While at first the question as to whether you are hearing the words or are actually listening may seem a bit incongruous, the truth is that although hearing and listening may seem the same, they are definitely not synonymous. Just because you hear something, doesn't mean you are actually listening. And when it comes to being an excellent salesperson, being a good listener is primary to your success.
Hearing and Listening Are Not Synonymous
So, what is the difference between hearing and listening? By way of explanation, hearing involves sounds, while listening requires concentration. Hearing is involuntary, while listening is an option. In effect, hearing simply means you are gathering information from the world around you, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are listening. When someone is listening, they are paying attention. Top sales professionals are good at what they do because they know the difference. They are the ones who have mastered the art of sales techniques because they know how important it is to develop the skill of listening. In short, when used effectively, listening is a strategic sales tool that superior salespeople develop for maximum results.
Strategic Sales Techniques
In our every day activities, we hear sounds, and short of wearing earplugs, we have very little control over the sounds we hear. For those with good hearing, we don't simply turn off or turn on our hearing abilities; it's just there. As a result, when someone talks, you may hear their voice uttering sounds, but you may not be listening to what they actually say. By way of illustration, ask any married couple how they hear each other and you'll get very different and very interesting responses. When one doesn't want to hear what the other person is saying, they are really good at turning off their listening abilities. But when it comes to implementing professional selling skills, you cannot and should not turn off your listening abilities. Why? Because you will miss a lot of important clues regarding your potential client's needs. When you turn on your listening skills and truly understand what's being said, you've begun to understand the skill that has eluded the masses. You have in fact, begun mastering professional selling skills. Professional Selling Skills
To explain in a little more detail, think back to your days in school, when you were bombarded with all those reading comprehension tests. Do you remember how many times you might have read something, yet you didn't fully grasp what it said? Just because you read it over and over did not mean you fully understood it. Now, I'm all for "Comprehension" tests, but what we really need in our schools are listening tests. We were given a lot of comprehension and even hearing tests, but no one seems to be aware of the importance of listening. And throughout my years of sales training, I've observed that people who become top sales professionals are good at listening. They are the ones that ultimately make all the money in the marketplace.
Sales Skills Training
Having trained countless sales reps for the past 30 years, I will often ask participants in my sales training programs about their listening skills and whether they believe they are good at listening. More often than not, I hear them say, "I don't think it's a problem." Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. The reason? Most salespeople are not even aware of their listening skills. And because they are on the front line exchanging information daily with existing and potential clients, the information they harvest can and will have a tremendous effect on their sales skills. Consequently, it is critically important that salespeople learn how to listen correctly, although more often than not, they don't believe in its importance. Improving Our Listening Skills And Close More Sales Okay, now that we've defined the difference between hearing and listening, and their importance, let's see what we can do to fix the problem by improving on our listening skills. Let's start with the fact that for the most part, humans actually think faster than they listen and so in order to correct the problem a sales rep must find a way to improve the condition of his or her listening. But how? The answer is simple! A good salesperson will "decide" that they are going to develop good listening skills even if it takes some effort. And no matter how hard it may be, they will implement whatever tools get them there.
Taking the Necessary Steps to Improve Selling/Listening Skills
Since most of us were not taught how to listen, it takes some practice and determination to acquire the skills that make for a better listener. But it isn't all that difficult once you set your mind on it. There are actually several steps you can take that will quickly get you on the road to developing and improving selling/listening skills. And with practice and follow-though, you can become a much better listener and a much better salesperson.
1. Listen to Your Sales Prospect with Intensity
While we all have a problem focusing, when speaking with a potential client it's important that you concentrate on the speaker and the speaker's message. If you're listening with interest, you won't be as concerned about selling, but will be more concerned with listening to your potential clients needs. Instead of thinking about what you'll say next, focus intensely on what your prospect is trying to tell you.
2. Validating What You Hear
If you're not sure about something the prospect has said, make it a point to confirm what you think you heard by asking questions. It's best to wait for a brief lull in the conversation rather than interrupting the person speaking, but simply paraphrase what you think you heard in a conversation. That way there are no misunderstandings.
