🗣️ Reading the Cookie Room - Tells your market's telling you.
In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 178 - Reading the Cookie Room, 🍿 Corrie jumped in with the Tiktok flavored popcorn to tell us about a viral series of posts made this week by a wedding make-up artist who was guilty of not reading the room... er, well, cathedral.
What started as an innocent disclaimer in the contract that allowed the make-up artist to gather content for their social ballooned into an uninvited (and intrusive) extra guest to the wedding - complete with drama, tears, and an upset bridal party (did I mention a 3-series long TikTok vent sesh to boot?).
So we wanted to talk about "Reading the Cookie Room." Hey - whether we like it or not, our businesses put us face-to-face with clients daily. Knowing how to read subtle hints from body language and speech can allow us to be better salespeople - and just better people in general.
🔎 We've come up with a list of conversational potential pitfalls and blind spots you might want to consider if you don't feel like you've got the gift of gab. 📖 PS - if you're looking for supporting reading material, check out the books "What Every Body Is Saying" and "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
Here's the takeaway: not all of these may apply to you. If only one does, you're probably reading the "cookie room" full of your clients just fine. But if you find yourself wincing at a lot of these - then take a minute to assess the situation and slowly learn what you can tweak. Blind spots are hard to see - that's why we call them blind spots. This podcast is just a hint towards lookin' over you conversation shoulder and making sure you're not missing the closing curtain.
🙏 Your bottom line (and your neighbors) will thank you.
👀 1. Are you constantly having to find new customers?
Do you constantly find yourself running through clients (🏃♂ churn is the buzzword here)? If so, you may be the one scaring them off (and just in time for spooky season too). Talking too much or too personally can run off clients, so ask yourself how often you see similar names comin' back to order.
👀 2. Are your female clients sending husbands (to avoid conversation?)
Oddly specific, but Corrie says she finds herself sending out her "husband of few words" to deal with the neighborhood's chatty Cathys. 🧍♂ If you find that your pick-ups are generally with wall flowers, consider that perhaps someone is avoiding long conversations with you. 👨 Again - more of these have to apply to you than just one to be a blind spot - but it's worth mentioning the men (this can be either gender - the takeaway: if someone's sending the "quiet one" to pick-ups, it may be a tell).
👀 3. Track the average length of pick-up conversations. Are they over 5 minutes?
"Time just flies when you're playin' hostage." Do you keep your clients hostage on your porch? ⏰ A "tell" is tracking how long conversations last. If you find them averaging over 2-minutes - maaaybe ask yourself if you're keepin' people past the normal length of porch-pickup courtesy convos.
👀 4. Release the Cracken - are you giving people options to exit?
Corrie's husband Nate has an affinity for ending conversations by saying "Welp, it's time I hit the ol' dirt road," 🛣 and while hilarious, we can all take notes (and wagon rides apparently). Adding "exits" to your conversations can help people pull the release ripcord. "Well, I don't want to keep you." "So, that's it on my end, any questions on your cookies?" "I can let you go - traffic is going to be bad for you in about an hour." 🚗🚗🚗 These are all release points to let people out of conversations with you.