Customer Feedback in Sales

"Feedback is a gift. It's an opportunity to learn and grow" At Google, we believe in the power of feedback to drive improvement. Sometimes feedback can be tough to hear. But taking the time to unpack it, understand the perspective, and reflect on it is crucial. Why feedback matters: - It reveals blind spots we cannot see ourselves - It accelerates learning by shortcutting trial and error - It demonstrates that others are invested in your success - It creates alignment between perception and reality How to receive feedback effectively: 1. Approach with curiosity, not defensiveness When receiving feedback, your first reaction might be to justify or explain. Instead, listen deeply and ask clarifying questions: "Can you give me a specific example?" or "What would success look like to you?" 2. Separate intention from impact Remember that well-intentioned actions can still have unintended consequences. Focus on understanding the impact rather than defending your intentions. 3. Look for patterns across multiple sources Individual feedback may reflect personal preferences, but patterns across multiple sources often reveal genuine opportunities for growth. 4. Prioritize actionable insights Not all feedback requires action. Evaluate which points will have the greatest impact on your effectiveness and focus your energy there. 5. Follow up and close the loop Demonstrate your commitment by acknowledging the feedback, sharing your action plan, and following up on your progress. Creating a feedback-rich environment: - Model vulnerability by asking for feedback yourself - Recognize and celebrate when people implement feedback successfully - Make it routine through structured check-ins rather than waiting for formal reviews At Google, we've learned that organizations with robust feedback cultures innovate faster, adapt more quickly to market changes, and build more inclusive workplaces. Let's commit to seeing feedback not as criticism but as a valuable investment in our collective future. The discomfort is temporary, but the growth is lasting. #motivation #productivity #mindset

Every company says they listen to customers. But most just hear them. There's a difference. After spending years building feedback loops, here's what I've learned: Feedback isn't about collecting data. It's about creating change. Most companies fail at feedback because: - They send random surveys - They collect scattered feedback - They store insights in silos - They never close the loop The result? Frustrated customers. Missed opportunities. Lost revenue. Here's how to build real feedback loops: 1. Gather feedback intelligently - NPS isn't enough - CSAT tells half the story - One channel never works Instead: - Run targeted post-interaction surveys - Conduct deep-dive customer interviews - Analyze product usage patterns - Monitor support conversations - Build customer advisory boards - Track social mentions 2. Create a single source of truth - Consolidate feedback from everywhere - Tag and categorize insights - Track trends over time - Make it accessible to everyone 3. Turn feedback into action - Prioritize based on impact - Align with business goals - Create clear ownership - Set implementation timelines But here's the most important part: Close the loop. When customers give feedback: - Acknowledge it immediately - Update them on progress - Show them implemented changes - Demonstrate their impact The biggest mistakes I see: Feedback Overload: - Collecting too much data - No clear action plan - Analysis paralysis Biased Collection: - Listening to the loudest voices - Ignoring silent majority - Over-indexing on complaints Slow Response: - Taking months to act - No progress updates - Lost customer trust Remember: Good feedback loops aren't about tools. They're about trust. Every piece of feedback is a customer saying: "I care enough to help you improve." Don't waste that trust. The best companies don't just collect feedback. They turn it into visible change. They show customers their voice matters. They build trust through action. Start small: 1. Pick one feedback channel 2. Create a clear process 3. Act quickly on insights 4. Show results 5. Scale what works Your customers are talking. Are you really listening? More importantly, are you acting? What's your approach to customer feedback? How do you close the loop? ------------------ ▶️ Want to see more content like this and also connect with other CS & SaaS enthusiasts? You should join Tidbits. We do short round-ups a few times a week to help you learn what it takes to be a top-notch customer success professional. Join 1999+ community members! 💥 [link in the comments section]

Feedback is a gift, even if it stings. Especially when it comes from your boss. And with end-of-year reviews around the corner, timing is everything. What most do when receiving feedback: ↳ Get defensive and shut down ↳ Take it personally, not professionally ↳ Miss the growth opportunity within 7 ways to transform feedback into career gold: 1. Master the first response ↳ Stay calm and collected ↳ Show openness to learn 2. Decode the message ↳ Look beyond the delivery style ↳ Focus on actionable insights 3. Ask smart questions ↳ Seek specific examples ↳ Request clear success metrics 4. Document everything ↳ Write down key points raised ↳ Note suggested improvements 5. Create a visible action plan ↳ Show your boss you're serious ↳ Set clear milestones for change 6. Schedule progress updates ↳ Don't wait for next year's review ↳ Take initiative to show growth 7. Turn criticism into coaching ↳ Ask for resources to improve ↳ Treat your boss as a mentor The best employees don't just hear feedback. They make their boss notice the change. What's your best tip for handling feedback? Let me know in the comments. ♻️ Repost to spread career wisdom 👉 Follow Lauren Murrell for more like this

