Enhancing Customer Relations with Emotional Skills

I’ve analyzed 1,237 sales calls. Here's why your deals are dying…. It’s got nothing to do with the market. Or your product features, your roadmap or even your pricing. Prospects only care about their PAIN (but they'll never tell you what it really is unless you know how to find it). After coaching thousands of AEs across industries, I've identified the #1 skill that separates six figure earners from everyone else: the ability to uncover, amplify, and leverage EMOTIONAL buying pain. Most AEs make the fatal mistake of accepting surface level answers: "We're just exploring options" "We're fine with our current solution" "Your product would be nice to have" These aren't buying signals. They're DEATH SENTENCES for your deals. Elite performers know how to dig beneath these superficial responses to uncover the real motivators: 1. FEAR: The gnawing anxiety of falling behind competitors or missing market opportunities 2. FRUSTRATION: The cumulative rage of wasting time, money, and resources on broken processes 3. IDENTITY: The personal reputation risk of championing (or not championing) a new solution When you can connect your solution to these emotional drivers, price objections disappear, decision making accelerates, and deals close. — Reps… do you want to make an extra $100-250k in sales this year? Go here: https://lnkd.in/gPutkXeD

Try building trust, loyalty, and credibility without a story. You're making your job 400% harder. People don’t connect with pitch decks. They don’t remember product specs. They remember stories. Stories about someone like them, struggling with something they know, and finding relief in a way that feels human. If you're trying to grow your brand, close more sales, or gain loyal customers, this is your shortcut: Sell with stories. Why? Because great sales stories do 3 things no sales page alone ever will: 👉They build trust People trust what they understand. A story makes your offer feel familiar and emotionally safe. 👉They create relatability Customers need to see themselves in your narrative. When they do, your product becomes their solution. 👉They trigger memory Data gets forgotten. Emotions stick. A well-told story becomes the reason they come back — and refer others. Here’s how to craft a sales story that actually converts: 🔹 Start with the struggle Every hero has a challenge. So do your customers. Start by describing a real pain point they face. 🔹 Introduce the turning point What did they try? What didn’t work? And then — what changed when they found your solution? 🔹 Show the transformation This is the emotional payoff. What improved? Faster workflow? Less stress? Bigger impact? Make it clear and vivid. 🔹 End with a human insight Close with something that makes the reader nod — not just click. Make it about them, not just your product. #storytelling #businesstips #growth #marketinglessons I share storytelling and creativity to help you and your company sell more and grow. Let's Connect! 1. My AI course on LinkedIn Learning: https://lnkd.in/e3Nc_3Ya 2. Join 10,000 others learning weekly growth tips at: https://lnkd.in/eCDKabp2 Use the 3-Act E.P.I.C Structure to turn stories into sales: https://lnkd.in/e9_eczTG 3. 3 Ways To Grow Guide: https://lnkd.in/gZaq56hT (no sign-up needed)

Stop treating your prospects like calculators. I learned this lesson painfully while leading the launch of a new solution for a healthcare transformation organization. The CEO and SVP of Product Innovation were well-intentioned, but they had biases that fueled their convictions. “Show them the science and ROI. Once they see the data, they’ll switch,” said the CEO. “They’ll switch?” I asked curiously. They rarely switched for the logic. They often resisted because we didn’t understand the emotion that tied them to maintaining the status quo. Most B2B marketers still build journeys on the idea that buyers only care about features, scientific studies, and ROI models. But real people buy with their hearts as much as their heads. LinkedIn's B2B Institute found that emotional factors significantly influence B2B buying decisions, accounting for 66%, while rational factors account for the remaining 34%. When you act like every decision is a math problem, you miss the emotional needs and biases that drive action. Fear of missing out. Desire for security. The endorsement of a trusted referral. Those feelings tip the scales long before spreadsheets ever come out. Three quick shifts to make your GTM more human: 💡 Map emotions, not just touchpoints. Ask: What’s the buyer afraid of at each stage? What small win can calm that fear? Use stories to build trust. 💡 Data is important. But a 2-minute customer story about real struggle and success sticks far longer. 💡 Frame decisions around loss-aversion. “Don’t lose your edge” often lands harder than “gain more efficiency.” When you blend hard facts with a genuine understanding of how people feel, you’ll see faster decisions and deeper loyalty. Takeaway: Your next user journey should start with these questions: ✔️ “How do we show up in our customers' struggles? ✔️ "Do they see us as relevant?” ✔️ Can they see their lives as being better because of our help? Build from there. #businessgrowth #GTM #buyerjourney #CMO

