The Guru Nation Blog

Influencing customers and clients is on everyone’s mind today! In order to do it well, and create the results you want, you should listen to some of the experts and their perspective. According to Lee E. Miller, an expert in negotiation and the art of influence, there are three C’s that can inform your approach: Convince, Collaborate and Create.

How do you start to influence customers and clients? Let’s dissect the three C’s and see how to apply them. To “convince” you have to rely on psychology, rhetoric, body language, purposeful questions, and active listening. To “collaborate” you have to work together to achieve a common goal, work together through problem solving, and find the win/win. To “create” you have to take a fresh look, not just at your structure of interaction, but also at new ways to achieve your objectives and use your unique brand or style of communication. The challenge in influencing customers and clients is to decide which approach and when, and to be more aware of the context in which you’re influencing.

Listen to our interview with Lee:

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“I am a consultant who is new at bidding contracts. I have a potential client who wants to outsource their exit interviews. This would be an annual contract and would be for this particular service. How do I determine a price?”
Submitted by Ashley, Guru Nation Member

Answered by Lanny Goodman
CEO, Management Technologies Inc.