Main Idea
Do you ever research a product before you buy it? Or read reviews on a restaurant before you consider eating there? We all use investigation to some degree in our personal lives, probably without even realizing it. How often do you research your prospective customers before you attempt to make the sale? More importantly, do you know what is important to your customers?
Expansion of Idea
Investigative skills are simply the ability to gather information to solve a problem, conduct a research project, or make a decision. All business owners need to use these skills to succeed in their respective trades. You might ask your customer what they like or dislike about your company, but they may not feel comfortable enough to tell you how they really feel. By asking open-ended questions to learn more about their lives, you will get a new picture of who your client really is.
Sometimes, customers will not answer your questions honestly. (How many times in a restaurant have you told the manager that everything was fine when in fact the meal was cold or service was slow?) Instead you need to pay attention to clues. Those clues may be the tone in a voice, the customer’s buying patterns, the questions that the customer asks or the lack of a response to your service. That, in turn, can help you provide the best service possible.
Area to Start
Keep your Sherlock Holmes hat handy at all times!
Play I Spy with your team about your customers.
Pick a customer and try to determine why they deal with you.