3. Listening Actively During a Sales Appointment
Be more of an active listener. Active listening is a powerful communication tool that is used to improve your ability to understand and comprehend verbal information. The way it's achieved is by confirming major points that have been communicated by the prospect and by voicing your understanding of any points made. In other words, give feedback. In that way you add to your ability to develop rapport, you add to the amount of clarity gained and you add to the overall exchange between you and the potential client.
4. Listen to Your Sales Prospect with Empathy
We all have a host of judgments and opinions, so it's pretty easy to pass judgment on others, particularly if we have a different opinion. But in order to be a good listener, you must put aside your opinions and listen with empathy. When listening with empathy you are putting yourself in the shoes of another person for a moment, which allows you to grasp the needs of the potential client more quickly. Your role is to become a Sales Super Star, not to approve or disapprove. In other words, even if you don't agree with the person, you want to help them find a solution.
5. Watch Your Own Body Language During A Sales Appointment
There is an old saying that says: "What you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you are saying." We do in fact say so much with our body language, our eyes and the nonverbal movements that we make, so we are always sending out messages about what we really feel and think. When you're on the listening end with a potential client, don't fidget, look the person in the eye, and do whatever is necessary to pay attention. You want the person to feel comfortable with you and there is no better way than listening with interest. Great things happen when a prospect feels they are working with a sales rep that "gets it".
6. Encourage Communication
When you listen with interest, you encourage communication. This allows another person to open up to you. If they feel safe, they will trust you. When they trust you, they're interested in what you're selling. Encourage communication by showing interest in what someone shares with you by nodding when they speak. You don't have to agree. You're just showing that you're listening. Don't interrupt when someone is speaking just so that you can have your turn. Wait until there is a pause in the conversation to ask a question and ask only one question at a time.
You Sell More Than a Product or Service
As a salesperson, you are more than simply selling a product or service. You are actually selling a solution. If you keep that uppermost in your mind, you can help your potential client or customer by zeroing in on their needs simply because you're listening. Plus, developing the art of listening instills greater confidence as well as a depth of interest that can make any sales situation a success. After all, to achieve as a Sales Superstar, you must be on the lookout for various ways of making your sales techniques more effective, and one of the best and most important tools is learning to listen!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Truth About Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation
Antonio Damasio, a world renowned neuro-scientist, argues that we use emotion to assign value to people, things, and events. And it is as a result of assigning value that we make decisions. Emotion first, reason second. Sound familiar? It should.
There's an old adage that's taken as gospel by marketers of all stripes. People buy emotionally and justify logically. In other words, heart first, head second.
So why do we say this is a Soft Sell Confirmation? Because soft sell is heart-based - not in a sentimental, gushy way - like a drunk who hangs all over you telling how much you are loved, emotions pouring out all over the place. That exhibits a lack of emotional value because it's not considered. And very often, once the hangover has subsided, not even remembered.
Soft sell, and the purchase that follows, is very considered, but considered upon a valuation based in emotion. Typically, we learned that decision making is a rational process.
For example, you make a list of the expected positive outcomes and balance that against a list of possible negative repercussions and, on the basis of that risk-reward assessment, you make a choice and go forward. But that's a leap to faith!
Why? Because reason, by its very nature, has no final authority. Using reason you can always create a logical, even compelling argument for the opposite of any choice you make.
So there you are, standing on the "ground" of a very logically developed point of view. But how can you be sure that the choice you've rationally made is ultimately the right choice? That fact is you can't . . . not with reason alone . . . because reason can't assign value, it can only be used to support the value you already feel. You stand on a mountain of facts and then leap to faith. And faith is a value choice grounded in emotion.
So what does this have to do with soft sell marketing?
1) Soft sell is about creating and maintaining relationships and real relationships are not static. They are living, and dynamic, and evolving. They are sustained through the feeling(s) between the people involved.
You've seen emotionally empty relationships. They are hollow, creaky, and surely not rewarding. They've dried up.
Your success as a soft sell marketer is to keep your relationships with your customers/clients as rich, moist, and fertile as you can. That requires sincerity, authenticity, and emotional availability.
Don't be afraid to let your customers feel you - not just know you but feel you. Let them into your life. Telling your story is one way to open that door.
