Hello again!
If you read my last blog, you would know that this past summer, I worked as a site manager for a coffee shop startup location.
At this coffee shop, I learned many things about sales: one of which I learned is to shut up and listen.
Two scenarios happen in which salespeople need to shut up and listen. The first scenario is when the customer is clearly confused by something. So often, I would see a customer come in and I would blurt all the information I knew, hoping that that would help them make a decision. However, the most effective form of sales is to shut up and listen. Is the customer confused? Before making assumptions, listen and see what is perplexing them. For me, people often were confused about the difference between coffee drinks (Americanos, drip coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, etc.). Rather than vomiting all the information at them at once, telling them about the different drinks, I realized I should be asking them questions to determine what kind of drink they would like.
The second scenario in which salespeople should shut up and listen is when a customer complains. I found this sometimes to be so very hard. When someone tells you that they do not like what you are doing or what you created, it can be very easy to get defensive or dismiss their comment entirely. However, the anger and frustration with the business are actually very important because the customer is once again telling you what they want indirectly. Plus, if you do it right, you can solve that person’s frustrations with your business and turn them into a loyal customer.
BoweryJE22