Anyone who is customer facing should be building close, authentic, long lasting relationships with their customers. It pays off in more ways than you can imagine: repeat customers, references, community champions, content ideas, competitive intel and so much more. Here are 5 ways you and your team can start building those relationships: 1. Amplify a customer’s LinkedIn posts - When your customer posts something interesting, don’t just like it yourself but share the link on your internal chat and ask your team to like it as well. It’s amazing how powerful this is. It’s human nature to look at who is liking your content on any social platform and most people get a consistent number of likes. If you drive 50% more for a customer they will notice that. 2. Help find candidates for their team and jobs for them if they’re looking - In your position engaging with a specific persona all day every day you have amazing visibility and connections into relevant candidates for open jobs and companies hiring. If you let your customers know that you can be a resource for them on both sides of the table you will see how quickly you can start playing matchmaker. 3. Share best practices that have nothing to do with your company/product - Everyone is looking to improve in their job. Everyone wants to know what their peers are doing at other companies. When you hear good ideas from other customers or read about a best practice, send it to them. Just show them you’re thinking about them and are invested in them being successful. 4. Make them look good in front of their manager and/or team - It needs to be authentic and relevant but find a reason to give your customer a shoutout when you’re in a meeting with them. It doesn’t even need to be a big thing but something about how they’re the fastest to roll out your product, how their feature request ended up becoming a game changer for a bunch of customers, how they’re the most productive team you’ve seen at one particular thing. 5. Fight for a feature/bug fix/service that they’re asking for - In short, be the squeaky wheel for your customer. When they ask for something, set the expectation that it takes a while to get that thing done but then go fight for it internally. Each company has their own process for this kind of stuff but if you push in the right ways you can usually get their request prioritized. When it’s done make sure the customer knows you fought for them to get that thing done. The best thing is that these are “free”. Of course they will take time and energy but the return on this work is astronomical. I honestly didn’t appreciate the power of these relationships when I started my career but I now have close relationships with so many customers that I’ve worked with over the years. They’re a sounding board for business ideas, they’re working with companies I’m advising and we’ve become each other cheerleaders. What did I miss? What else are you doing to build relationships with your customers?

The mom needed jeans for her 13-year-old son. She was nervous and worried about getting it wrong. I was a 16-year-old retail associate, about to get my first lesson in customer empathy. Empathy comes from a shared or relatable experience. It helps us better understand our customer's needs so we can provide a better experience. Clearly, I didn't SHARE my customer's experience. I didn't know how it felt to be a mom trying to buy clothes for a teenage boy. But I could RELATE to the mom for two reasons. First, I had recently been someone's 13-year-old son. Second, I knew how it felt to be overwhelmed when you went shopping for a gift. I reassured the mom, asked her some questions about her son, and helped her buy the perfect pair of jeans. The mom returned with her son a week later to buy more. She was beaming with pride and confidence since the first pair was a huge hit. She was my first repeat customer. Empathy for the win. It took me awhile to break down the technique I had used to empathize with my customer in that moment. Here's the process: 1. Identify the emotion I could tell the mom was feeling nervous. 2. Ask yourself, "Why is this customer feeling this way?" The mom told me directly. She wanted to make sure she bought the right jeans for her son and worried about getting it wrong. 3. Think about a time when you had a similar feeling.  I instantly thought about times when I was nervous about buying something for someone else. 4. Try to demonstrate that you know how they feel. Relating to the mom helped me understand she was looking for assurance. I knew a lot about both our products and the jean preferences of teenage boys, so it was easy for me to make suggestions. 💡Try this technique: practice empathizing with customers you serve today. You might be amazed at how it can improve the experience!

