Worst Legal Punishment
Do you believe good sales people need the gift of the gab?
Are you good at being fully present when you are with people?
How would your family, work colleagues, friends and customers rate your attentiveness?
One of the biggest myths on sales is that good sales people need to have the “gift of the gab”. While it is certainly helpful to be articulate, it is far more important to be able to ask great questions and listen. Really listen.
I define effective communication as understanding between two or more people. To truly understand another it is necessary to listen with the express intent and desire to understand. Too many people listen with the desire to answer. This results in people feeling unheard. Humans find this intolerable. The worst legal punishment that is allowed to be given to somebody in prison or in the military is solitary confinement. The reason for this is very simple, people need to be seen and heard.
You only have to reflect inwardly as to how you feel when you are talking to somebody and they are busy looking at their phone to know how bad it feels when you are being ignored or being given partial attention. Sales is about building relationships. Relationships are founded on trust. In sales we follow a process and, done well, establish ourselves as a “trusted advisor”. This requires being fully engaged and present when you are with a client (or anyone on your team for that matter!)
Helping people to feel heard and seen is a skill that can be learnt. Be curious - actually want to find out what a customer wants and why. People buy our products and services for different reasons - their reasons. Pay attention and seek to understand their ‘why’. Be present. Give them the gift of your full attention. Ask great questions. Listen to the answer. Reflect back, ideally using their own words, to ensure you have heard and understood correctly, “If I have heard correctly you want xxx to overcome xxx challenge and success looks like xxx”. There are many ways to reflectively listen to ensure understanding. I like to use phrases like, “If I understand you correctly…”; “So what I heard you say…”; “To summarise the points discussed so far…. Is there anything else?”
A key to remember is that people process thoughts differently. Some are verbal communicators and talk to think. Others think before they talk. If you are a verbal communicator, as many reps are, it is helpful to take notes while chatting to clients and this can help you stop talking and pay full attention to what your client is saying.
As we ask questions and seek to understand so that we can serve a client well, it is vital to ensure we are also building relationships. This requires deliberate action. Use the time your client has gifted you and add value through your preparation, presence and professionalism.
Here's to your success!
