<H1 BIG>TEN COMMON ENEMIES (9)</H1>

By Hank Trisler

Because our egos tell us we have excellent memories which will be more than adequate to recall important items when we need them,

WE FAIL TO TAKE NOTES AND KEEP RECORDS OF THOSE NOTES

An old Arab proverb states that "The strongest memory is weaker than the palest ink." If we do not write down what the customer says is important to him, we will talk to him about what we think should be important to him. This is the sort of unwelcome influence our egos exercise over us.

"Won't my customers be put off by my taking notes?" you might well ask. Quite the contrary. The customer will be gratified that we are making notes, because we not only look like we’re listening, we are proving we’re listening. As we've discussed before, people don't listen to one another anymore. By listening and making notes, you set yourself above your competition.

Remember that people treat us the way we have trained them to treat us. If you don't like the treatment, change the training. You might want to say something like this to a customer you're meeting for the first time, "You're going to be telling me some very important things and I want to be sure I don't forget any. You don't mind if I make some notes, do you?"

In over fifty years of selling, I have yet to have someone say, "Yes, I mind. Don't you write anything I say down." Are you kidding? People are delighted to have you make notes. It makes them feel important and aware that you know they are important. After they get used to it, they'll tell you if you miss something. "Hey, I just said something important. Write that down." You have non-verbally transformed your self from a pitching sales critter to an assistant buyer. You're on the customer's team.

Yet another benefit comes when we ask for a commitment. All we need say is: "Let’s review what you told me is important to you," and pull out our notes and summarize them. "Looks like all we need to do to get you where you want to be is your signature right here. Press hard, the fourth copy’s yours."

Only by taking notes can we be sure we're talking only about things important to our customers. Only by keeping records of those notes can we instantly get back up to speed when the customer returns for that precious repeat business.

What do you think about note-taking? Is it too mechanical for you? Tell me what you think.