I expect people (at least people I know) to agree to a sales-type meeting where something specific is proposed to them, but getting them to agree to spend time talking about hypothetical stuff (“would you have bought this if we had this?”) could be more of a challenge.

What is your experience, and how would you approach this?

The importance of empathy is I think related to the results of the CMO Council’s 2007 survey of business technology buyers on what they look for in tech vendors. Speeds and feeds and price rank much lower than commitment to customer success, expertise and quality of thinking. These latter attributes can really only be effectively demonstrated after the person with the expertise (usually a developer or product manager) has learned empathy.

Here a link to the study’s results: http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/cmo-council-customer-affinity-new-measure-of-b2b-marketing-effectiveness-2765/

I think that’s the tracking link WordPress.com puts in each blog.

steve

Listening is one of the most important things I do each day. Whether it’s carefully reading a trusted sources post, or listening to a friend, a colleague or my fiance I do my best to tune in. That type of listening makes conversations very easy, but my block is when I’m talking about a) something I’m not passionate about or b) when someone of authority is talking to me. I feel inhibited in a way that takes something away from my best and I’m not sure how to work around it. So far I’ve tried to dedicate myself to only topics I’m very passionate about, and to be my own boss .

Thanks for the continuing education!

Side note: As I was reading your blog (and listening to an Edge I found this.

I think the thing about people who don’t establish any sort of rapport tend to come across as insincere. They feel like someone who just wants something from you and don’t care about you as a person.

By creating a personal rapport and talking about their interests (sports, family, life) you make the person feel like you sincerely care not just about their money/work/data but also about the person. As cheesy as it sounds, people care about it.

But I’d have to say it varies from culture to culture and person to person. Some cultures find it rude to go right into business while others expect that.

In general, it’s just good business to not be all about business . You’re more likely to get honest and frank input from people. Plus, people that are more comfortable are easier to read when you’re pitching or discussing something.

I’m adding this article to my blog’s “From the Intrawebs” series. Product managers often find themselves mentoring engineers looking to get out from behind the computer.

Thanks for the great article.

This Wired article may also be of interest.

steve

Thanks so much for this. I’ve felt similarly, but wasn’t sure how to express it succinctly. I used to work in politics, and my engineering mindset was an asset there (sometimes), but often a detriment. Working with customers instead of distributed systems, I see a lot of the same things I need to do. I too would like a checklist

Emulating Empathy. 공감을 에뮬레이션하시다니, 당신이 진정한 오덕입니다. 존경합니다….

The full article is at http://j.mp/9KpryL

Please write more about how to emulate empathy. Your personal “checklist” would be awesome. The cold call link was great.

The best model for emulating empathy I have discovered is “Appreciative Inquiry.” See http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/ for an overview; the “Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry” is $8 well spent on an introduction. http://www.amazon.com/Thin-Book-Appreciative-Inquiry-2nd/dp/0966537319