Felix and the Quiet Owl
Felix had always considered himself helpful.
Very helpful, actually.
If someone had a problem, Felix usually had an answer. Sometimes he had an answer before they had even finished explaining the problem.
One morning, Felix, Oliver, Rabbit, and Turtle were making their way through the forest when they came upon Beaver standing beside the creek.
“Morning, Beaver!” Felix called. “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Beaver began, “I’m having a little trouble getting across the creek—”
“Say no more!” Felix interrupted.
Oliver glanced down from the branch where he was perched.
“You need a raft,” Felix announced. “Find three good logs, tie them together with some vines, make yourself a paddle, and you’ll be across that creek in no time.”
Beaver stared at him.
Then he pointed downstream.
A perfectly good raft was sitting at the water’s edge.
“Oh,” Felix said.
“It has a hole in it,” Beaver explained.
Felix looked at the raft.
Then at Beaver.
“I was getting to that.”
Oliver said nothing.
A little farther down the trail, they met Squirrel sitting beneath a large berry bush.
“You look worried,” Felix said.
“I’m hungry,” Squirrel replied. “And I—”
“Berries!” Felix exclaimed.
Squirrel blinked.
“There are berries everywhere around here. You just need to know where to look. In fact, if you follow this trail another—”
“I know where the berries are,” Squirrel said.
He pointed straight up.
A cluster of ripe berries hung from a branch well above his reach.
“My leg hurts. I can’t climb today.”
“Oh.”
Felix looked up at the berries.
“I was getting to that too.”
This time Rabbit snickered.
Oliver flew up, plucked a small branch of berries, and dropped it beside Squirrel.
“Thank you, Oliver!”
“You’re welcome.”
Felix watched as they continued down the trail.
“You didn’t even tell him how to find berries.”
“He already knew,” Oliver replied.
Felix shrugged and kept walking.
Before long they came upon Raccoon pacing beside the trail.
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked.
“I’ve been trying to find a safe place for my family to sleep,” Raccoon said.
Felix stepped forward.
“I know exactly what you need!”
Oliver closed his eyes.
Rabbit grinned.
Turtle kept walking.
Felix began explaining everything he knew about hollow trees. Which trees were best. How high the opening should be. How to check for water. How to arrange leaves inside.
It was actually a very impressive explanation.
When Felix finally finished, Raccoon said, “We already have a hollow tree.”
Felix froze.
“The problem is a skunk moved in next door.”
Rabbit burst out laughing.
Even Turtle stopped walking.
Felix looked at Oliver.
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“Then how come you didn’t say anything?”
“Because I didn’t know.”
Felix stared at him.
Oliver flew down and landed on a stump.
“That’s why I was going to ask another question.”
Felix sat beside him.
For the first time all morning, Felix was quiet.
Oliver looked at Raccoon.
“What have you tried so far?”
And Raccoon began to explain.
Felix listened.
Really listened.
He discovered that Raccoon didn’t need instructions for finding another home. He wanted ideas for peacefully convincing his new neighbor to move a little farther down the trail.
Together, the friends came up with a few possibilities.
When Raccoon thanked them and left, Felix remained unusually quiet.
That worried Rabbit.
“Are you okay?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“That worries me even more,” Rabbit said.
Felix ignored him and looked at Oliver.
“How come everybody listens to you when you hardly say anything?”
Oliver smiled.
“Because I listened to them first.”
Felix thought about Beaver.
Then Squirrel.
Then Raccoon.
“So…I should talk less?”
Oliver tilted his head.
“I didn’t say that.”
Sometimes We Answer Before We Listen
Felix’s problem isn’t limited to the forest.
It’s incredibly easy to do the same thing in business.
Someone shows the slightest interest in what we’re doing and immediately we want to tell them everything.
Here’s my product.
Here’s my opportunity.
Here are the features.
Here’s the compensation plan.
Here’s the website.
Here’s why you need it.
Here’s the link.
And somewhere along the way, we forget to ask one rather important question:
What does this person actually need?
Good marketing isn’t simply about presenting the right solution.
It’s about understanding the problem first.
That means asking questions.
What are you trying to accomplish?
What’s giving you trouble?
What have you already tried?
What would make things easier for you?
Then listen to the answers.
You may discover that the person doesn’t need more traffic. They need a better capture page.
Maybe they don’t need another business opportunity. They need help learning how to promote the one they already have.
Maybe they don’t need another marketing tool. They already own plenty of tools and don’t know how to use them effectively.
And sometimes you’ll discover something even more important:
What you’re offering isn’t the right solution for them at all.
That’s okay.
You don’t have to turn every conversation into a sale.
In fact, being willing to say, “I don’t think this is what you need,” can build more trust than the greatest sales presentation you’ve ever delivered.
People remember the person who genuinely tried to help them.
And when you do have something that solves their problem, you don’t have to force the conversation nearly as much.
You’ve listened.
You understand.
Now you’re not simply pitching something.
You’re helping.
Your FOXtastic Thought for the Week
Before you tell someone what you have, find out what they need.
Ask one more question.
Listen a little longer.
Don’t be so busy preparing your answer that you miss what the other person is actually telling you.
Because Oliver understood something Felix was only beginning to learn:
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say in a conversation is nothing at all—until you’ve listened.