Are we listening or arguing?
“A New York photographer I once met traveled all over the world doing expensive location shoots for big-name clients like Revlon and Lancôme. At one point he shared with me how he would give clients exactly what they had asked for, then be mystified when they didn’t like the end result. Even if it were the pyramids in Egypt, he said, they’d ask him to shoot it over.
It did no good to become defensive or argue with the clients, even though he had followed their specifications perfectly. Instead, he eventually learned—after losing several lucrative accounts—that all he had to do was say, “So let me see if I’ve got this right. You want more of this and less of that? Correct? Okay, I’ll go reshoot it and bring it back so you can see if you like it.”
In other words, he learned to argue less with the people who were paying the bills and to listen more—responding and adjusting to their feedback until they were satisfied.”
Excerpt From
The Success Principles(TM) – 10th Anniversary Edition
Jack Canfield & Janet Switzer