START listening to people, instead of listening for what you want to hear!
I talk with salespeople about the idea of Conversational Engineering all of the time. My definition for sales is taking the time to create space – moments – an environment that encourages prospects and customers to want to talk with you.
The most important way to have better conversations is to LISTEN & ask BETTER QUESTIONS.
When is the last time you were in a conversation with someone and your FULL attention was on them and ONLY intent was listening to understand?
FULL attention: you weren’t reading emails or IMs that came in during the conversation, not thinking about lunch or plans you had later that day, trying to figure out (in your head) what you were going to say next.
Listening to UNDERSTAND: This means you were NOT listening for an particular answer. NOT listening for an opportunity. You were listening without judgement or expectation.
I believe that listening is the most difficult part of sales – yes really more difficult than: objection handling, dealing with rejection, anything else salespeople must do to be successful.
Listening is one of the most important skills a person can cultivate (I was going to say salesperson but stopped myself, masterful listening goes WAY beyond sales).
Looking for tips? check out my Listening Skill Snap Series