2) You've heard people say, "Trust your gut." Your gut really does have a brain that feeds information to the brain in your cranium.
And so does your heart.
According to seventeenth century French philosopher Blaise Pascal - "The heart has its ways of reasoning of which reason has no knowledge." And according to recent research, there is a "heart brain" - an elaborate processing system that acts independently of the cranial brain. It has it's own way of learning, remembering, feeling and sensing.
So.. "Trust your heart." The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing, followed by logical proof. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith.
There's an old adage that's taken as gospel by marketers of all stripes. People buy emotionally and justify logically. In other words, heart first, head second.
So why do we say this is a Soft Sell Confirmation? Because soft sell is heart-based - not in a sentimental, gushy way - like a drunk who hangs all over you telling how much you are loved, emotions pouring out all over the place. That exhibits a lack of emotional value because it's not considered. And very often, once the hangover has subsided, not even remembered.
Soft sell, and the purchase that follows, is very considered, but considered upon a valuation based in emotion. Typically, we learned that decision making is a rational process.
For example, you make a list of the expected positive outcomes and balance that against a list of possible negative repercussions and, on the basis of that risk-reward assessment, you make a choice and go forward. But that's a leap to faith!
Why? Because reason, by its very nature, has no final authority. Using reason you can always create a logical, even compelling argument for the opposite of any choice you make.
So there you are, standing on the "ground" of a very logically developed point of view. But how can you be sure that the choice you've rationally made is ultimately the right choice? That fact is you can't . . . not with reason alone . . . because reason can't assign value, it can only be used to support the value you already feel. You stand on a mountain of facts and then leap to faith. And faith is a value choice grounded in emotion.
So what does this have to do with soft sell marketing?
1) Soft sell is about creating and maintaining relationships and real relationships are not static. They are living, and dynamic, and evolving. They are sustained through the feeling(s) between the people involved.
You've seen emotionally empty relationships. They are hollow, creaky, and surely not rewarding. They've dried up.
Your success as a soft sell marketer is to keep your relationships with your customers/clients as rich, moist, and fertile as you can. That requires sincerity, authenticity, and emotional availability.
Don't be afraid to let your customers feel you - not just know you but feel you. Let them into your life. Telling your story is one way to open that door.
2) You've heard people say, "Trust your gut." Your gut really does have a brain that feeds information to the brain in your cranium.
And so does your heart.
According to seventeenth century French philosopher Blaise Pascal - "The heart has its ways of reasoning of which reason has no knowledge." And according to recent research, there is a "heart brain" - an elaborate processing system that acts independently of the cranial brain. It has it's own way of learning, remembering, feeling and sensing.
So.. "Trust your heart." The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing, followed by logical proof. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith.
To Pitch or Present?
Have you ever wondered why the word "pitch" has become the term for selling? The salesperson makes a pitch; the words they use are a pitch; the listener is being pitched. Why is the word "pitch" - loaded with negative feelings and expectations - universally accepted as the term that accurately describes what's happening? At thesaurus.com there are 53 various definitions for the word "pitch." They range from - to set up, to the angle of a slope, to stumbling, to the plunging of the bow of a ship, to helping out.
We don't know about you but these don't have any bearing, at least not any immediately obvious connection, with a high pressure sales talk - which was one entry in the list. In another category "pitch"means a dark, thick, very sticky substance. Maybe this is where the negative connotation for "a sales pitch" comes from. You can't get the stuff off.
Think about a time you felt like you were being pitched. Just writing this last sentence brings back a rush of sense memories of what it felt like. Barraged. Unseen. Lied to - even if what the sales guy was saying was the total truth. It felt like a lie. Why?
Because his intention was inauthentic. He kept telling us how much he wanted to help, but whenever we had a question, instead of taking an interest in our concern, he'd answer by telling us about some feature of his product and just what it was going to do for us. And, of course, when we said we wanted to wait, he pulled out the old scarcity tactic. He could only offer me the "special price" if we acted immediately - i.e. accept his offer now.
Do you really believe that if we walked out and returned the next day, check in hand, he would say - "No. No. Sorry. That price was good only yesterday?"
