If "It's what people hear"...?

How often do you listen well? How well do you listen to your customers and prospects? Better yet: How well do you hear yourself?

If you are in sales, marketing, customer service, or another "customer-facing" role, what could word-choice and your use of language have to do with your success; with your customer acquisition and loyalty efforts; or, with the entire concept of customer relationship and customer experience management? Any? None? My guess is most of us never think deeply about it? Perhaps we should.

Preparation, research, scripting, and rehearsal are important parts of our pre-call planning, before meeting, or talking, with customers and prospects. If you’re in AG, you know the facts: "stuff" such as, acreage, crops planted, inputs and equipment: heck, you many even know the dog’s name. Does it matter in some way, when you talk with these customers, if you’re waging a “campaign” or having a “conversation” or developing a relationship?