Are you listening?

toady?" and they will now be ready and willing to listen to us. Weird, huh?

Prepare

To be great listeners we need to clear our minds. Many sellers are so concerned about what they are going to say that they can barely hear, much less understand, and even fewer pick up the nuance of their customer's communication-and the nuance is where the closing information is.

Salespeople try to help customers make buying decisions by talking about logical things (the specs), but talking about the specifications of anything does not get the business. What gets the business is knowing the emotional impact the specifications have on the customer and which one, out of all the specs, is emotionally most important.

Ivenveooy rs DytNc ro talk and no one is listening. I-llistening is a lost art. Poor listeners used to steal a look over a person's shoulder while they were talking to them. Today they are looking at their Blackberries while they talk at each other. That makes listening a rare and valuable commodity that people will pay for.

Listening is the secret weapon of sales. When was the last time you were really listened to? How did it feel? Fantastic, right? In a way, relaxing. Professional psychologists, psychotherapists, teachers, men and women of the clergy and sometimes our mothers and fathers are great listeners (or should be), and when they are they leave us with a feeling of calm, of feeling better.

Listen!? - I can't get them to talk!

We ask our customer a question about themselves, their business, their family or the weather (it works) and while they are responding, we listen and then ask a follow up question. The follow-up question is the key to great listenlng.

Within the emotional skill set that is listening, the use of the follow-up question is a technical skill that is useful. We actively listen while our customer is talking. Active listening is thinking about what the customer is saying, while he is saying it. Since we think eight times faster than we talk, thinking of an interested and interesting follow-up question will be (should be!) easy.

Think about the last time you brought up something you were excited about and the person listening to you changed the subject after your first sentence. Doesn't feel that great, right? That's how we make our customers feel when we say, "Yeah that's great, and so what do you need today?" What they need is to be listened to! Don't be in such a hurry to get to the business part of the call, especially when the customer is talking. When a customer is listened to thoroughly, they will say, "So what have you got for me

This information-the nuanced, emotional, closing information-can only be garnered through active, no, intensely active listening. In fact, customers won't share key information with someone they don't think is listenine to them.

Smart Dogs, Smarter Humans

The dumbest dog in the world knows what we are feeling. For argument's sake, let's say the dumbest human being is smarter than the smartest dog in the world. Consequently, all human beings know what we are thinking. They can feel it. If we're thinking about what we're going to say next, the customer will feel it. When they do, their communication with us will be stifled and incomplete.

Quieting Our Minds

When we have our own thoughts-for example, ..What am I going to say?" clanging around in our heads-it is difficult to hear our customers. We must prepare our strategy and what we are going to say, before the call. Prepared is relaxed. Relaxed is the state of the great listener. When we are relaxed, our customers will want to share information with us and buy from us.

Try this: Before you talk to your customer, take a deep breath and blow it out. Relaaaaax, review your strategy, and then think about your customer and what your customer wants to talk about. Write down three questions. Then make the call. Communication will be stronger and you will close more.

James Olsen

Reality Sales Training (503) 544-3572

james @realitysalestraining.com