I stopped treating feedback like criticism and started treating it like free consulting. Because feedback isn’t about your worth. It’s about your blind spots. Most people waste feedback. They get defensive. They explain themselves. They ignore it. And then they wonder why nothing changes. ✅ How to treat feedback like free consulting (the real playbook): 1️⃣ Stop waiting for annual reviews. If you only hear feedback once a year, you’re already behind. Create your own feedback loop monthly, even weekly. 2️⃣ Ask sharper questions. Don’t ask “How am I doing?” Ask “What’s one thing I could do that would change the way you see me as a leader?” 3️⃣ Separate emotion from data. Feedback stings. That’s normal. But behind the sting is data. Extract it, use it, move forward. 4️⃣ Interrogate the source. Not all feedback is equal. Filter advice through one lens: Has this person achieved what I want to achieve? 5️⃣ Demand specifics. “Be more strategic” is useless. Push for examples. What did you say? What should you have said instead? Feedback without examples is noise. 6️⃣ Look for patterns, not one-offs. One person’s opinion is bias. Three people saying the same thing is truth. Patterns reveal where you need to act. 7️⃣ Stop explaining. The moment you start justifying, you close the door to honesty. Take it in, say thank you, move on. 8️⃣ Test it in real time. Don’t just collect notes. Try the new behaviour in your next meeting, pitch, or email. Feedback without testing is just theory. 9️⃣ Keep receipts. Document feedback and your response to it. When it’s time for promotion, you show the growth curve — not just claim it. 🔟 Flip the mirror. Give feedback as much as you take it. The best way to sharpen your own lens is to hold one up for someone else. We call it “feedback.” The unprepared call it “criticism.” The ambitious call it “an edge.” What’s the most valuable piece of feedback you ever received?

You’re in the mall when a kiosk salesperson locks eyes with you and says, “Let me give you a free sample.” How do you respond? If you’re like most people, you say, “I’m good,” and pick up the pace. Why? Because you know the sample isn’t really free. Take it, and suddenly you’re trapped in a hard sell for sea scrub you don’t need. This is what happens when salespeople pitch on a cold call. When sellers try to lure you in, you can smell the commission breath. The 2mm Shift The first step is to change your intent. When your intent is to book a meeting or close a deal, you behave in ways that feel pushy. That’s because intent drives behavior. Instead, let go of assumptions. Detach from the outcome. How? Think like a scientist testing a hypothesis. It’s not a problem unless the prospect says it is. Your solution has no value without a problem, so pitching before understanding is madness. Step 1: Start With a Mini Invitation Like this: “Hi Josh, my name is Sue Green with ACME. We’ve never spoken. I’m calling about your Audi S4 and was hoping to speak with you. Do you have a brief moment?” Why? Because autonomy is a basic human need. People want to feel in control. If they don’t want to talk, that’s okay. Gracefully end the call. Call someone else. There are so many people that will accept your invitation. Step 2: Ask How They’re Currently Getting the Job Done “Do you wash your car or do you get it cleaned?” “I wash my own car.” Step 3: Illuminate a Potential Problem “Not sure if you’re running into this, but sometimes dirt and grit settle at the bottom of the bucket, get trapped in the sponge, and scratch your car. How are you making sure that doesn’t happen when you wash your car?” Then shut up and listen. I call this poking the bear. Your prospect starts thinking: “Hmm. That’s a good question. I guess I…“ Step 4 Presuppose They’ve Looked Into a Solution “You’ve probably looked into using a grit guard.” Then shut up again. If they have? “Sounds like it didn’t work.” If you’re wrong, they’ll correct you. People like to correct. But they don’t like being corrected. If they haven’t? Now you can pitch: “You insert the grit guard at the bottom of your bucket, and dirt settles to the bottom, off your sponge so you don’t scratch your car.” No commission breath. No begging. No convincing. No kiosk-level pressure. Just a conversation that feels natural. Ditch the pitch. Poke the bear. Buyers have the answers. Sellers have the questions.

