Lions are not the scariest thing to face for most professionals, clients are. Most business claim they are customer-oriented, but that is just lip service. How many actually engage in any meaningful way with their clients or customers? Very few. Why? The simple answers is that they are scared to death. Of what you may ask? They are scared that the clients will actually tell them something that they don’t want to hear.

Basically they are afraid of two things. First, they are afraid of hearing anything negative about their product, service, support,virtually anything and everything. Hearing negative things hurts. It can be painful. People and businesses try to avoid pain at all costs.

Second,  engaging the client may cause them to hear something on which they may have to act. In other words, the company may have to change something they are doing. People and companies don’t like to change. Change can be painful and as we just said above. People and businesses try to avoid change at all costs.

However, getting real customer feedback is vital. Understanding real customer wants, desires and well as their concerns and problems is how you can learn the actionable points that can separate your company from the pack. It is want will give you a competitive advantage and (drum roll please –  super normal profits.

So enduring a lithe short term pain (regularly) can be the way to ensure long term pleasure. So the lesson is – Embrace your fear. You won’t regret it.