GREAT Money talk
How to be confident discussing money with customers
They say that money talks, but we often don’t like to talk about money! Money conversations with customers can feel uncomfortable whether you are talking about price in a sale or compensation in a complaint. it’s likely that it feels uncomfortable for your customers too! So it’s important that you are confident and that you can lead the way in the discussion, making the conversation easy for your customer too. GREAT Money Talk is about being confident having money conversations with customers.
Here are three strategies to help you:
- Know your customer – what does value mean?
Understanding what is important to your customer means that you can position your discussion about money in a way that is more aligned to what they perceive to be of value. People who are able to confidently discuss money with customers are confident in the products and services or solution they are providing to their customers. They lead with a genuine belief that they are offering good value and their explanation is supported by that conviction.
Take the time to recognise what your customer values – ask curious questions and listen to understand.
- Getting the balance right
We can all give away the organisation’s money in discounts or complaints compensation to make a customer happy, however, we need to think more commercially than that. We need to get the balance right between organisation and customer. A great mindset to have is to treat the organisation’s money as if it was your own – would you take the same action in the situation if you were giving a discount or compensating the customer out of your own pocket? As an organisation you have to get the balance right between surviving and making profit, and doing what’s right for our customers. Constant discounts and compensation might seem to solve the problem in the short-term, but it might be that it’s not sustainable in the long-term
- A formula for confident money conversations
Knowledge + Assertiveness = Confidence
Having the right level of knowledge is important. It’s important that you are knowledgeable about the customer’s unique situation and what’s important to them, and how your offer impacts the organisation. It’s important that you articulate this clearly to your customer to help them to accept your decision and have confidence in you.
Assertiveness is a careful blend of two things – courage and consideration. The courage to state your own position and rationale succinctly and at the same time the consideration to listen to the customer, being considerate of their needs and their response. This comes from knowing that what you are offering is the right and fair thing to do for your customer balanced with your consideration of what is right for the organisation. It’s also important to be comfortable in changing your mind – as long as you have the balance right.
A combination of knowledge and assertiveness means that you appear confident in your discussion about money with your customers.
Take a look at our GREAT Money talk programme and if you’d like to explore this topic further give us a call on 01582 463464. We’re always here to help.
