SALES: Just Listen!

by Dave Kahle

I recently came across some research that confirmed what many of us in the profession of educating sales people have known for years: That purchasers would be “much more likely” to buy from a sales person if that sales person would just “listen” to the customer. ⁽¹⁾  The survey found that some of the worst offenders were experienced sales people.

          Listening is one of the four fundamental competencies of a professional sales person, and yet, the profession is, in general, so poor at it that most customers remark on our inability to do it well.

          Wow!  If there is anyone I wouldn’t want thinking I was a poor listener, my customers would be towards the top of the list.

Why is listening such a powerful sales competency?

Why is listening such a powerful sales competency? In my book Question Your Way to Sales Success, I describe a number of reasons.  Here are a few.

          First, it is our primary way of digging beneath the surface of a customer’s needs and uncovering deeper and more powerful needs and motivations.  That makes it a primary tool – of which the skillful use separates the master sales people from the mediocre.  For example, it doesn’t take any skill whatsoever to pick up an RFQ, a set of blueprints, or to write down a list of what the customer says he needs.  You don’t have to be a master listener to do that.  But to dig deeper and uncover deeper issues, that takes the ability to listen.

          Here’s an example.  In a routine sales call with a regular customer, the customer says, “We’re thinking of going to X product.  What’s your price?”

          Lots of sales people would look up the price and provide it.  There.  Job done.

          The master would hear the words “Thinking of going…” and dig a little deeper.  “What makes you interested in that?” he says.

          The customer replies: “Well, we’re looking for a solution for a problem with our widget production line, and one of the key operators mentioned it as a possibility.”

          “I see.  What sort of problem are you having in that production line?”

          “An abnormally high reject rate.”

          “I may have some other solutions.  Can I talk to your production manager?”

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          I don’t have to take this scenario much further to make the point.  A visit with the production supervisor could very well result in a deeper understanding of the problem and the development of an alternative solution with a whole lot more gross margin to it.  The master sales person, exercising excellent listening skills, hears opportunities where many sales people don’t.  Listening is the primary tool for digging deeper and uncovering deeper and more significant issues in our customers.

          But that’s not all.  When we listen, we send a powerful message that we care about the other person.  Conversely, when we don’t listen, we send the message that our agenda is far more important than the customer’s trivial ideas and issues.  That makes effective listening one of the all time great relationship-building devices.

          Listening requires us to take in information, ideas and opinions that are outside our comforts zones.  It is, therefore, one of the primary tools we use to grow intellectually, to broaden our views, and ultimately, to become wiser and more knowledgeable.  If we never listen to someone with a different perspective, we never consider the possibility that we might be wrong.

          From a sales person’s perspective, the more we listen, the more different positions, motivations, opinions and nuances we are able to understand and accommodate.  The wiser and more capable we become.  Since we are able to understand an ever-growing panoply of positions and opinions, we are able to feel a rapport with more and more customers, and move closer to a consensus position with them.

          Listening positions us as a consultant, not a peddler, in the eyes of the customer.  Ultimately, listening provides us our competitive edge.

So, how do we do it better?

Here are two specific techniques to help you improve your listening effectiveness.

1. Listen constructively.

          My wife is a crisis counselor.  She talks about “listening empathetically.” That means she listens in order to understand what a person is feeling.  That is very appropriate for that type of work.  However, we are sales people.  It is more important that we listen “constructively.”  Think of “constructively – construction – building.”  We need... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE