At a national sales meeting a few years ago, one very successful rep described how he’d grown his territory. He talked a lot about the importance of listening to his customers’ needs, rather that pushing products on them.
“Let your competitors be the ones to ‘Show up and throw up,'” he said. The room erupted in laughter. I’m sure it struck everyone as funny not only because of the image, but also because it’s something everyone in the room had been guilty of at one time or another.
Most sales reps grasp the idea of asking probing, open-ended questions pretty readily. It’s not too hard to figure out a good list of stock questions that will help to uncover a prospect’s needs and pain. But becoming a good listener — now there’s the real challenge.
Active listening is about more than paying attention to the words coming out of someone else’s mouth or waiting your turn to speak. It’s about fully acknowledging the speaker’s point of view and demonstrating your understanding. It’s a great skill that can surpass small talk for building trust in a relationship, because listening is a vital way to communicate respect.
William Glasser, who writes about the psychology of relationships, sees listening as a way of satisfying people’s inherent desire for power.
As he writes in “Choice Theory,” “At a minimum, we want someone to listen to what we have to say. If no one listens to us, we feel the pain of the powerless, the kind of pain you feel in a foreign country when you are trying to get information and no one speaks your language.”
If a sales rep’s goal is to provide a solution to a customer’s problems, what better way to begin the process than empowering the customer through truly listening? An empowered customer is one who is motivated to take action because they feel a positive outcome is possible. These are the kinds of customers who champion the product, find the money when there is none in the budget, and coach the sales rep to success.
Are you a good listener? Take this quiz and find out.
“To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation.” — Chinese Proverb.
Lisa McCallister specializes in recruiting for medical device sales and marketing positions with an operating room focus, such as orthopedics, electrosurgery, endoscopy and a wide range of surgical specialties. She has recruited two Rookie of the Year award winners. Connect with her on LinkedIn or check out her blog, MyJobScope.com.
