Yesterday I was out enjoying a fabulous trail run at a park near my house. One of the things I enjoy about getting lost in the woods, aside from the fantastic workout, is the wildlife that I stumble upon. When I began my run, I saw a few deer scamper out of my way. When I was running down by the creek that flows through the park, there were several more deer that were scared and scattered in a few different directions. I think that by the end of my run, I counted nearly 15 deer while out on my 45 minute run.

Deer don’t have a plan when something comes their way, they either freeze or they will run in random directions out of fear. Deer are not the only creatures who behave this way, people do as well. Have you ever experienced that scared feeling when encountering an upset customer? How about the experience of someone who is demonstrating their product to a client and the client asks a tough question. While the sales professional may not scatter and jump into the woods, they will frequently panic, and react instead of respond.

Here are a few quick tips to help you become more effective at nearly any encounter a difficult customer or situation:

1. Gain as much knowledge as you can about your customer. Notice that I didn’t say knowledge about your company. While it is very important to be knowledgeable about your products or services, the customer cares about their #1 concern, themselves.

2.  Ask your existing customers what they like and dislike about each product that they use. Create a couple of stories about the experiences that your customers tell you about.

3. Shut up and listen. Many times when someone is upset, they just need to be heard. Let them vent and often times you will find that the additional weight of the problem is rapidly diffused once they have expressed their feelings.

When you devise a plan on how you may deal with something, it is like a mental “fire drill.” You are able to respond to the situation, not just randomly react. Don’t get caught in the headlights!