INPUT
EMPATHY
IS WHAT GETS YOU IN THE DOOR
The following column is adapted from John McArthur ’ s presentation during the NWC NAMM Virtual Meetup on Jan . 21 , 2022 . The full video of this and the other presentations can be found on NWC ’ s YouTube channel .
I ’ m
here to talk about developing and maintaining strong industry relationships . When I was researching this , I remembered an article I read way back in 2013 out of the Harvard Business Review , which is not something I do every day , but it was an interesting article for a salesperson like myself . It was called “ Connect , Then Lead ,” and for people in our industry , its message is important . It talks about warmth — how to project warmth and how it affects your influence .
In terms of the top traits needed by us salespeople , competency is certainly important – you have to know your products or service – but you first need to have empathy . If you ’ re ordering those two traits , empathy must come before competency and that order is very important . Think of it this way : empathy gets you in the door , and then competency – as well as reliability , integrity , and vulnerability – all of those things keep you there .
This is particularly important now , when we have businesses closing down , or not sure if / when they ’ ll need to close . That ’ s a real problem for many of us ; we ’ re asking , are we going to be in business ? We all have issues and unique experiences . So , when we ’ re talking to people , we salespeople have to be humble , because proud and presumptuous is a recipe for mistrust and disunity . The humility that we have can certainly go a long way to show that we all face similar challenges .
So , try to put yourself in the other person ’ s shoes ; listen to them , and admit that you might not have all the answers at the time , but be willing to find out solutions . By being empathetic , we create a shared sense of purpose and nothing ’ s more inspiring than someone who is empathetic . Competent people who lack warmth often elicit resentment . I think we can all think of somebody like that in our lives — the guy who knows everything . Simply adding a little humility goes a long way in our world . Plus , being able to see something through other people ’ s eyes extends your capacity to understand our business environment .
The key to having and displaying empathy is actively listening . So often , when we ’ re in a conversation , we spend a lot of that conversation just waiting for our chance to talk . Instead , we should really be giving our full attention to the other person and really listening . I remember when I started in this business a long time ago , I worked for a company and one of the people there , all they did was talk , talk , talk all the time to customers . At the time , I was young and they were successful , so I thought that was the way to do it — but I felt uncomfortable about it . Over time , I realized the problem was that there was no listening happening . That guy was not hearing what people were saying . There was no active listening going on , which of course is an underrated and underdeveloped skill in our business .
So remember , you should listen to the other person ’ s perspective and be willing to be molded by it . You might learn something and build it into your life as you go along . When we put a sincere effort into understanding the other person , we come off as being genuinely concerned , which we are ; and what does that do ? It makes us trustworthy . Active listening helps us improve the experience of the conversation for both sides . It also ensures that you grasp what the other person is saying . And you ’ re going to learn
JOHN MCARTHUR
something . In our business , you ’ re going to learn what product they want , what service they need , what kind of problems they ’ re having in their life — we just have to listen to them . In a way , we ’ re kind of like a psychiatrist because we ’ re validating their feelings .
So , know that before people decide what they think of our products or services , they ’ re going to decide what they think of us . If we show that we hold roughly the same viewpoint , or we ’ re willing to understand the other person ’ s point of view , it displays empathy . That ’ s the ultimate qualification for being listened to in sales and in life .
John McArthur is a Managing Partner at PAG Canada , a Canadian manufacturer ’ s representative for professional audio , lighting , and video products . PAG Canada represents A . C . Lighting , Advanced Network Devices , Bosch Communications , Dynacord , Electro-Voice , Luminex , RDL , Roland Professional AV , and Sonnoc .
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