A Holiday Reminder of the Mutual Agenda
I was wrapping gifts for the holidays and received a large box with several gifts from one store for my wife.
As I wrapped them, I said, “Boy I really need some gift boxes. These are hard to wrap without gift boxes.” As I reached for the last gift, it was not a gift, but a bunch of gift boxes.
A Mutual Agenda at the beginning of a conversation with a customer is similar. Start by asking what they want to accomplish in the call.
You’ve got to completely unpack the box and see everything that’s in there, before you proceed.
Some of the most important things are hidden in the bottom of the box. They have goals they don’t mention. You have to give them plenty of space to be comfortable telling you everything they want out of the conversation.
Hidden agendas lead to miss-set expectations and conflict.
Once you unpack the entire box, you can both begin with the same end in mind.
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