As far as we see it, a pitch is when you get everything thrown at you for the explicit purpose of the salesperson getting your check right then and there. It is a scarcity, failure mentality that operates on desperation, and works to make you, the buyer, desperate as well.
In contrast, bring to mind an instance when a salesperson genuinely helped you to accomplish what you set out to do. What was that like? One thing sure - it wasn't a pitch.
And if the salesperson was really artful - yes, there is a genuine and sincere art to helping someone make a decision to buy - what he or she did was more of a presentation with your best interest at heart. Heart. Not Mind. Heart. A connection. An emotional connection, because, as we said in our last post - "The Truth about Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation!" -
The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith. That leap is a leap of the heart . . . a leap based in emotional evaluation
How best can you help your customer make that leap of faith? One way is to make a presentation instead of a pitch. Because, again according to thesarus.com, here's what "to present" means and what it feels like: To furnish or endow with a gift; to offer, or give; to introduce; to show or exhibit; to offer for consideration.
How do you feel reading this last line? Gift. Offer. Introduce. Consideration. Doesn't it feel like you're actually being included in the presentation with your best interest at heart? And doesn't it make the prospect of offering something for sale more attractive?
The very best sales people, the artists, do just that. They know they have the responsibility of leading the customer to a buying decision, so, by making a presentation, they set up a buying environment instead of a selling one. They go into a partnership with their customer instead of seeing the transaction as a one-way street - from your wallet to theirs.
Remember, your customer is a person who has a life filled with hopes, fears, dreams, expectations, disappointments, and, just like you, they are entrusted with making their life as meaningful and as fulfilling as they can.
If your offer - your presentation - can facilitate and support their trust, you not only make a sale, you can make a long-term customer, someone who returns to you, because, with you, they know that the benefits they receive always reach well beyond just a product-for-money transaction.
We don't know about you but these don't have any bearing, at least not any immediately obvious connection, with a high pressure sales talk - which was one entry in the list. In another category "pitch"means a dark, thick, very sticky substance. Maybe this is where the negative connotation for "a sales pitch" comes from. You can't get the stuff off.
Think about a time you felt like you were being pitched. Just writing this last sentence brings back a rush of sense memories of what it felt like. Barraged. Unseen. Lied to - even if what the sales guy was saying was the total truth. It felt like a lie. Why?
Because his intention was inauthentic. He kept telling us how much he wanted to help, but whenever we had a question, instead of taking an interest in our concern, he'd answer by telling us about some feature of his product and just what it was going to do for us. And, of course, when we said we wanted to wait, he pulled out the old scarcity tactic. He could only offer me the "special price" if we acted immediately - i.e. accept his offer now.
Do you really believe that if we walked out and returned the next day, check in hand, he would say - "No. No. Sorry. That price was good only yesterday?"
As far as we see it, a pitch is when you get everything thrown at you for the explicit purpose of the salesperson getting your check right then and there. It is a scarcity, failure mentality that operates on desperation, and works to make you, the buyer, desperate as well.
In contrast, bring to mind an instance when a salesperson genuinely helped you to accomplish what you set out to do. What was that like? One thing sure - it wasn't a pitch.
And if the salesperson was really artful - yes, there is a genuine and sincere art to helping someone make a decision to buy - what he or she did was more of a presentation with your best interest at heart. Heart. Not Mind. Heart. A connection. An emotional connection, because, as we said in our last post - "The Truth about Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation!" -
The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith. That leap is a leap of the heart . . . a leap based in emotional evaluation
How best can you help your customer make that leap of faith? One way is to make a presentation instead of a pitch. Because, again according to thesarus.com, here's what "to present" means and what it feels like: To furnish or endow with a gift; to offer, or give; to introduce; to show or exhibit; to offer for consideration.
How do you feel reading this last line? Gift. Offer. Introduce. Consideration. Doesn't it feel like you're actually being included in the presentation with your best interest at heart? And doesn't it make the prospect of offering something for sale more attractive?
The very best sales people, the artists, do just that. They know they have the responsibility of leading the customer to a buying decision, so, by making a presentation, they set up a buying environment instead of a selling one. They go into a partnership with their customer instead of seeing the transaction as a one-way street - from your wallet to theirs.
