Wouldn’t it be great if every time we had to make a sale, our potential client would lay out the need, understand the terms, accept the out of the box solution and agree to our pricing?
Since order taking is a different discipline than sales, we need to understand how best to capitalize on opportunities rather than waiting for orders to fill. One of the keys to this is effective listening. Making sure we hear what our prospect wants us to hear as opposed to hearing what we want to hear. Here are 5 keys to effective listening when it comes to sales–
1) Listen for the problem– Just because the prospect is talking to you does not necessarily mean you can fix the problem. You can permanently drive someone away from your product by trying to be the solution when it isn’t necessary. Be their advisor, steer them in the right direction, and know they will work with you when your solution fits because you built trust. (And you listened!)
2) Listen for other problems– Consultative relationships are built on hearing problems the client doesn’t understand they have. In order to do this, we have to be able to listen for clues that indicate larger issues. Put the puzzle pieces together for the prospect–make them aware of what you are hearing and that you recognize an outstanding issue.
3) Know your Product and your Pitch– If not, your listening time becomes your “prep” time. While the client is talking and explaining their issue or situation, you are rehearsing your pitch. What you don’t want is an ineffective one way discussion “telling” the customer a laundry list of things that don’t relate to the dialogue you should be engaged in.
4) Mirror behavior of your prospect– Is your prospect quick and to the point? Be the same way. Funny? Inject humor. Match confidence with confidence. Ultimately, hear how the prospect projects towards you and be a mirror. We can reasonably assume that if someone feels it is an attractive quality in themselves, it will be an attractive quality in someone they are talking to.
5) Ask the questions–Don’t wait to simply answer the prospect’s questions–the most important points may never come up! Be prepared to ask the questions that allow you to hear the answers you need to build your case. Creating the dialogue necessitates activity on both sides.
Active listening is needed to bridge the gap between consultative selling and order taking. Make sure that you are using the tool to drive relationship building and ultimately conversion.
