When we think about inside sales or telesales, we immediately think about talking and often forget how listening is just as important factor in successful communication of any kind.
In today’s interview hosted by John Golden, the inside sales expert and founder of upyourtelesales.com, Lynn Hidy, talks about the skill of listening and how becoming a better listener can improve your performance as a salesperson and your relationship with your clients.
This expert sales interview explores:
- The importance of listening
- Why do we struggle with listening
- Useful tips for becoming a better listener and communicator
The Importance Of Listening
”The sooner you can ask the question and stop talking, the better your meeting is gonna go.” If you want your customer to share anything, you have to stop speaking. Then you need to pay attention. Don’t listen to what you want to hear, but to what is truly going on.
Why Do We Struggle With Listening
Listening is hard work, you have to be mentally present, and it takes effort. It is natural for our minds to start wandering during a conversation. We are already thinking about the reply before we can hear the whole question. It is because listening, as a function, comes naturally and intuitively to us, so we take it for granted and usually don’t have the habit of practicing.
We are the most distracted we have ever been because the devices that we use are designed in a way where everything is competing for our attention.
Become A Better Listener And Communicator
Call planning is an essential part of the routine. Preparing the questions before the call and creating a form of the framework allows better communication and control of the situation. Elimination of distractions is crucial to listening. So look at yourself, be honest, and eliminate anything that you think could take your mind off of the conversation.
The next big step is determining who is your target audience because your approach shouldn’t be the same towards everybody. Use what you know about people to orchestrate the conversation and engage different people differently.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
Comments