There are many things that capture the attention of your customers. Different things can get them interested in doing business with you, and a lot of reasons for them to come back for more. But there is one thing that will immediately turn them off, selling them something before they even get a chance to be comfortable with you.

One great example is the weekend barbecue party. You decided to host a barbecue party to showcase your awesome, incredible, and unmatched barbecue sauce recipe. Also, you are planning to put-up a business and you need partners who can contribute capital. You are planning to present your proposal at the barbecue. You invited some friends over, for barbecue, beer, and maybe some games. You prepare for the weekend of fun, and business.

Your guests will expect to be fed, entertained and generally have a good time. So when they show up at your door, you open your door and you starting gushing about your business plan and how great it is, and tells your friends that you intend to ask for their money to be invested.

It wouldn’t take a scientist to guess that your party is ruined and over before it even started, and so is your business. Not even your extraordinary barbecue sauce can salvage things for you. You might even lose some friends.

There’s another scenario. When your friends started arriving at your door, you rush to welcome them into your house. You lead them to the backyard, gave them a beer and offer them a slab of barbecued ribs with your signature sauce. Afterwards, you will start a game, a basketball, a card game, or even checkers. You entertain your friends, feed, and gave them a good time. And then when you mellowed down, you begin to discuss your business proposal.

A slight shift in the timing will give you two very different results. This is also the same in the automotive service advisory business. When the customer pulls into the driveway, you do your walk around while the customer stands at the side watching you, examine the car and tell them what they need to pay for the repairs and services needed. It will take a lot of forbearance to just accept your recommendations.

With that kind of treatment, most clients will just get into their car and drive off, some will pretend to come back, and others won’t even try pretence.

A good service advisor would change the scenario to make sure that the customer gets to be comfortable in the process. He would greet the customer the minute he pulls up into the driveway, talk about things other than the car, will call a technician to thoroughly go through the car, while he lead the customer to the waiting room where he can get comfortable with the AC, offer him a drink and maybe something to read. The service advisor might talk to the client about anything but the car, or he can do the walk around himself while the customer is cooling his heels in the waiting room.

The service advisor will then confer with the technician for the things that needs to be done with the car. After getting all the facts, and the customer relaxed and rested will the service advisor discuss the business on hand.

That simple switch of processing a customer will render tremendous difference in the customer’s reaction. With the second scenario, you can claim of thorough check and you get the chance to build relationship with the customer. These can tremendously affect their opinion and trust in you, and ultimately their decision in accepting your recommendations.