The Last 2 Years Have Been HELL!

It's hard to believe that two years ago we went from a kind of normal to total chaos in our businesses. We were mostly all chugging along, filled with hope for a new year, and BOOM. The pandemic struck like an earthquake-lightning-tsunami. Companies struggled to set up staff for remote work. Customers were harder to get a hold of. Some businesses had to simply close their doors because their business model required face-to-face interaction. Others could simply not adapt quickly enough.

There was not just an initial shock. The aftershock came in the form of people quitting, supply chain disruptions, and trying to calm fears of staff, clients, and even ourselves, at times.

One thing was clear, change was becoming a constant accelerating fact of life. Some of us (a small few) were prepared, some were adaptive, and some just crumbled under the pressure. During the flurry of change, one thing became undeniably clear. People needed to feel valued, heard, and comforted.

Empathy

Empathy is an active process. Emotion researchers often define empathy as the ability to sense other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. The thing about disruption and crisis is that it creates bigger swings of emotions; Hope vs. Fear, Joy vs. Sadness, Desire vs. Disgust, Love vs. Hate. At any given moment, the closer we are to the center of those, the more we can see and understand the extremes.

If people are stuck at one of those extremes, they want affirmation about how they are feeling, and why it's real and justified. So in order to feel empathy, it's not about affirming and justification. It's about empathizing about how they feel and why they feel it.

Zen vs. Peeved

I don't know about you, but I find living with anger, sadness, and fear hard and all-consuming at times. We tend to be more constructive and productive when we are living in hope, joy, and gratitude. Positive energy and messaging generate more action.

A study by Alexander Rothman in 1999 presented subjects with two versions of a mouthwash ad. The first one said, “Mouthwash fights plaque” while the second said, “Failing to use mouthwash leads to plaque buildup.” Both essentially say the same thing. But, 67% of the ones who received the positive one took a mouthwash sample. While only 47% who read the negative one took action. I don't know about you, but I am willing to be positive to increase action or sales by 20%.

Tribal Mentality

Many of us just went through separation anxiety being couped up in our homes as opposed to being at the office, or out and about. Studies have shown that people in solitary confinement will cause trouble just to create interaction with their guards. All animals have an instinctual need to be part of a group. Humans are no different. British anthropologist, Robin Dunbar, studied this and determined that humans function better in tribes of 150.

Another thing to consider as we come out the other side of the chaos, it may make people try to find more purpose in life. The great resignation is more about that than just a search for higher wages. People have spent more time with their families and this has changed perceptions about what a quality life looks like. There has been a major decline in women in the workforce and a huge uptick of people starting micro-businesses as virtual assistants or gig workers. This affords them more flexibility and control.

Empathy Starts At Home

Business and sports have often been referred to as battles and wars. British political philosopher Herbert Spence often talked about “survival of the fittest” and a battle between the “haves” and “have nots.” A soldiers' motivation to enlist is not as much about a desire to kill, as it is about a need to belong.

Your staff are people first and workers second. They have all been transformed by the recent events, and desire to belong, but that is fed by their search for a greater purpose. That is where empathy comes in.

God gave us two ears and one mouth to listen twice as much as we speak. So asking questions and getting to know how someone feels, makes them feel heard and filled with pride about belonging to your team. The added bonus is this is modeling a positive behavior that can and should be extended to your customers and vendors.

There is no question that we are living through a period of disruption, but our desire for a quick fix should be tempered with patience and understanding if we are going to be successful moving forward. That means investing more time in relationships. The payback should be more authentic and longer-lasting business relationships in the future.

Finding Joy

Sharing your stories of struggles and positive outcomes lays the groundwork for those relationships. If you are producing Relative & Authentic content and Consistantlly creating Engagement by sharing that, people will take notice. They will be attracted to your positive messaging and outcomes and start to pay more attention to it!

This can help you to generate more sales and longer-lasting sales relationships. How do you ask? First off, your empathy will rub off on your sales team, modeling for them how to empathize more with your customers.

Customers are frustrated with supply chain issues, less customer service with reduced workers, and struggles in their personal lives. If your sales team is given the direction to patiently connect and listen without quotas being the driving force, they will be creating a bond that can help bolster a feeling of belonging to your tribe.

This aligns your brand and company with the values that your customers are longing and searching for at this critical juncture.

Final Thoughts

In today's environment, people are willing to go out of their way and pay more for cage-free eggs because they feel it's more humane and better. I can assure you they taste the same. But, we tend to create a narrative in our heads that cage-free eggs are healthier and better for you.

As we are remodeling our house, having workers come in to paint, clean, and install things faster should cost less. But I often spend time before they start the work to ask them how they are doing and really listen. Some have had loved ones with medical issues and even die, and most were comfortable and comforted enough to share their stories and feelings.

It may take a bit longer to perform the work. But, I can assure you that I can see the quality and attention to detail improve because they feel empathy. They begin to act as part of our tribe and take more pride in our collective goals to fix and beautify our home.

I can't tell you that it looks better than if I didn't take the time to care and listen, but it sure feels better at the end of the day. I certainly see more smiles when they leave at night and arrive the next day to continue!

“Empathy is the ability to sense other people's emotions,
and the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.”

I would love to hear your thoughts on empathy in your business. Are you actively listening more? Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about how your tribe is bonding through empathy.

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.