About 20 years ago, I started doing something simple yet incredibly powerful: I picked up the phone and asked my clients’ customers a few honest questions. No fancy research firms. No complicated surveys. Just real conversations. Fast forward to today—I’ve done over 1,000 of these interviews. And I can confidently say this: Talking to your customers is the single most important thing you can do to shape your marketing. But here’s the catch: you have to keep probing. If you ask, “Why did you choose this company?” most people will say things like: ~ They had great service. ~ They were professional. ~ Their pricing was fair. That’s surface-level. It’s not the real reason. So, I always ask, as a follow-up, something like, “Tell me a story about a time when they provided great service.” That’s when the gold comes out. 👉 “I was in total panic because my system went down before a big presentation, and they picked up the phone on the first ring. I didn’t feel like just another customer—I felt like they actually cared.” 👉 “We were struggling to figure this out, and they didn’t just fix the problem—they walked us through it step by step, so we felt in control again.” This is what they are not getting anywhere else in their life. When you listen for emotional words and themes, you uncover what really matters. It’s rarely about product, price, or features—it’s about trust, confidence, relief, and peace of mind. And when you use the exact words your customers use to describe their problems (instead of industry jargon), your messaging becomes clearer. Your website resonates more. Your ads perform better. So here’s my challenge to you: Go talk to your customers. But don’t stop at the first answer. Keep asking. Dig deeper. Make them tell you a story. "Tell me more about that" is your best tool; keep asking it over and over. You might be surprised at what you hear. And it just might change the way you do marketing forever.

Ever feel like your customer service calls could use a friendliness boost? You're not alone. Many of us struggle to balance empathy, accuracy, and efficiency while juggling multiple channels and difficult customers. But what if I told you there are psychological techniques that can make you sound more empathetic and friendly on every call, without sacrificing efficiency? In my latest video, I share five powerful empathy hacks that can transform your customer interactions: The Empathy Anchor: A simple technique to connect emotionally before problem-solving. Smiling Through Your Voice: A proven method to sound warmer, even on tough calls. The Power of Personalization: How using a customer's name can build instant rapport. Mirror and Match: A psychological approach to align with your caller's energy. The Positive Close: A strategy to leave a lasting, positive impression. These aren't just tricks - they're psychologically backed methods that respect your customer's feelings while making your job easier. One of my clients saw their customer satisfaction scores increase by 20% after implementing these techniques, all while maintaining efficient call times. Imagine starting each call feeling confident in your ability to connect with customers, no matter the situation. It's not just possible - it's achievable with the right approach. Remember, being empathetic and friendly doesn't have to be time-consuming or fake. These small psychological techniques can make a big difference for both you and your customers. Would you be interested in this video?

In Mad Men, Don Draper NEVER justified prices. Instead, he used emotional buy-in to sell identity and status. Here's the Don Draper strategy that makes price irrelevant: Most salespeople destroy their own value before a customer experiences it. They apologize for prices or explain costs upfront. They get defensive before anyone objects. What if price justification is killing your sales? This is where Don Draper's genius comes into play... In client meetings, Draper focuses on one thing: emotional transformation. He never says: • "Our prices are competitive" • "Let me explain our pricing" • "We can work something out" Instead, he does something revolutionary that research now validates. Remember the Kodak Carousel pitch? Draper transformed a slide projector into a time machine: "It takes us to a place where we ache to go again." He never discussed price. At all. When you justify price, you tell customers: 1. My product isn't worth what I'm charging 2. I expect you to object 3. I'm worried you'll walk away Their brain searches for cheaper options—even if yours is superior. Harvard researchers discovered something fascinating about this: When salespeople focused on emotional value—not price—customer lifetime value increased by 52%. Some industries saw over 100% increases. Why? Emotions drive decisions. Logic justifies them. How you frame the conversation from the start that matters. In the Lucky Strike meeting, when regulations threatened advertising, he reframed everything with one sentence. "Advertising is based on one thing: happiness." With those words, focus shifted from the problems to emotional transformation. This technique isn't just clever—it's scientifically proven. It's called "customer-centric framing." Here's how it works: 1. Start with THEIR situation, not yours Don't open with product features or pricing. Begin by understanding their current situation and emotions. This activates their emotional brain—exactly where you want them during pricing talks. 2. Create emotional contrast After establishing their reality, paint a picture of life with your product. Focus on transformation—the before and after. This creates emotional investment that makes price secondary in their mind. 3. Use storytelling to anchor value Draper never listed features. He told stories. Storytelling activates multiple brain areas, including those for sensory processing and emotions. This makes your value more memorable than any price discussion. 4. Position yourself as the guide, not the hero In every sales conversation, your customer is the hero. Be their trusted advisor helping them achieve goals—not someone "selling" something. This changes the power dynamic in pricing conversations. 5. Wait for THEM to bring up price If you've done the first four steps correctly: Either they bring up price from interest (not objection), or they're sold before the price becomes relevant. This is when value truly transcends cost.

