How many times have you been on the phone with a difficult client and the right words just don’t seem to come? Have you ever found yourself in a meeting, face to face, and blurted out the wrong thing in response to someone else? If so, you may need to learn Tongue Fu.
What is Tongue Fu? According to author, Sam Horn, Tongue Fu teaches you, how to handle difficult individuals—without
becoming one ourselves."
In her article, What
to Say in Difficult Conversations, Sam lists 7 Tongue Fu tips that just
might save the day.
Looking at these
tips from a sales perspective, I know that personally, one of the most
important things to remember when a client has a complaint and you find
yourself stammering to explain and excuse it is Tongue Fu Tip #1.
Says Sam, Take
the AAA Train. Explaining why something wasn't done when it was supposed to be
done makes people angrier because they feel we're making excuses. Instead, Agree,
Apologize and Act. "You're right, Mrs. Smith, we were supposed
to send that brochure to you last week, and I'm sorry you didn't receive it
yet. If I could please have your name and address again, I'll personally put
that brochure in an envelope and make sure it goes out today." Voila.
Complaint over!
Sounds good to me!
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