To be successful at sales, especially when selling items valued over $200, you need to be really good at listening to what your potential client is saying to be able to sell better.
To develop vital skills in selling, you may use Sales Training Course offered by pdtraining in Auckland, Dunedin, Tauranga and other cities in New Zealand.
Although hearing is a passive activity, one must listen actively to listen effectively, and to actually hear what is being said.
There are three basic steps to actively listening.
- Try to identify where the other person is coming from. This concept is also called the frame of reference. For example, your reaction to a bear will be very different if you’re viewing it in a zoo, or from your tent at a campsite. Your approach to someone talking about a sick relative will differ depending on their relationship with that person.
- Listen to what is being said closely and attentively.
- Respond appropriately, either non-verbally (such as a nod to indicate you are listening), with a question (to ask for clarification), or by paraphrasing. Note that paraphrasing does not mean repeating the speaker’s words back to them like a parrot. It does mean repeating what you think the speaker said in your own words. Some examples: “It sounds like that made you angry,” or, “It sounds like that cashier wasn’t very nice to you.” (Using the “It sounds like…” precursor, or something similar, gives the speaker the opportunity to correct you if your interpretation is wrong.”
Sending Good Signals to Clients
When we are listening to others speak in Christchurch, there are three kinds of cues that we can give the other person.
Using the right kind of cue at the right time is crucial for keeping the sale process going.
- Non-Verbal: As shown in the Mehrabian study, body language plays an important part in our communications with others. Head nods and an interested facial expression will show the speaker that you are listening.
- Quasi-Verbal: Fillers words like, “uh-huh,” and “mm-hmmm,” show the speaker that you are awake and interested in the conversation.
- Verbal: Asking open questions using the six roots discussed earlier (who, what, where, when, why, how), paraphrasing, and asking summary questions, are all key tools for active listening. (We will look at questioning skills in a moment.)
These cues should be used as part of your purpose of listening actively.
Inserting an occasional, “uh-huh,” during a conversation may fool the person that you are communicating with in the short term, but you’re fooling yourself if you feel that this is an effective communication approach in the sales process.
Pdtraining delivers 1000’s of professional development courses each year in Wellington, Auckland, Napier, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin and Tauranga, so you can be assured your training will be delivered by a qualified and experienced trainer.
All public Sales Training courses include am/pm tea, lunch, printed courseware and a certificate of completion. Customised courses are available upon request so please contact pdtraining on 1300 121 400 to learn more.