Poor listeners frequently confuse the physical act of hearing with the emotional art of listening. While hearing is a function of biology, active listening skills must be acquired and developed. In the selling process, when you talk you merely provide information, but when you genuinely listen you show respect, create trust and develop rapport. Unfortunately, our educational system places emphasis on speaking and writing, but not on listening. For example, I have a good friend with a PhD who speaks three languages fluently, but can't listen worth a hoot. The only way to become a better listener is to mindfully practice "active listening" in all of your daily encounters… from the kitchen table to the sales table.
Listening is the number one skill of Top 20%
producers.Their listening goes far
beyond just listening though, because top producers actually hear what is
behind what their prospects are saying, and they know how to ask clarifying
questions to get them to reveal even more.
Have you ever needed to ask directions?You know, you’re traveling and trying to get
to your hotel, or you’re in a different part of the city looking for a
restaurant and when you don’t know the way, you stop and ask somebody, don’t
you?
When you do and they start telling you, what do you do?
You listen, don’t you?The person who is
speaking has the information you need to get where you need to go, and I’ll bet
you even listen actively.You may even
make mental notes and you probably also ask clarifying questions when do don’t
fully understand something, right?
Compare this type of attentive listening with the
listening that most sales reps do when they try to sell their products or
service.About 80% of the reps I listen
to are pitching more than listening, and they’re jumping in as soon as their
prospect takes a breath.Most of the
time, they aren’t really hearing what their prospect is saying, rather, they
are just waiting for their turn to start closing.
Given this lack of listening and questioning, it’s not
hard to understand why most sales reps struggle to make sales…
Listening is the number one skill of Top 20%
producers.Their listening goes far
beyond just listening though, because top producers actually hear what is
behind what their prospects are saying, and they know how to ask clarifying
questions to get them to reveal even more.
So, how can you get better at listening?Simple: Use the most important button on your
phone – the MUTE button!Here’s how:
Whenever you ask your prospect a question, hit your mute
button.While this may be uncomfortable
at first, you will get many benefits from it, starting with:
1) First, it’ll force you to remain quiet.You’ll even be able to blurt stuff out and
all the while your prospect won’t even hear it!
2) The silence on your end will also encourage your prospect
to keep talking and as they do, they’ll reveal crucial information you can use
to close them – if you just let them.
3) By remaining silent, your prospect will literally
“feel heard,” and this will help you build a stronger feeling of rapport –
which will get them talking even more!
4) By learning to really listen, you will finally get
comfortable with the sales process and begin to tell who’s likely to be a real
deal and who’s not.Listening for and
hearing this difference is the true mark of a top closer.
There are many more benefits of using your mute button,
and I’ll let you discover them on your own.Ultimately, when you listen as if you’re lost, you will find that your
prospects will give you the exact directions to what you need to do and say to
sell them.
But you’ll only hear these if you’re actively
listening.And the most important button
on your phone – your mute button – will help you do that.
Start using it
today!
Mike Brooks
About the author:
With over 20 years of inside sales closing experience, Mike Brooks has been billed nationwide as Mr. Inside Sales. Once a bottom 80% producer, Mike learned and perfected the skills of Top 20% producers and became the number one sales rep out of 5 Southern California branch offices. Author of the hot new book, The Real Secrets of the Top 20%: How To Double Your Income Selling Over the Phone, Mike's proven techniques, strategies and skills are used successfully by companies in industries such as securities sales, high-tech sales, pharmaceuticals, equipment leasing and other business to business applications. Mike combines proven, current tactics and skills with personal experience to provide a motivational and practical presentation.
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