In a Work From Home Career Winning the Argument Can Mean Losing a Potential Relationship
As I am in a work from home career where I interact with people online I have to be careful about what I 'say'.
The way I 'say' something takes many forms.
Blogs, comments on Blogs and Forums, Tweets on Twitter and status updates on social networks.
Of course articles are also how I interact.
I am using all these channels to market myself.
People in home Internet businesses have to manage their online reputation, or personal brand.
So I aim to avoid a difference of opinion descending into an argument.
However I am human and have recently been drawn into an online argument which I could have avoided if I had followed the steps outlined later.
In this case I knew the person would never be a client.
That may have been why I 'shot' first and thought later.
The result was several negative comments left about me on several social networking sites and on videos I had posted.
Had this been a potential client this would have been a text book case of missing getting extra income for my business.
The point about an argument when in business is this - 'no one really wins'.
If the client wins I may lose a client and I have potentially lost the trust of other people who hold a similar point of view.
If I win I almost certainly lose the customer.
In work from home careers the ability to thrive depends on the ability to build trusting relationships.
Its' important to be clear about the difference between a 'disagreement' and an 'argument'.
For example I am an amateur family historian and carry out my research in a certain way.
A different family historian may find my methods sloppy.
I could just argue with them and try to win by force of logic.
That's a 'win' 'lose' situation.
I actually want a 'win' 'win' situation.
A better approach is for me to realise we have an area of disagreement and ask them to explain their approach.
This way they remain open to new ideas, because I have respected their expertise.
Everybody likes to demonstrate their expertise.
We may end up becoming friends due to our common interest yet agreeing to disagree on our methods.
Using a similar approach in business will build up a relationship of trust and they may eventually become a client.
The following steps can help anyone achieve this tricky task:
The way I 'say' something takes many forms.
Blogs, comments on Blogs and Forums, Tweets on Twitter and status updates on social networks.
Of course articles are also how I interact.
I am using all these channels to market myself.
People in home Internet businesses have to manage their online reputation, or personal brand.
So I aim to avoid a difference of opinion descending into an argument.
However I am human and have recently been drawn into an online argument which I could have avoided if I had followed the steps outlined later.
In this case I knew the person would never be a client.
That may have been why I 'shot' first and thought later.
The result was several negative comments left about me on several social networking sites and on videos I had posted.
Had this been a potential client this would have been a text book case of missing getting extra income for my business.
The point about an argument when in business is this - 'no one really wins'.
If the client wins I may lose a client and I have potentially lost the trust of other people who hold a similar point of view.
If I win I almost certainly lose the customer.
In work from home careers the ability to thrive depends on the ability to build trusting relationships.
Its' important to be clear about the difference between a 'disagreement' and an 'argument'.
For example I am an amateur family historian and carry out my research in a certain way.
A different family historian may find my methods sloppy.
I could just argue with them and try to win by force of logic.
That's a 'win' 'lose' situation.
I actually want a 'win' 'win' situation.
A better approach is for me to realise we have an area of disagreement and ask them to explain their approach.
This way they remain open to new ideas, because I have respected their expertise.
Everybody likes to demonstrate their expertise.
We may end up becoming friends due to our common interest yet agreeing to disagree on our methods.
Using a similar approach in business will build up a relationship of trust and they may eventually become a client.
The following steps can help anyone achieve this tricky task:
- Welcome the disagreement it's a chance for you to check your facts
- Distrust you first instincts be calm, avoid becoming defensive
- Hold your temper their impression of you is measured by how angry they make you
- Listen first avoid resisting, defending or debating.
- Look for areas of agreement dwell on any points where you agree
- Be honest look for areas where you have made errors and admit them
- Promise to think over their points and study them so you in business get someone with more experience and see what they think
- Thank the person sincerely for their interest if they were not at least a little interested in your proposition there would be no argument
- Delay any action giving both sides time to think things through agree a firm date to get back to them
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