Last week, a mentee came to me after her annual review. Her feedback was good — specific enough to sting a little. She walked out with every intention of acting on it. I asked her one question: "What's different on your calendar this week?" She paused. Nothing was different. That's where feedback dies — not in the reading of it, but in the week after, when life resumes and the document closes. Understanding feedback and acting on it are two completely different skills. Most people only practice one. Here's what I told her to do instead: 𝟭/ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 "Be more strategic" tells you nothing. This does: take the project you're leading and present how it accelerates a priority your organization cares about — before your next leadership meeting. Specific. Timely. Actionable. For every piece of feedback, ask: what does this look like in practice? 𝟮/ 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 If it doesn't make it into your goals, it's not going to happen. Don't create a separate "development item" that lives outside your work — embed it into the goal itself or into how you'll achieve it. If the feedback is "delegate more and develop your team," don't just note it. Update your existing goal to: 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘟 𝘣𝘺 𝘘3, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. Same goal. The feedback is now inside it. 𝟯/ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 Your calendar is your priorities made visible. If the change you need to make doesn't appear there, it won't happen. If the feedback is "scale your impact by partnering across the organization," don't wait for opportunities to show up. Schedule 1:1s this week with leaders in adjacent teams to learn their priorities. What's on your calendar next Monday tells you more about your intentions than anything you wrote in your development plan. 𝟰/ 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 Share what you're working on with a peer, a mentor, or your manager. Not for accountability theater — because saying it out loud makes it real. And it invites the micro-feedback you'll need along the way. 𝟱/ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝟵𝟬-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 Not "am I trying harder?" — what's actually different in what you do? If the answer is nothing, the feedback is already expiring. The annual review is a gift. Most people open it, admire it, and put it back in the box. If nothing changes in what you do, the outcome is likely to be the same. What’s one change you’ve actually put on your calendar this year? PS: If you know someone in the middle of their review cycle — send this their way. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for weekly Leadership and Career posts

Just watched a sales leader lose 5 of his top reps after spending months perfecting a "winning" sales methodology that his team HATED. After 18 months of work, the CEO killed his career with six words: "Your team keeps missing their numbers." After analyzing 300+ sales teams and thousands of reps I've identified the exact leadership framework that separates 90%+ quota attainment from the industry average of 60%. The BIG missing piece that most sales leaders miss? Stop running meetings as status updates. And start treating them as PERFORMANCE ACCELERATION ENGINES. Here is the GOLDEN Leadership framework: GROWTH MINDSET: Start every meeting with these 3 strategic elements. → Team member shares industry insight or sales technique (creates learning culture) → Discuss application to current deals (makes learning actionable) → Rotate presenters weekly (builds leadership skills company-wide) This approach increased team knowledge retention by 72% across my client base. OPTIMIZATION SESSION: Have top performers demonstrate and teach these 4 specific skills. → Objection handling techniques (with exact language used) → Discovery questions that uncovered hidden needs → Email templates that generated 80%+ response rates → Closing language that accelerated decisions Use this exact script: "Jeff, you closed that impossible deal with [company]. Walk us through exactly how you handled their [specific objection] so the team can replicate it." LEADERBOARD ACCOUNTABILITY: Create what I call the "Performance Matrix" with columns for. → # of Booked Discovery Calls (activity metric) → New opportunities generated (pipeline metric) → Percentage to monthly target (results metric) → Weekly win or learning (growth metric) DATA & DEVELOPMENT: Each rep inputs and shares three critical elements. → KPIs for the week (leading indicators - 100% controllable) → Sales results (lagging indicators - what they actually sold) → Wins or learnings (development indicators) EXECUTION: Randomly select an AE to role play live. → Use a jar or spinning wheel to pick sales scenarios → Focus on objections, cold calls, or tough situations → Play the difficult prospect yourself → Provide immediate feedback and coaching This gets your team sharper before they jump into their day, and knowing they might be selected drives preparation. NEXT LEVEL MINDSET: End with motivation to conquer the week. → Short visionary speech or gratitude to the team → Positive reinforcement → Ensure they leave with the right mindset This is what they'll remember as they enter their next task or meeting. "REAL RESULTS from this framework: ✅ An IT services client increased sales by 37% in just 30 days ✅ Average rep retention improved from 18 months to 36+ months ✅ Team productivity increased 42% with the same headcount ✅ Top performers stopped taking recruiter calls Hey sales leaders… want a deep dive? Go here: https://lnkd.in/e2iZ7Rmv

