When speaking to customers, it’s important to strike the right balance between acknowledging the crisis and focusing on business.
By Gregg Schwartz The Covid-19 crisis has caused so much disruption and uncertainty for everyone in all aspects of work and life. When talking to customers, it can be hard to know how to strike the right balance between acknowledging the crisis and focusing on business. And especially if customers’ businesses have been affected by the crisis or if buyers are more reluctant to buy, it’s important to know how to approach those customer conversations in a compassionate way. Sometimes it’s okay to blend business and personal with your customer conversations, especially during a time of widespread stress, grief, and uncertainty. Here are a few tips for having better customer conversations during the coronavirus crisis. Covid-19 has caused a massive shift in everyone’s priorities and daily life experience. We’ve seen examples of this from every corporation in America and everyone on LinkedIn: many are commenting about the crisis and sharing stories of how it’s affecting their business. So don’t assume that your sales conversations with customers have to be strictly about business. Start out the conversation by just asking the customer how they’re doing, how they’re coping with the latest news. You don’t have to be afraid to acknowledge the crisis that we’re all in. Most customers will probably appreciate you being candid and willing to talk about a situation we’re all going through. At times of crisis, customers may even be more skeptical of salespeople who are not acknowledging the bigger situation and circumstances. However, you don’t have to dwell on it; don’t spend the entire call talking about Covid-19. Try to keep the conversation light and optimistic. You might want to say things like, “Obviously, these are crazy times! How are things going with you and your business so far?” or “It’s been a while since we talked; the situation has been difficult, of course, but in the last month, my company is starting to enter into a kind of new normal, and I would love to talk with you.
