The person who talks the most often has the least to say. WOWZER! Happy holidays!
Listening is the most important sales skill. As a business owner, Sales VP, or salesperson, how do you show prospects you are listening?
In Zoom meetings
It’s harder than ever to show you are listening.
Listening is also important for relationships with clients, staff, and kids
WHY LEARN TO LISTEN?
Robert attended 5 networking meetings each week, talked about himself, and generated limited sales. Why? You know – He showed no interest in the other person.
Robert did not give his listener a chance to know, like, and trust him. In sales, listening is the best way to:
- Let the contact feel important and comfortable with you.
- Learn if the contact is a qualified prospect.
- Build the buyer’s confidence in you.
Listening lets you hear areas of common interests, shared values, and pain points.
I’M ALREADY A GREAT LISTENER
Hello! You can be better. What stops us from being the best listeners?
- Multi-tasking.
- Wrapped up in our thoughts.
- Preconceived notions.
- Jumping to the answers.
It’s hard to listen.
MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE LISTENER
What do you feel like when someone listens to you? What does your listener feel? The listener:
- Feels valued and understood.
- Asks questions.
- Shares needs, thoughts, and concerns.
When your listener feels important, you gain trust and engagement expands.
SHOW YOU ARE LISTENING
Here are ways to show you are listening:
- Use the person’s name when asking questions and commenting.
- Ask questions, prepared in advance, to initiate fact finding.
- Take notes for comments and questions.
- Paraphrase, clarify, and summarize.
- On Zoom, nod, use hand gestures, lean forward, and make quiet verbal confirmations.
When it’s your turn to speak, your listener will be in the palm of your hand!
WHAT DO I SAY NEXT?
Your goal is to keep them talking based on questions focused on their frustrations and problems’ costs. Use your questions to show you were listening:
- Reference their comments.
- Clarify specific points focused on their frustrations.
- Confirm points made earlier.
- Define the impact when the problem is solved.
Asking questions shows empathy and reduces buyer risk.
WHAT DO I DO WITH THE ANSWERS?
Set up your CRM to retain the answers organized by contact type and stage.
Enter a new contact and:
- Segment by contact type, industry, demography and geography.
- Send personalized, automated outreach based on segments.
- Track prospects by Rep, by value, by stage in your sales funnel.
- Automate Rep reminders and prospect outreach based on sales funnel stage.
- Automate repetitive, manual sales tasks and emails.
- Retain notes, tasks, emails, quotes, and service tickets in 1 place.
As the manager of your sales process, you are now ready to move prospects forward.
IMAGINE WHEN
Imagine the impact when:
- You close more sales with fewer headaches.
- You save 5 hours per week.
- Your sales process is at your fingertips.
Can you imagine?
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