Pay Attention.

It’s a funny saying… pay with what? Your time? Looking up the origins of the word attention, from the late 14th century it came from the French word attencioun, ‘giving heed, active direction of the mind on some object or topic’, the old French attencion and directly from Latin attentionem, a noun of action;  ‘give heed to’, literally ‘to stretch forward, to, toward’. Not being used much in English before the 17th century the meaning ‘consideration, observant care’ is from 1871.

I like this last distinction the most. When we pay attention, and turn towards our customers, giving consideration and observant care, we are actively listening to what they are saying. What does customer service mean to you in your business and for your customers? Often we think about it in terms of giving something in addition to their purchase, or smiling, being ‘nice’. But more often it’s the genuine connection that comes from our whole attention that means so much to the recipient.

Being seen and heard makes you feel valued, important, that you matter. It is a privilege in this noisy, busy, distracted world, to be able to do that for someone else. It takes time and effort to give someone our whole attention. We are busy in our minds, thinking of all the things we have to do. The next thing, and the next thing. Instead of being in the moment. Stopped. Patient. Listening without thinking of what comes next. I’m fairly sure I haven’t mastered it yet, but being aware and practising is the first step. It’s a skill that goes undetected but can have a big impact on your sales.

Head over to https://www.independentretail.community/ccc and sign up for The Customer Connection Challenge.