Feedback

By Jen McGahan • February 1st, 2010

“‘Yes we can’ is not a plan.” said Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform in a recent Newsmax article (A New Contract With America, Feb, 2010).

With all due respect to visionaries in high offices, the dream is only effective if it doesn’t fade in the bright light of day…and if you can show people how you are going to achieve that dream.

It’s even alright to tell folks, “Here’s my idea; Now how do you think we can get there?”

If you’re lucky, after a good pitch, you’re going to get some real feedback. Then the ball’s back in your court and you have a choice. You can choose to:

try to understand the feedback
view your market and customers with respect
ask questions
listen to answers
commit to flexibility
return to the drawing board with renewed enthusiasm to meet their wants and needs.

Or you can just do it your way, at your peril.

You’re on your way to success and a great relationship with your customers if you choose the first route, lay down a specific and detailed plan – and bust your backside to share it with them.

With a plan. A road map. A chart, if you will….

Admittedly, Sam and I have been cheering ourselves and our clients a bit much of late. See, we have been developing a course on how to find passion in work/life – Path to Passion, One road Map to Infinite Destinations – so naturally a little hope and soul searching goes hand in hand.

While vision and passion are necessary (especially in the development stages of your small biz), they won’t put food on the table unless you communicate your ideas well and provide a specific blueprint for it. This is important for obtaining funding, loans, and buy-in from your market.

Goals must include delivering substantial products and quality services to your clients. But how are you going to know if you’re not listening to them?

Commitment to customers is intrinsic to the success of your business, so make it a priority to relish your customers’ feedback, even the negative comments. Respect your customers by acknowledging that you don’t know better than them. Use their generous input to help shape your company’s future or, if you disagree, provide a point from which to “continue the conversation.” Your business may look different from what you originally envisioned, but you will gain the goodwill of potential clients and customers who are looking for integrity in their vendors, shopkeepers, and consultants.

If you neglect valuable feedback, you’ll find yourself in the business of navel gazing. Sans sales.

flickr photo “No-Audience” by DrCarol