* * * * “Empathy is like a cheat code in business and life.
You can handle any situation if you can feel the feelings of others involved.”
–Gary Vaynerchuck * * * * One of the most underrated and underleveraged emotional ingredients (in sales and marketing in manufacturing today) is empathy. It’s been repeatedly dismissed as a ‘soft’ skill and highly undervalued as a serious sales amplifier. Why do you think this is? EMPATHY: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Ironically, 90% of decisions are made based on emotion and feelings. So, why in the world are we afraid to address this head-on and show current and potential customers some empathy? Exactly! And, it’s one thing to have empathy, it’s another thing to use it. So, let’s take a quick look at the ways empathy will help you change your business forever and make sales easier. In Gary Vee’s new book, Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success, he dedicated an entire chapter to empathy. He says empathy is his ‘ear to the ground.’ When you’re empathetic, you recognize why people behave the way they do. Empathy helps you communicate contextually. There are so many manufacturing leaders out there who have the capacity for empathy at the highest levels. Yet they themselves are insecure, so they hold back. God forbid a manufacturer reveals a personality or uses their voice or stands for something that won’t appeal to everyone. Let’s unbox a real-world manufacturer…of wine. 🍷 Gary Vee happens to be one of the co-founders of Empathy Wines. Which he sold, after only two years, for an undisclosed big ass pile of cash! Not surprising since he literally put his heart into (and on) it. NAMING He went out on a limb and named the whole darn thing EMPATHY. Your company probably already has an old established name, and that’s ok. But, consider the importance of naming, say the next time you name a new product line or create a new division. Infinity Coatings or Everlast, for example, is a lot more emotionally engaging than the 500RX series by (your name here) He and his co-founders looked at this endeavor as a ‘project.’ They saw a need for consistently flavorful and high-value wine at an affordable price. Will this wine appeal to all wine drinkers? No! Perfect. Their story and purpose appeal to the intended audience—the real-world person who doesn’t necessarily have a sommelier’s palette or a titan’s bank account. Clink! Cheers! When you come across a social post or see Empathy Wines pop up in your inbox, you feel something. Like, they know me! My sense of taste. Of relaxed style. That I want to be a thoughtful host. That I’m busy and I need easy ordering and timely reminders. Before you look up there at the picture and say, “Easy for them, they’re a consumer brand. We don’t need to be that creative, we’re B2B.” I’m gonna call bull 💩! This excuse is old and tired and it needs to be retired, as of ten years ago. Pay attention to the personality that screams from their box, label, photography, and messaging. They’ve chosen to make you feel something when you receive their product. And, it doesn’t cost a lot to do it. When your identity is relevant, memorable, and consistent, people notice. Consistency breeds familiarity and familiarity builds trust. When your packaging is somehow surprising or delightful, people notice. { REAL WORLD EXAMPLE } One of my favorite examples of this is from a wood moldings manufacturer, WindsorOne. They started putting a T-shirt in random boxes for an entire year and on the back it said, Call Curt for a Shirt. The feedback was remarkable and everyone looked forward to unloading WindsorOne boxes. Guess how many yard guys and customers picked up the phone and actually called WindsorOne? Hundreds! They felt seen, heard, and felt, and, after talking to Curt (a real person) they were proud to wear the shirt. 😉 | 
