There are numerous components to conversations that are noticed and unnoticed by both parties. The dynamic between two people talking to each other is guided by a multitude of variables. Some of these include the individuals’ vocabulary, personality, and mood. These guide the flow of a conversation. There is an art to being a conversationalist and a good listener. It’s easy to prepare your response while the other person is talking, but a good conversationalist will take in what they are hearing and respond accordingly. Too many times conversations are shaped by the individuals’ agenda, what they want to talk about. The same principle is true is sales’ conversations. A bad sales person merely allows the customer to talk rather than absorbing their needs and problems. This happens for different reasons. A common reason for preparing a response and not listening is to prevent an awkward silence after the other person is done speaking. Another reason is to move the conversation in the direction one person wants. I believe removing these things benefits both people. The customer feels heard and the sales person knows how they can help. A key to successful business is the adoption of this as a corporate attitude. If every level of a company focuses on listening first, then potential customers will recognize this, value their genuine empathy, and hopefully become loyal customers.
By rogersnw18
BoweryJE22 4 thoughts on “Learning A New Conversation Dynamic”
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I don’t know if there is an exact percentage of how much of a conversation is nonverbal, but a quick search on Google said it’s about 55%. I actually feel its a little higher. As a salesperson our nonverbal attitude plays a huge role in whether sale is made. If the potential customer can read you even just a little bit, they will be able to determine if you actually care about their needs.
I agree that being a strong conversationalist is so vital to not only making the sale but building that necessary customer relationship. If a customer can see that you care, it makes for a better turn out on sales!
This is a topic that I think about a lot in not just sales. Even when you are talking to people often times you want to talk about yourself or your life and miss out on what they are saying. I often catch myself noticing that I need to listen to others a lot more and really dig into what they want to say. It is also very hard for selling to someone who doesn’t want to open up too much and isn’t very good at talking.
Totally agree that conversations based on an “agenda” are almost unhealthy and normally sink. This was a great insight into how sales as a process is much more relational instead of task-driven.