With customers, are you using The Humility Advantage?

Conventional wisdom among writers is to assume readers have the intelligence of seventh graders. The premise is keep your message simple enough for a child to understand. Actually, when it comes to communicating with customers, I believe the opposite is true. The more you treat your customers like they are smart, well intentioned grown-ups, the more receptive they’ll be to your expertise. So, before explaining something to a customer, demonstrate your confidence in their competence. Start with phrases along the lines of, “You probably already know…” “At your level in the company, this may be old hat or obvious, but other team members may not be aware of…” “I doubt this is new to you…” Not surprisingly, customers like to do business with people who seem to think they are important and smart. It’s a simple, powerful approach I call, The Humility Advantage.