Fast Company printed an article called “4 Habits of Good Listeners” back in November, and I just gave it a read. When I first opened the article I didn’t necessary think it would have anything to do with sales, but I figured these principles could be applied to sales. Ok… well, given that it was in Fast Company I had an inclining that it would be about sales. The second sentence clinched it… ” Once you’ve landed the sale, it’s time to stop talking, says Eric Chen, a business professor at the University of St. Joseph. ” He went on to say, ” all you can do at this point is lose the business, so clam up…” I thought this was especially relevant to what we’ve been talking about in class in regards to giving too much information to our client, talking too much, or over selling. It really makes perfect sense that after you’ve gained the sale, by continuing to talk about the product or product related services, the only benefit you stand to reap is hearing yourself talk. It’s probably best not to entertain this notion no matter how good it might seem to you.
Did you know that companies that have leaders with excellent listening skills tend to outperform their competition by a factor of 3? This is huge, yet it’s not something I’ve ever heard before and perhaps that’s because i’m not listening. 1)The first thing we should do to become good listeners is to make a plan. This means understanding the nature of the interaction we are about to have. What is the purpose behind meeting with so and so? What could you learn from listening to their perspective, etc. These are things to think about ahead of time which will allow us to be intentional about listening.
2) The second thing we need to learn is to become comfortable with silence. Awkward silences can be…. well, awkward. The problem is that when we try to fill uncomfortable silence we often aren’t adding anything to the conversation and in fact may be reducing the value of what we’ve previously communicated. Silence is good because it can give you time to think about the direction of the sales process. Another advantage is that sometime your client will try to fill the silence and may divulge something key to your selling process.
3) It’s a good practice to hear them out before you jump to conclusions and have the urge to reply. It’s good to listen to what’s being said around the words, not just the words themselves. Paying attention to body language is an important element of listening, though it has nothing to do with hearing. A lot of times people are saying one thing but they are intending to communicate something else. As good sales people we need to be on the lookout for these cues and make sure that we hear our clients through.
4) The last great habit of a good listening is to visualize what your hearing. An important element of this is eye contact. Amy Ogden, a VP at a bi-coastal PR firm says it’s a lot like visualizing captions on a TV or conversation bubbles in a cartoon. Doing this will help you focus on what your hearing rather than trying to plan a response.
I think these 4 habits will help make any salesperson a better salesperson. Listening is an especially good life skill to have. People love good listeners because they know that what they say will be given great attention and that when a good listener does respond, the value of what they will communicate will mean a lot more. The article can be found here for further reading.
testacr22
I really liked the tip about visualizing what you have heard. I always struggle to remember details about the conversation because I am too focused on where it is going. Visualizing is a great way to remember everything.
Interesting stat! “Companies that have leaders with excellent listening skills tend to outperform their competition by a factor of 3.” Listening is relevant in so many realms of life, and something I am always hoping to learn how to do better. Thanks for sharing! I especially liked the “be comfortable with silence” bit.