During my recent trip to Slovakia, I had the honor of being interviewed by the “Larry King,” so to speak, of that country. Her name is Andrea Vadkerti — and she’s a quite remarkable broadcast journalist and personality.
Looking back, I was trying to think of what made her so good at getting her subjects — the other speakers and authors at the global conference she was covering — to open up and engage with her in a spontaneous and enlightening manner.
Then, I realized what may be her secret: She is a fantastic listener.
It might be easy to assume the way you “control” an interview — whether for a broadcast, or with a prospective customer or employee — is to have your checklist of questions and proceed through your material.
Certainly, Andrea was highly prepared for every interview she did; however, she did not allow her preparation to restrict the flow. She LISTENED very intently to what her subject was saying — and followed up in a most engaging manner that elicited more information for her audience.
In other words, she was a terrific example that if you want to learn more…listen more!
If you want to know what your customers are thinking — ask them, then listen.
(Many of us will ask — and then, if customers have input for our improvement, we become defensive and try to rationalize why they shouldn’t feel the way they do. Instead…we should listen, and probe for more information.)
It sounds easy, but it is not.
If it was…then every journalist would be as remarkable as Andrea Vadkerti. And, you and I know that just is not the case.
It’s a great goal for the next week: Resolve to learn more…by listening more.
Distinction may involve what is absent from your business
At a recent meeting I was addressing near Boston, I learned the fascinating story of the Berry family, and their restaurant on Cape Cod, Moby Dick’s. It’s a true story of distinction.
“We don’t have a liquor license,” Todd told me. When I expressed my surprise that such a busy place wouldn’t also profit from serving at least beer and wine, he had a great response.
“It just like in your book, Scott!” he responded. “We invite our customers who want to enjoy an adult beverage to bring their own! In that way, they’re always assured of having their favorite beer — or even a bottle of wine they can buy at a store for about half of what most restaurants will sell it. We will provide them with everything from ice to glasses so they can enjoy the drink of their choosing, and buy it for less than what my competition can sell it in their restaurants.”
“But, here’s another thing,” he continued with his wise observations, “it also allows us to suggest that we will focus on the great food instead of trying to sell you drinks like the other guys. It’s what we do NOT do that helps us create distinction.”
By the way, it wasn’t mentioned — and I’m only guessing here — but it also saves Moby Dick’s the expense of licensing and compliance, liability insurance and server training; and, more importantly, the time and great expense necessary to stock and maintain a selection of alcohol. So, in other words, what makes them distinct also potentially provides a competitive advantage by reducing their overhead.
I have not yet had the privilege of dining at Moby Dick’s. I’ve since read online about the great crowds of people who do — and noticed an overwhelming majority (132 of 156) on TripAdvisor.com rated it “Excellent” or “Very Good.” (Which, if you know much about how people tend to be very critical in their rankings on that site, are amazing reviews!)
However, as my mouth is watering and stomach growling just writing about them — I can assure you I will be there on my next trip to the Cape.
More importantly, it is a great lesson they are sharing with us. Distinction is often more about what is absent from your business — and how you focus and specialize on what you REALLY do — than it is providing a wide array of products and services to your customers.
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