Don't forget to listen

Listen, Listen, Listen. The folks who have sold with me knew this was coming.  The only way to understand what your prospect needs and what will make them act is to listen.  Previously I wrote about the 5 W's with an H.  If you are going to spend your time and the prospects time asking good questions, listen to the answers.  Write them down.  Listening is an active exercise and requires practice.  If you don't listen to your prospect, you may lose to a competitor that did.

When you forget to listen you risk alienating your prospect by wasting their time.

"Thank you for coming today, I don't think you have what we are looking for..." is the response you can expect if you tell the prospect everything you have to offer before listening to what is important. I have heard this referred to as spilling the candy in the lobby.

Prospects will tell you why, when and how they will buy your solution if you listen.  Don't just hear what they say directly; take note of every side comment, wisecrack and objection.

You will identify problems your prospect may have that you do not solve well.  This gives you the opportunity to find a solution, a workaround or politely back out of spending any more time.

With a strong understanding of your prospects issues, you will be able to have a credible 2-way conversation with any level of the prospect organization-even the CEO.

At a minimum, listening is a show of respect, appreciation of time and professionalism.

Non-verbal listening is also very critical.  Non-verbal listening is watching body language, facial expressions, eye rolls and yawns while someone is talking.   You will find out very quickly who is getting the attention and respect of the audience, your team and theirs.

Share with your selling team what you learned, then incorporate what you heard and observed into your sales strategy.

      "To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all
       true conversation" - Chinese Proverb

Comment with your examples of when someone did or did not listen to a prospect and the outcome.

Profit from your Common Sense - Good Selling
Mark Weisberger