy mistake…check out the article below as to why.

I also now have proof I can ride a unicycle – and had a cool article posted in DestinationCRM magazine below, too.

And last on the list – an article I wrote that no publication wanted to run. It’s quirky – but it takes on the cheesy interview question “Do you love to win, or hate to lose?” with brain science and common sense!

Topics

• Why you should stop sending your customers requests for feedback after they’ve had a problem.
• If someone can do it, why not you?
• Humblebrag – The Transparency Sale is Destination CRM’s “Required Reading” this month
• ICYMI – Do you love to win, or hate to lose? How to tackle this question like a nerd!

Stop sending customers requests for feedback after they’ve had a problem!

From a #brainscience perspective, can I suggest that you stop sending “we want your feedback” surveys after a customer has had a problem with your product or service?

Think about it: When you have to go the hospital’s emergency room, it probably means you’re having a bad day. Regardless how well they did, it’s not something you want to reminisce about.

When someone has to reach out to your tech support or customer service team, it probably means something has gone wrong, too.

When you send a “we want your feedback” survey after they’ve dealt with the issue, do you realize you’re subconsciously reminding them that they had a problem with you? And now you’re asking them to take even more time on the issue…to recall it, and fill out a survey about it?

Regardless of how well you handled their problem, the fact that they had to stop what they were doing to call you erodes their perception of your product.

Instead, send feedback requests after proactive wellbeing checks. If you’re going to ask for more of the customer’s time, at least subconsciously reinforce something proactive about your services, instead of something that threw off their day.

If someone can do it, why not you?

After posting this on Facebook for my friends, a mentor of mine reminded me that…

1) Every skill worth knowing takes time to learn: practice, self-awareness, and relentless consumption of knowledge. You’ll fall, probably a lot, but if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

2)You can master anything: One of the wirings in my brain is this thought that, if someone can do something, I should be able to do it, too. Why not you?

That was sales for me when I first started. I was the scrawny version of Tommy Boy. It’s what turned me into a sales philosopher – I looked around at sellers who were crushing me and asked myself, why not me? I started consuming everything, practiced like crazy, and created my own approaches.

It’s partially why I wrote a book. I read some early in my career that frankly were nonsense – and for fifteen years I’ve known I was going to write one. Mine’s not the best ever written – but the reviews have been amazing, and one 5-star review called it “contrarian”. Love that word.

So here’s my step-daughter’s 16s video of me proving my odd skill – unicycling – down the street – in business casual attire. If I could learn this, you can do anything!

Humblebrag

The Transparency Sale is Destination CRM’s “Required Reading” this month

Super cool to be featured in the “Required Reading” section of this month’s DestinationCRM magazine. We talked about:

1) How the proliferation of reviews & feedback are changing the world of B2B selling – you can no longer hide your flaws and expect to get away with it…

2) …and, as it turns out (with brain science to back it up), leading with your flaws & transparency is the fastest path to lasting trust – so regardless of reviews, it’s the right thing to do, anyway, having magical impacts on cycle lengths & win rates.

(check it out the full Q&A here)

ICYMI – How to handle the cheesy interview question “Do you love to win, or hate to lose?” like a #nerd

I really enjoyed writing this article…and I’m guessing it was a touch too filled with personality for anyone to run it. So, I ran it on my own blog here.

The interview question “Do you love to win, or hate to lose?” can be handled with both brain science and common sense. In the article, I teach you how.

Would love your feedback on this article, any of my posts, or this newsletter. Do you like it? Do you hate it? My goal is to make it supremely valuable…so please, shoot me a note at tcaponi@salesmelon.com any time.

Thank you!