Listening for Information
What is the #1 selling skill the majority of business people say is most important to your overall sales and communications success? You guessed it, Listening skills. Listening for information then will determine your listening success.
I agree that becoming a more effective listener is one of the most important sales skills to master. However, “what” you are listening for, is the key. And that “What” is information. Not just any information, but intelligence that will give you a decisive advantage when vying for your prospects or customers next opportunity.
Listening is Proactive
Intelligence
The intelligence you gather makes all the difference and will give you that advantage you need to win more business. The more information you gather the more you increase your close ratios. When it comes to selling, information truly is power.
How to Listen
Listening for information is all about knowing when to speak, and when not to speak,” or is that listen. So let me say that again, “Listening is all about knowing when to speak and when not to speak.” Listening and speaking are directly related. You cannot listen unless there is some kind of verbal exchange between two individuals.
- Listening requires us to not answer our own questions
- We must become comfortable with uncomfortable silence
- We have to strive to become a better listener
- Learn and practice to ask the tough questions
DO NOT answer your own questions
Listening for information requires us to maintain composure when uncovering intelligence. One of the hardest skills to master is the ability to ask a question, and then keeping quiet until you receive and answer. When you answer your own question, provide multiple choices, or even worse, reduce the question to a simple yes or no answer, you are limiting the scope of the information you gather from the answers.
- The customer or prospects answer is better than yours
- Your answer/your information
- When you ask a question, wait for the response
Benefits of a silent moment
A silent moment in a conversation can seem like an eternity, especially in a business setting. To become an effective listener you must learn to embrace the awkward silence. The information you are waiting for, will be worth it. So when you ask a question, wait for the response, and embrace the silence. If you are guilty of this faux pas, force yourself from this point forward, not to answer your own questions, and fight for the silence.
Tough questions will lead to critical information
Asking the Tough Questions
A closing statement is not the only tough question that you can ask. Tough questions are the ones everyone is afraid to ask, thinking they will hamper or jeopardize the opportunity. In reality, it is the tough questions that need to be asked, in the correct content, and at the correct time, that will give you the decisive advantage over your competitors. Remember, “Listening is all about information.” Ask who your competitors are; ask what number it would take to get their business; ask what other features or functionality they have seen from other vendors they like; ask what their budget number is; ask how the decision process works. You need to speak to gather intelligence. The worst case outcome is a no.
Keys to Becoming an Effective Listener
- It’s all about the information you are listening for
- Respond in your conversations to gather more information
- Become very pointed in your “listening for information” skills, and practice
- And most importantly, prioritize identifying multiple opportunities within every customer and prospect, and the “information you listen for” will become a natural and organic outcome of these efforts.
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Happy Selling!
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