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Many people assume
that to be good in sales you need to constantly talk. This couldn't
be further from the truth. In fact, the most successful sales people
are those who are active listeners. By listening you not only become
more likable but you hear the wants, needs and objections of your potential
clients. The problem is too many times we focus in on what we want to
say or our "sales pitch" without really hearing what the potential client
really wants. According to Dean Rusk, "The best way to persuade people
is with your ears --- by listening to them". To persuade, influence
and motivate others to purchase our products and services --- and earn
more money --- become an active listener.
Follow these 6 rules
of active listening:
- Limit your
own talking - You have two ears and one mouth. The more you listen
the more opportunity you'll have to find out what the customer really
wants.
- Don't interrupt
- By interrupting the client, sensitivity, rapport and commitment
are all killed. Although at times it seems expedient to interrupt,
this perceived lack of respect for the prospect helps to deteriorate
the relationship and makes it harder to close the sale.
- Notice nonverbal
communication - Only 7% of the message our client is communicating
is through the words he/she uses, 38% is through tone of their voice
and 55% is through their body language. This means that 93% of the
message that someone communicates is conveyed by body language and
tone of voice. Therefore, if you're talking to a prospect and they
start doing things like, crossing their arms, crossing their legs
away from you, yawning, leaning back, looking bored or avoiding eye
contact, you need to "listen" to their body language and not only
their words.
- Don't only
think about what you're going to say next - Too many times we
are so concerned about we want to say that we don't hear what the
other person is really saying. By not paying total attention to our
client, we "sell" them on what we think is important and not what
they really want. This frustrates the potential client and in many
cases we lose the sale.
- Talk to your
client in a conducive setting - To get others to listen to us
and have them focus on the substance of our message, distractions
must be minimized. Is your office too hot? Too cool?, Is the phone
ringing all the time?, Are you answering the phone while talking to
them?, Are there other people around?, Do you have distracting habits?
To make sure active listening takes place, you must alleviate all
distractions.
- Paraphrase
what has been said - To avoid misunderstandings, it's important
to repeat back what the client has told you. The problem is that when
you talk, how you say something and the words you use may have a different
meaning to the client. Many times we say, "Do you understand? Or does
that make sense?" In most cases the client will say, "yes". The question
we really need to find out is, "what did they understand?" And since
it may seem rude to ask that question, we need to repeat back what
they said to make sure we are both hearing and understanding the same
thing.
Too close more sales
we must determine the wants and needs of our clients first and then work
backwards to determine the best products and services for them ---- And
the best way to do that is through active listening.
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