If you're struggling with that kind of support, I recommend that you start playing a game. It's called "learn something new every contact".
The rules are simple. Whenever you talk to a client you haven't spoken to before, your goal is to learn something new. It might be something new about your product/problem, but it could be completely unrelated. Hell, through the years I've learned how to make an insanely good brine for turkeys, piss off Mormons in Utah and make a killer whiskey sour.
I recommend this because at this point, that level of support you're providing is business development, so the impression you leave is very important. Clients tend to feel very awkward when they have simple problems with someone they deem an expert. And, if you can provide that level of support while seeming genuinely interested in your clients, you'll win more than you lose. Try it!! Worst case scenario, you might learn to make a turkey so good you'll get emotional thinking about it...:)
hahaha. Thanks, that's good advice. I'm not the most personable (luckily my wife is) and honestly when you put it this way it sounds so simple, but for the life of me I wonder how on earth people manage to do this without feeling scripted like "what are your interests?". How do you get to the point where you actually know enough about someone to say hey, that's something they know that I would like to learn?
Unfortunately, the shortest possible answer is really hand wavy and vague. That kind of knowledge tends to come fairly organically if you really listen to what people say and aren't afraid to share a little bit about yourself.
When you're in the early stages of a venture, ideally, you know a little bit about the person you're talking to, know a bit about the problem they're having and are genuinely interested in how they found you and if your solution is working for them. That gives you a ton of fertile ground. In this stage, I love to thank people for using my product, tell them that because my product is so new it's very important to me that all of my users are very happy, and then ask them for any feedback or advice they have. It sounds very corny and scripted (and honestly, it is), but most of the time, if my product is any good and if it solves a real problem, everyone I talk to will have something.
At that point, it's about always validating what the person says to you. It doesn't matter if you agree, if you plan to implement the feature, or if you think it is the most incredibly stupid thing you've ever heard. Someone cares enough about your product to give you some feedback! Hearing feedback is an honour and I think it should be treated as such.
If you get those two things down, you'll learn from almost everyone you talk to. Particularly those people who need a little extra help. And, when you're working with people who need a little extra help, it's good to validate them too. Maybe you have a user who has trouble with copying and pasting. That sucks, but it's also an unbelievable opportunity. As builders, we need people like that to help us escape our own little, highly technical echo chambers!
Aside from those things, it really just comes down to active listening. If you listen closely, you'll start to notice that lots of people leave little threads in their statements. They'll often leave these little threads when they're about to pause and let you talk. For example, if you ask "how are you?" someone who is really open to talking will reply, "I'm good, it's a beautiful day today." That little thread about a beautiful day opens up lots of questions. If you don't already know where they're from, you can ask. If you do know, you can confirm, "Ah, you're from Timbuktu, right?"
Also, it's important to note that this only really works if you're genuinely interested in what people are saying. A big part of the game is knowing when to stop playing. We live in a world where it's expected to be prosocial and interested in everyone around you. But honestly, there's nothing wrong with being selective in who interests you. I would caution you that if you aren't genuinely interested in what people are telling you, you need to either get genuinely interested, or you need to replace yourself with someone who is. But, there's no value judgement in that. We're all programmed differently and it's all good.
The rules are simple. Whenever you talk to a client you haven't spoken to before, your goal is to learn something new. It might be something new about your product/problem, but it could be completely unrelated. Hell, through the years I've learned how to make an insanely good brine for turkeys, piss off Mormons in Utah and make a killer whiskey sour.
I recommend this because at this point, that level of support you're providing is business development, so the impression you leave is very important. Clients tend to feel very awkward when they have simple problems with someone they deem an expert. And, if you can provide that level of support while seeming genuinely interested in your clients, you'll win more than you lose. Try it!! Worst case scenario, you might learn to make a turkey so good you'll get emotional thinking about it...:)