Remember, your customer is a person who has a life filled with hopes, fears, dreams, expectations, disappointments, and, just like you, they are entrusted with making their life as meaningful and as fulfilling as they can.
If your offer - your presentation - can facilitate and support their trust, you not only make a sale, you can make a long-term customer, someone who returns to you, because, with you, they know that the benefits they receive always reach well beyond just a product-for-money transaction.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Truth About Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation
Antonio Damasio, a world renowned neuro-scientist, argues that we use emotion to assign value to people, things, and events. And it is as a result of assigning value that we make decisions. Emotion first, reason second. Sound familiar? It should.
There's an old adage that's taken as gospel by marketers of all stripes. People buy emotionally and justify logically. In other words, heart first, head second.
So why do we say this is a Soft Sell Confirmation? Because soft sell is heart-based - not in a sentimental, gushy way - like a drunk who hangs all over you telling how much you are loved, emotions pouring out all over the place. That exhibits a lack of emotional value because it's not considered. And very often, once the hangover has subsided, not even remembered.
Soft sell, and the purchase that follows, is very considered, but considered upon a valuation based in emotion. Typically, we learned that decision making is a rational process.
For example, you make a list of the expected positive outcomes and balance that against a list of possible negative repercussions and, on the basis of that risk-reward assessment, you make a choice and go forward. But that's a leap to faith!
Why? Because reason, by its very nature, has no final authority. Using reason you can always create a logical, even compelling argument for the opposite of any choice you make.
So there you are, standing on the "ground" of a very logically developed point of view. But how can you be sure that the choice you've rationally made is ultimately the right choice? That fact is you can't . . . not with reason alone . . . because reason can't assign value, it can only be used to support the value you already feel. You stand on a mountain of facts and then leap to faith. And faith is a value choice grounded in emotion.
So what does this have to do with soft sell marketing?
1) Soft sell is about creating and maintaining relationships and real relationships are not static. They are living, and dynamic, and evolving. They are sustained through the feeling(s) between the people involved.
You've seen emotionally empty relationships. They are hollow, creaky, and surely not rewarding. They've dried up.
Your success as a soft sell marketer is to keep your relationships with your customers/clients as rich, moist, and fertile as you can. That requires sincerity, authenticity, and emotional availability.
Don't be afraid to let your customers feel you - not just know you but feel you. Let them into your life. Telling your story is one way to open that door.
2) You've heard people say, "Trust your gut." Your gut really does have a brain that feeds information to the brain in your cranium.
And so does your heart.
According to seventeenth century French philosopher Blaise Pascal - "The heart has its ways of reasoning of which reason has no knowledge." And according to recent research, there is a "heart brain" - an elaborate processing system that acts independently of the cranial brain. It has it's own way of learning, remembering, feeling and sensing.
So.. "Trust your heart." The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing, followed by logical proof. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith.
There's an old adage that's taken as gospel by marketers of all stripes. People buy emotionally and justify logically. In other words, heart first, head second.
So why do we say this is a Soft Sell Confirmation? Because soft sell is heart-based - not in a sentimental, gushy way - like a drunk who hangs all over you telling how much you are loved, emotions pouring out all over the place. That exhibits a lack of emotional value because it's not considered. And very often, once the hangover has subsided, not even remembered.
Soft sell, and the purchase that follows, is very considered, but considered upon a valuation based in emotion. Typically, we learned that decision making is a rational process.
For example, you make a list of the expected positive outcomes and balance that against a list of possible negative repercussions and, on the basis of that risk-reward assessment, you make a choice and go forward. But that's a leap to faith!
Why? Because reason, by its very nature, has no final authority. Using reason you can always create a logical, even compelling argument for the opposite of any choice you make.
So there you are, standing on the "ground" of a very logically developed point of view. But how can you be sure that the choice you've rationally made is ultimately the right choice? That fact is you can't . . . not with reason alone . . . because reason can't assign value, it can only be used to support the value you already feel. You stand on a mountain of facts and then leap to faith. And faith is a value choice grounded in emotion.
So what does this have to do with soft sell marketing?
