Don’t know if Starbucks employees realize this or not but they are being trained to be world-class "listeners".

Picture this…

You are out having Dinner with your spouse or your date.

He/she asks you a question. You open you mouth to answer but before you can even get the second word out they are itching to tell you what they think or their opinion.

In fact, they aren’t itching – they’ve already begun to let you know what they think.

They may even have this gleem in their eye – what is it? The next question ofcourse!

In reality each question is just a mine waiting to explode their thoughts on what they want to talk about.

Let’s get back to Starbucks and what the employees do all day – think of it as a process.

The Starbucks Experience

They  ask you for your order. They repeat the order to you. Then they yell out the order. Then the order is yelled back to confirm the Order!  That’s just one order!

Everyone involved in this process is abosolutley "all knowing" of your order and in case it becomes a game of telephone you have the opportunity to correct the order.

Wait! I’m not saying you should be going out there repeating what everyone else is saying just so that they know you know.

What I am saying is that this technique will help you get out of your head and become present to what is being said.

How Do You Become a Better Listener?

You can paraphrase. You can question. You can improve of the statement.

All the above can be done without adding your 2 cents (aka opinion) and makes you a better listener so that you can respond with words that add content and make a difference.

Listening is what makes us more relate-able and like-able – without having to be "all knowing".

Your Challenge

Try it! Force yourself to clear someone by listening and making them know you are listening (paraphrase, question, improve on the statement).

You’ll be shocked to see that once the other person has had all their thoughts cleared they have nothing else to ask but for your opinion.

Now you can shine!

Related Blogs

• Retire Wealthy Club » Blog Archive » Be a good listener. Your ears …
• 13 Ways to Become a Better Listener

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Only a Culture of Support with Us

Wow, the women in the team are really kicking a$$ in our weekly challenges.  One of our team members, Bonnie, came up with a great idea to keep track of our progress – in Real-time!

The solution
We have implemented a Google Doc’s spreadsheet that team members can fill in their progress of 5 must-do daily activities. The activities included in this spreadsheet are top secret and slightly different than what SendOutCards provides but it is producing some amazing results for our team.

As new team-mates join our SendOutCard’s Greeting Card Business opportunity we immediately plug them into the challenge and start training them to grow their greeting cards business.

In Kathy’s first week she has already signed up 3 distributors over the phone (she’s got an introduction today so it might be four) and that is really a strong motivation for her to keep going – Good job Kathy!

The men really need to kick it up a notch to come at par with the pace the women are proceeding, myself included.

How we keep the team accountable
This system we have going is simple but yet so supportive and also makes everyone accountable. How?

Well each Monday we have a 30 minute pow-wow where each person comes to the conference call with 3 pieces of information:

1. What they have accomplished the last week
2. How many points they plan to accomplish next week (Challenge Points). We typically aim for 40 as it pushes one slightly out of their comfort zone and  is the magic number to get results
3. Any challenges they have faced or what they have learned to help others.

It’s amazing how much impact a simple support system/group has grown everyone’s business in such a short time.

I’ll keep you updated.

Encourage repeat purchases

Thank You!

Yes, Thank You for taking the time to read this post when you could be doing a number of other things. Thank You for for being open to a new thought.

What an underused word and gesture in today’s society of instant electronic communication. Two words that can make all the difference.

Remember the last time you were in traffic and you let someone cut in front of you. What! they just took off without a gesture of the “thank-you” wave! The nerve. That’s the last time I let someone cut in front of me! And the cycle continues.

Appreciate your loved ones

Your customers feel the same way. They purchase but never feel satisfied due to the lack of appreciation for including them into the “family”.  Yes, your buyers are now part of your family. They want to participate in watching you grow but you may have neglected them – there’s bad-blood now.

Nurture their soul and they will nurture your bottom-line. Say, “Thank You!” and then show them you appreciate their business. How? Send them a card, send them a card and brownies. Do both.

Thank You Cycle

Leave them with a feeling of reciprocity. Make the cycle continue. That’s my new thought.

I know it’s not shattering but it’s so often forgotten when business and life gets in the way. Make it part of your business process.

Now, how has my dry cleaner been treating me? hmm.. I think he said “Thank You so much, please come again” and I think I will.