That’s the thing about feedback—you can’t just ask for it once and call it a day. I learned this the hard way. Early on, I’d send out surveys after product launches, thinking I was doing enough. But here’s what happened: responses trickled in, and the insights felt either outdated or too general by the time we acted on them. It hit me: feedback isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process, and that’s where feedback loops come into play. A feedback loop is a system where you consistently collect, analyze, and act on customer insights. It’s not just about gathering input but creating an ongoing dialogue that shapes your product, service, or messaging architecture in real-time. When done right, feedback loops build emotional resonance with your audience. They show customers you’re not just listening—you’re evolving based on what they need. How can you build effective feedback loops? → Embed feedback opportunities into the customer journey: Don’t wait until the end of a cycle to ask for input. Include feedback points within key moments—like after onboarding, post-purchase, or following customer support interactions. These micro-moments keep the loop alive and relevant. → Leverage multiple channels for input: People share feedback differently. Use a mix of surveys, live chat, community polls, and social media listening to capture diverse perspectives. This enriches your feedback loop with varied insights. → Automate small, actionable nudges: Implement automated follow-ups asking users to rate their experience or suggest improvements. This not only gathers real-time data but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement. But here’s the challenge—feedback loops can easily become overwhelming. When you’re swimming in data, it’s tough to decide what to act on, and there’s always the risk of analysis paralysis. Here’s how you manage it: → Define the building blocks of useful feedback: Prioritize feedback that aligns with your brand’s goals or messaging architecture. Not every suggestion needs action—focus on trends that impact customer experience or growth. → Close the loop publicly: When customers see their input being acted upon, they feel heard. Announce product improvements or service changes driven by customer feedback. It builds trust and strengthens emotional resonance. → Involve your team in the loop: Feedback isn’t just for customer support or marketing—it’s a company-wide asset. Use feedback loops to align cross-functional teams, ensuring insights flow seamlessly between product, marketing, and operations. When feedback becomes a living system, it shifts from being a reactive task to a proactive strategy. It’s not just about gathering opinions—it’s about creating a continuous conversation that shapes your brand in real-time. And as we’ve learned, that’s where real value lies—building something dynamic, adaptive, and truly connected to your audience. #storytelling #marketing #customermarketing

We know feedback is essential at work for continuous improvement and growth – but “hidden feedback” is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of communication – those subtle and indirect cues that carry valuable insights. This piece in Harvard Business Review highlights how non-verbal cues, side comments, or even silence, can provide deep insights into how your actions and decisions are perceived by others. While traditional feedback mechanisms are important, paying attention to these subtle signals can reveal underlying issues and opportunities that may not be explicitly voiced. There are some ways to tune into how you give out hidden feedback - and these are the ones that caught my eye:   - Be an active listener and focus on what’s not being said as much as what is. Silence can be as insightful as words. - Ask open-ended questions to encourage deeper conversation by asking questions that allow others to express their thoughts and feelings more freely. - Take time to reflect on subtle cues and validate your interpretations with follow-up questions or discussions. https://lnkd.in/gV6WB6Ae

We tell leaders to “be open to feedback”… then never show them how. No wonder most fake it, freeze or flinch. Here’s what I’ve learned after decades of leading teams: The most respected leaders don’t dodge feedback. They hold it. With steady hands. With curiosity. With the self-trust to know that feedback isn’t exposure. In fact, it’s a sign of your emotional intelligence. But this doesn’t happen by accident. It requires rewiring how your nervous system responds to criticism. Here are the three practices that helped a client rebuild her relationships with feedback: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 24-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 When feedback hits hard, she doesn’t respond immediately. She sits with the discomfort. She lets her initial defensiveness surface, and then pass. By day two, she can hear what was 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 said, not what her fear distorted. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Before every feedback conversation, she asks: “What am I already worried they might say?” More often than not, it’s something she’s already sensed. This softens the shock and reframes the conversation as confirmation, not condemnation. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭 When someone brings hard feedback, she leads with: “Thank you for trusting me with this.” It reminds both parties that courage was required. And shifts the tone from defensive to collaborative. My client says her team now brings her problems earlier. They feel safer. And she does too. Because she doesn’t collapse when things get hard; she 'expands'. The strongest leaders aren’t the ones who never get it wrong. They’re the ones who can hear about their mistakes… without losing themselves in the process. What’s one piece of feedback you’ve been avoiding? Maybe it’s time to lean in. ______________ High-functioning doesn't mean high capacity. I help leaders close the gap. DM me to explore more.