1) Soft sell is about creating and maintaining relationships and real relationships are not static. They are living, and dynamic, and evolving. They are sustained through the feeling(s) between the people involved.
You've seen emotionally empty relationships. They are hollow, creaky, and surely not rewarding. They've dried up.
Your success as a soft sell marketer is to keep your relationships with your customers/clients as rich, moist, and fertile as you can. That requires sincerity, authenticity, and emotional availability.
Don't be afraid to let your customers feel you - not just know you but feel you. Let them into your life. Telling your story is one way to open that door.
2) You've heard people say, "Trust your gut." Your gut really does have a brain that feeds information to the brain in your cranium.
And so does your heart.
According to seventeenth century French philosopher Blaise Pascal - "The heart has its ways of reasoning of which reason has no knowledge." And according to recent research, there is a "heart brain" - an elaborate processing system that acts independently of the cranial brain. It has it's own way of learning, remembering, feeling and sensing.
So.. "Trust your heart." The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing, followed by logical proof. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith.
To Pitch or Present?
Have you ever wondered why the word "pitch" has become the term for selling? The salesperson makes a pitch; the words they use are a pitch; the listener is being pitched. Why is the word "pitch" - loaded with negative feelings and expectations - universally accepted as the term that accurately describes what's happening? At thesaurus.com there are 53 various definitions for the word "pitch." They range from - to set up, to the angle of a slope, to stumbling, to the plunging of the bow of a ship, to helping out.
We don't know about you but these don't have any bearing, at least not any immediately obvious connection, with a high pressure sales talk - which was one entry in the list. In another category "pitch"means a dark, thick, very sticky substance. Maybe this is where the negative connotation for "a sales pitch" comes from. You can't get the stuff off.
Think about a time you felt like you were being pitched. Just writing this last sentence brings back a rush of sense memories of what it felt like. Barraged. Unseen. Lied to - even if what the sales guy was saying was the total truth. It felt like a lie. Why?
Because his intention was inauthentic. He kept telling us how much he wanted to help, but whenever we had a question, instead of taking an interest in our concern, he'd answer by telling us about some feature of his product and just what it was going to do for us. And, of course, when we said we wanted to wait, he pulled out the old scarcity tactic. He could only offer me the "special price" if we acted immediately - i.e. accept his offer now.
Do you really believe that if we walked out and returned the next day, check in hand, he would say - "No. No. Sorry. That price was good only yesterday?"
As far as we see it, a pitch is when you get everything thrown at you for the explicit purpose of the salesperson getting your check right then and there. It is a scarcity, failure mentality that operates on desperation, and works to make you, the buyer, desperate as well.
In contrast, bring to mind an instance when a salesperson genuinely helped you to accomplish what you set out to do. What was that like? One thing sure - it wasn't a pitch.
And if the salesperson was really artful - yes, there is a genuine and sincere art to helping someone make a decision to buy - what he or she did was more of a presentation with your best interest at heart. Heart. Not Mind. Heart. A connection. An emotional connection, because, as we said in our last post - "The Truth about Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation!" -
The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith. That leap is a leap of the heart . . . a leap based in emotional evaluation
How best can you help your customer make that leap of faith? One way is to make a presentation instead of a pitch. Because, again according to thesarus.com, here's what "to present" means and what it feels like: To furnish or endow with a gift; to offer, or give; to introduce; to show or exhibit; to offer for consideration.
How do you feel reading this last line? Gift. Offer. Introduce. Consideration. Doesn't it feel like you're actually being included in the presentation with your best interest at heart? And doesn't it make the prospect of offering something for sale more attractive?
The very best sales people, the artists, do just that. They know they have the responsibility of leading the customer to a buying decision, so, by making a presentation, they set up a buying environment instead of a selling one. They go into a partnership with their customer instead of seeing the transaction as a one-way street - from your wallet to theirs.
Remember, your customer is a person who has a life filled with hopes, fears, dreams, expectations, disappointments, and, just like you, they are entrusted with making their life as meaningful and as fulfilling as they can.
If your offer - your presentation - can facilitate and support their trust, you not only make a sale, you can make a long-term customer, someone who returns to you, because, with you, they know that the benefits they receive always reach well beyond just a product-for-money transaction.