WANT CUSTOMER DELIGHT? GO THE EXTRA INCH, NOT THE EXTRA MILE In a world where companies strive to “go the extra mile” for their customers, I propose a counterintuitive thought: You don’t need to go a mile. You just need to go an inch. The smallest, low-cost gestures can have a massive impact on customers, turning ordinary transactions into memorable experiences. The secret - search for the asymmetry between cost and impact. Going the extra inch requires minimal effort and often costs next to nothing. It could be a handwritten note, a smile, a gesture of personal recognition, a small act of kindness. But the effect on customers is profound. It creates emotional connections, fosters loyalty, and makes customers into advocates. The irony - while everyone is busy trying to “go the extra mile,” it is the extra inch that nets you miles of customer loyalty. THE I.N.C.H. FRAMEWORK To master the art of the extra inch, use this simple yet powerful framework: I – Identify Moments of Truth: Look for touchpoints where expectations are neutral or low. These are prime opportunities to surprise and delight. For instance, when I got my car serviced at the Lexus dealership, they washed and vacuumed the car and left a red carnation flower on the dash. I have told more than 10,000 people about the 50-cent carnation. How’s that for ROI? N – Notice the Little Things: Train employees to observe and remember small details about customers—preferences, moods, or special occasions. At the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, I asked for a memory foam pillow. Every time I stay there, they put a memory foam pillow on my bed. C – Customize the Experience: Personalize the interaction or gesture. Even the smallest customization can create a huge emotional impact. At Chewy, when a customer returned dog food after their pet passed away, they received a condolence card and flowers. It wasn’t about making a sale; it was about showing empathy. H – Humanize the Interaction: Move beyond scripted conversations. Authenticity and empathy resonate more than robotic efficiency. At Café Lucci, our favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, the valet, the server, and the owner Bobby - all know us, know our kids, and always ask about the family. We are customers for life! In the race to “go the extra mile,” it’s easy to overlook the power of the extra inch. The secret to exceptional customer service isn’t grand gestures or expensive perks—it’s the tiny, thoughtful actions that leave a lasting impression. Going the extra inch is about mastering the art of the unexpected. It’s about creating emotional connections through small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. So, the next time you think about how to delight a customer, remember: You don’t have to go the extra mile. Just go the extra inch. You will get miles of loyalty. #Marketing #CustomerExperience #Loyalty #Advocacy

Traditional approaches to explaining customer behavior are no longer enough to ensure your company remains on the cutting edge. 🫢   Innovative solutions require fresh approaches to penetrating layers of conventional wisdom.   And that begins by acknowledging that the motivations your customers act on are seldom logical, predictable, or even conscious.   Instead, their strongest responses stem from one source: emotion.   Numerous studies, including two conducted by Gallup, have documented that over 70% of all B2B and B2C customer decisions are driven by emotion.   It’s a deceptively simple reality yet one that many companies often resist preferring instead to concentrate exclusively on seemingly quantifiable metrics because they seem safe and reliable.   But whether customers are consumers or other businesses, all customers are people. And people are emotional beings.   That’s why the best data in the world isn’t necessarily indicative of how they’ll respond.   Traditional research techniques are often unproductive because they generate predictable confirmation of a pre-conceived hypothesis.   Old methods are designed to measure rather than inform and therefore may fail to uncover genuine insights.   Frequently they focus on mapping reactions against existing services, products or internally based assumptions.   Emotional Trigger Research is a methodology that exposes the core, unfiltered and spontaneous triggers that drive behavior.   These triggers provide actionable intelligence that will enable your business to convert emotional considerations into winning marketing strategies.   Based on an indirect approach that features provocative open-ended questions paired with in-depth one-on-one conversations, the results are uniquely spontaneous and enlightening.   When asked the unexpected, most customers have no ready answers. Consequently their unplanned responses are more revealing, providing the most authentic window into the emotional triggers that explain their actions.   Emotional Trigger Research transcends the superficiality of what customers say to the far deeper level of what they really mean.   As the Pioneer of Emotional Trigger Research and Author of “Why Customers Really Buy: Uncovering the Emotional Triggers That Drive Sales”, I’ve spent my career helping CEOs and Owners of U.S. based companies leverage customer emotions to generate over $100 million in additional sales.   If you’d like to innovate a competitive marketing strategy that resonates with your customers emotionally, DM me and let’s chat.   Illustration: Your Marketing Rules    Ring the 🔔 on my profile to follow Linda Goodman for marketing strategy and business development content.   #MarketingStrategy #Sales #BusinessDevelopment #EmotionalTriggerResearch #Leadership #CEO #Entrepreneurship