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Stop Talking About Yourself: Mastering the Art of Listening in Sales
As sales leaders, it's natural to want to build connections with customers by sharing personal anecdotes. However, there are times when talking about yourself can hinder rather than help the conversation. This might sound harsh, but when a customer starts talking about their German Shepherd, it’s not an invitation to talk about your French Bulldog.
Even if you have a good connection with the customer and you are intentionally looking to create a deeper bond by increasing similarity, resist the …
Stop talking…when you finish answering their question
Welcome to our July series, "Stop Talking." This month, we’re focusing on the power of silence and strategic communication. Each week, we’ll dive deeper into how less talk and more listening can significantly impact your sales success. From answering customer questions to presenting solutions and handling objections, we’ll explore practical techniques to enhance your effectiveness as a sales leader.
Stop Talking… When You Finish Answering Their Question
Imagine a customer asks why the sofa you…
How CAN Salespeople Respond to Objections?
Salespeople can respond to objections for what they are – objections. Objections indicate that there is some concern about the product, service or process that has not previously been discussed and settled.
The most successful salespeople have a strategy for handling objections, along with an understanding of the most common objections.
Having a strategy prevents responding in a knee jerk way, under pressure from the objection and the reaction to that pressure. There is confidence in being pre…
How Salespeople Can Avoid Objections
Salespeople can avoid objections a couple of ways:
- Knowing the most common objections that buyers typically have about the product, service, process, or experience that they sell.
- Bringing those areas of possible concern up earlier in the process by asking about them as questions and part of the Discovery process.
There are salespeople who believe that if they don’t bring an issue up, then it won’t come up by the customer. Not so.
Or they keep their fingers crossed that there won’t be is…
Why Do Buyers Object?
Buyers object and raise concerns because they have them.
Buyers tend to object because they are uncertain…of what the salesperson is saying, of what the product or service promises, of how to judge either of those to get to the other side of their uncertainty, of conflicting information (what they read online is different from what the salesperson is saying).
Buyers tend to object because they are fearful…of making a mistake that can’t be easily rectified, of spending more money to solve their…
Selling also is Satisfying
Sometimes luck brings the right person into the showroom at the right time and the process moves quickly and a sale is effortlessly achieved. Sometimes that happens.
It’s more likely that attention and intention are engaged to produce a sale rather than luck from the front door.
It’s more likely that attention and intention are engaged to produce a sale rather than luck from the front door. To stay present and focused, and to be patient and sensitive to the decision-making process of the custo…
Selling also is…Frustrating
Selling is frustrating when all signs point to the sale happening, only to have life throw a curve (spouse got relocated and they are moving, found mold in the basement that will cost $25,000 to fix) and a sale that was expected this month evaporates. Or a great sale gets cancelled because the delivery staff made some errors that couldn’t be rectified quickly. Or a customer thinks that they color they saw on the sample in the showroom was different from the color of the sofa that was delivered, …
Selling also is…Strategic
I am an unabashed fan of checklists…of goals…of action plans. They don’t guarantee success, but they surely contribute to it.
Selling is strategic, and consistent selling success is helped by an organized and methodical approach and a willingness to evaluate activity to see what is missing or can be improved.
Practice helps.
It helps to practice elements that are challenging. Asking discovery questions that direct the conversation and gather pertinent information is a stra…
Selling also is…Challenging
Let’s stay on the theme of “selling is hard” for a little bit…
Selling is challenging because there is so much that is unknown and unpredictable, and even with skill development and practice as ongoing activities, there are still factors that can’t be anticipated, and the seller needs to learn the balance of being flexible and being intentional.
Selling is challenging because it’s people – buyers and sellers – who bring their own stuff to each interaction that colors how …
Selling also is…Uncomfortable
uncomfortable.
Selling is uncomfortable because the seller is often in a position of asking questions of a buyer they
barely know, and those questions may seem personal, even though they’re necessary.
Selling is uncomfortable because the seller must ask questions that they might find hard to ask because
they think the questions are too pushy or invasive – falsely believing that if t…
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