CAN YOU TEACH CURIOSITY?

Some of you know that I work with companies to help them create a Customer Focused Culture -?but to do that you need team members who are genuinely curious about other people. I think curiosity suffers because anyone with a social media account is or has become SELF-ABSORBED when it comes to telling the world what THEY’VE been doing. Who they have been with. And obsessed with endless photos of themselves. Senior leaders know this and ask me the question, CAN YOU TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO BE CURIOUS??

Yes, I can. Curiosity can become a new habit by employing three simple steps.?

Step One: Make a non-curious person aware they aren’t showing interest in other people. You won’t offend anyone because most people don’t know even know they are acting this way. Go ahead, be direct, “I don’t think you know this Bob, but when you’re with a customer do you realize you only talk about yourself? You never ask questions about the customer. Customers buy more when you show interest in them”?

Step Two. Teach Bob to stop asking boring questions like, “How are you doing?” Or “How’s your day going so far?” Those are DUMB questions. A customer can answer in one or two words, “Good” “Fine” or “Not bad.” The customer knows it’s a fake greeting. They know you don’t really care. I coach people to ask REAL questions, questions that start a conversation like what Starbucks does, “What can we get started for you?” Advance Auto greets customers with, “What are you working on today?” Those questions show you really care to know about a customer’s problem.?

Step Three: Compliment your employees when they get it right. Tell them, “Thanks for showing interest in that person” or “I could tell the customer was really happy with you.” Positive feedback helps a new habit stick.?

And Step four, I saved this step for the bonus round. Insist a non-curious convert teach other non-curious people how to execute these tactics. Nothing galvanizes a lesson - or a culture - better than teaching them how to coach other people. So yes, you can teach self-absorbed people to embrace the habit of being curious. You just have to give them the tools and recognize them when the get it right.

For my book,?ARE YOU RELEVANT?, I interviewed the CEO of Nordstrom Department Stores, Bruce Nordstrom. Bruce had taken his company from $20 million in annual sales to $2 billion in sales. I asked him, “Nordstrom has such an exemplary reputation for customer service. How do you hire nice, other-focused people … or do you have a training program to instill those kinds of qualities?” He looked at me like I was speaking a different language. He said,?“Oh we don’t train people for that. We leave that kind of training up to their parents.”?

Ross Shafer is the author of (4) books on the customer experience CUSTOMER EMPATHY, THE CUSTOMER SHOUTS BACK, NO MORE CUSTOMER FRICTION, and GRAB MORE MARKET SHARE. He is a former talk and game show host who has won multiple TV Emmy awards. As a keynote speaker, Ross has given more than 2,500 speeches on leadership,?customer experience, performance, and motivation. He is in the National Speakers Hall of Fame.?www.RossShafer.com?

Ross Shafer website:?www.RossShafer.com

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