Empathy

 

 Selling a service or solution requires more than just the ability to walk the steps of the cycle; it requires empathy with the client, an understanding of his needs, the vision he trying to achieve and the value both real and intrinsic that your solution/service delivers.

Several years ago, I watched Joel Oleson give an address on the significance of creating a well thought out and detailed governance plan for Microsoft SharePoint deployments. Joel is a great speaker, because he loves what he does and he understands the MOSS space better than anyone I have met. During this session Joel made the statement that while no two organizational governance plans were identical, the need for a well thought out plan was universal and making the customer understand this was the make or break component required for a successful launch, rollout and lifecycle.

What steps do you take to demonstrate empathy? Do you understand not only what you are selling but the industry you are selling into and the high level critical needs that your product or service can address?