Lessons from Polititians

It's November 3, 2010 and the elections are finally over.  No more radio/TV commercials interrupting my favorite program every 7.5 minutes.


I was in a house yesterday meeting with a long time customer and the election subject came up.  My customer was so quick to criticize the candidate I selected on my ballot sheet for governor.  My customer called the candidate a few choice words and left it at that.


I know everybody has their own opinion but I couldn't help but feel a little put off by the criticizer.  In the final expense business we often take this tacky approach when we talk about our worthy competition.


When we hear that somebody is considering going with one of our competitors, how do we address the situation?  Do we attack them full force? Or do we recognize their strengths and help the customer make the better decision?


Going back to my feisty customer.  Had she said, "Wow, XYZ candidate is pretty good but i really like ABC because..." I would have felt so much better.


So when you are talking about your competition, that is the approach that you need to take.  "XYZ company is good but they are a little different than us because we provide..."  That is so much more effective than saying, "That company SUCKS.  You are such an IDIOT for even considering going with them."