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I know I am here because I am not all there.

Gino I hear you. You see Sign101 from an entirely different perspective than most newbies. You have been here for years and are quite comfortable with your input. Let me ask you to try to imagine being a brand new member.

Gino As far as why don't they say anything here on Signs101, a few of them have said they have seen enough. After all that has gone on here, I understand how they feel. Most of my private conversations have been with members who want to encourage me to continue to offer my encouragement. It...

Jeremiah It sounds like you have some well developed listening skills. Between you and me, I have only one question: Is there any room for improvement? As far as "private conversations," I am not sure what you are getting at. Maybe this will help. I have already had several private conversations...

I want to thank the several Signs101 members who have connected with me privately. I appreciate their encouragement. Amazing! My motive for being here is to be an encouragement to others and they have reached out to encourage me. Wow! That means so much to me. If you are a little shy and have...

Gino I am amazed at how many creative directions you are able to take my metaphors.

Gino The more I learn, the more I realize what I don't know. What I know about listening is maybe 2% of what can be known. Some here on Signs101 maybe know 3%, some maybe a little less, some maybe a lot more. The topic is huge and ever changing. For me, it is an interesting journey and others...

We live in a time when attention spans have gotten much shorter. What's more, how you give someone your full attention has changed, especially as we move away from face-to-face connections. Virtual connections, virtual communications skills must be honed and developed through learning...

CMYKENGINEERING Thank you for your thoughtful reply. If you were in my situation, what would you do?

Johnny Best At some point, your "life-time clients" were first-timers. All I am attempting to focus on is the possiblity that a new first-timer might become a life-time client.

Gino Let's pick up on an important detail in your reply. "They need to be showing signs of listening also..." To make it short, start by letting them know that you are listening.

I continue to be amazed at how many people will read my thread and not reply. If you have a different opinion about listening skills, or if you have a question about listening, I encourage you to reply. Or, connect with me privately. I have only your best interests as my intent.

Johnny Best Some do want a "friend's discount." And then you bring up, "time is money." Please put up with me, but great listening skills save you a lot of time. I have talked with sign makers who have life-time clients. Some have told me that often those "business friends" just say, "Send me...

Here is another response that I have heard from many others. "If you have to ask the price, you are not our type of client."

Notarealsignguy My response to cheap people is very simple, "No."

On the far side, I know of sign makers who have clients who do not want to even discuss the price. The client sometimes will say, "Send me the bill." More often the client will not say anything of the kind. Gino If we stick to the story line, what if they meant, "We don't want to spend a...

Gino If you already see enough red flags, then a simple "No" is all that is needed. On the other side, if the person talking to you seems they might be a good client, then simply letting them know you want to listen to them will be a surprise the likes of which they have not seen in a long time.

Notarealsignguy Yes, you could go that way. The key idea from my reply is to let the other person know that you truly want to listen to them. That alone can make price a secondary issue.

"...spend a lot..." could mean a hundred different things. Let me suggest a very simple question. "Interesting. What more would you like me to know?" And then see where the conversation goes. Just the fact the you want to listen to them will be a rare treat.

As a merchant member, the owner of this forum allows me to promote my special offer once a week. If you want to improve your listening skills, then I am offering to team up with you to discover your own best small steps to begin practicing better listening. It is called collaboration powered by...