Use This Powerful Sales Technique To Give Feedback With Empathy

Does the idea of giving constructive feedback make you feel uncomfortable?

Do you worry about the objections you will receive from the person?

But as a manager, you know how important it is to give feedback, no matter how uncomfortable.

The problem is that you can feel the nervousness rise in your body.

What if the person reacts badly, gets upset or even yells back?

You know objections will arise, so what is the best way to handle them?

As a past manager, I understand how you feel and how uncomfortable it feels to give negative feedback.

I have worked with many business owners who have felt the same way, so they avoided giving feedback, only to worsen the situation.

When teaching business owners to use this sales technique, I found they could transform constructive feedback into empathetic feedback, resulting in positive behavioural changes.

Did you see what technique I just used?

In sales, one of the effective techniques to overcome objections is known as the "feel, felt, found" method.

As a manager, executive or business owner, this is an effective and empathetic way to offer feedback to an employee.

Why does this work?

It moves from the "You" position, as in "You're Wrong," to the "I" position of "I'm OK" as a result of this change.

When providing feedback, remove the word "You" from your phrases.??Removing "You" can be challenging to do without practice.??So phrasing with the feel, felt found method takes the pressure off the person feeling attacked.

When you eliminate the word you in the feedback, you create a safer space for discovery.

What is the Feel, Felt, Found Method?

This method uses three statements based on the words "Feel,"?"Felt," and "Found."

Statements are:

I understand why you feel that way.....

I felt a similar way......

I found that......

For example, if you have someone who micromanagers or overcontrols.

I understand why you feel taking complete control of the situation is necessary.

As a manager, I often felt that way when the team was not hitting their targets. So I would say things like, "I'll just do it myself," because I was worried the client would be upset if we were late.

I found that they achieved things faster when I implemented a priority one method and took the pressure off the team to do everything at once.??

Follow this method with the following:

What are your thoughts on this idea? Or,

How do you feel about implementing this idea? Or,?

What's your opinion?

Next time you need to provide feedback, please take a few moments and consider the feel, felt, found method. Then, try practicing it with another leader in your organization to get feedback on how you are communicating.

You can do this and give empathetic feedback to increase your team members' positivity, motivation and productivity.

Would you like my Top 3 Leadership Communication Strategies To Motivate Your Employees Into Action Today? Click this link for immediate access.