We don't know about you but these don't have any bearing, at least not any immediately obvious connection, with a high pressure sales talk - which was one entry in the list. In another category "pitch"means a dark, thick, very sticky substance. Maybe this is where the negative connotation for "a sales pitch" comes from. You can't get the stuff off.
Think about a time you felt like you were being pitched. Just writing this last sentence brings back a rush of sense memories of what it felt like. Barraged. Unseen. Lied to - even if what the sales guy was saying was the total truth. It felt like a lie. Why?
Because his intention was inauthentic. He kept telling us how much he wanted to help, but whenever we had a question, instead of taking an interest in our concern, he'd answer by telling us about some feature of his product and just what it was going to do for us. And, of course, when we said we wanted to wait, he pulled out the old scarcity tactic. He could only offer me the "special price" if we acted immediately - i.e. accept his offer now.
Do you really believe that if we walked out and returned the next day, check in hand, he would say - "No. No. Sorry. That price was good only yesterday?"
As far as we see it, a pitch is when you get everything thrown at you for the explicit purpose of the salesperson getting your check right then and there. It is a scarcity, failure mentality that operates on desperation, and works to make you, the buyer, desperate as well.
In contrast, bring to mind an instance when a salesperson genuinely helped you to accomplish what you set out to do. What was that like? One thing sure - it wasn't a pitch.
And if the salesperson was really artful - yes, there is a genuine and sincere art to helping someone make a decision to buy - what he or she did was more of a presentation with your best interest at heart. Heart. Not Mind. Heart. A connection. An emotional connection, because, as we said in our last post - "The Truth about Emotions - A Soft Sell Confirmation!" -
The heart is an evaluation center, based in feeling. It's the center of connection, emotional connection. Heart-based marketing is emotion-based marketing. You can collect a mountain of facts and statistics about your product, and you need to, so you can assure your customer you know what you're talking about, but then your customer must still leap to faith. That leap is a leap of the heart . . . a leap based in emotional evaluation
How best can you help your customer make that leap of faith? One way is to make a presentation instead of a pitch. Because, again according to thesarus.com, here's what "to present" means and what it feels like: To furnish or endow with a gift; to offer, or give; to introduce; to show or exhibit; to offer for consideration.
How do you feel reading this last line? Gift. Offer. Introduce. Consideration. Doesn't it feel like you're actually being included in the presentation with your best interest at heart? And doesn't it make the prospect of offering something for sale more attractive?
The very best sales people, the artists, do just that. They know they have the responsibility of leading the customer to a buying decision, so, by making a presentation, they set up a buying environment instead of a selling one. They go into a partnership with their customer instead of seeing the transaction as a one-way street - from your wallet to theirs.
Remember, your customer is a person who has a life filled with hopes, fears, dreams, expectations, disappointments, and, just like you, they are entrusted with making their life as meaningful and as fulfilling as they can.
If your offer - your presentation - can facilitate and support their trust, you not only make a sale, you can make a long-term customer, someone who returns to you, because, with you, they know that the benefits they receive always reach well beyond just a product-for-money transaction.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Leading By Listening And Communication
It seems it is a daily occurrence that people fail to communicate properly at work or home. Most places communication problems breed from ignorant managers, mentors, supervisors and mid-level directors. Credibility goes right out the window when lack of knowledge is exposed by subordinates. The result is a weak comprehension level of productivity from workers.
Listening is as important as speaking or sending a message. Communication involves sending and receiving ideas thoughts and feelings from one person to another person or more. The message is sent in a manner that the sender wants the recipient to hear or receive the meaning in the message. It is up to us to listen and interpret this meaning. If you can't pay attention to detail the indented message is lost.
There are many communication models that can be used and applied in the daily workplace. These models show problems in communication. Most problems start with listening. With communications these models identify listening most important over speaking and sending messages to the receiver. Speakers and receivers both need to listen.
A normal standard with communication models show people filter, identify, and attach meaning and importance to what they are listening to based on their personal interpretation, previous life experiences and relationships with peers. Responses from the communication message come from thoughts extracted from ones mind within milliseconds.
How many times have you experienced the feeling that someone was crazy or boring? It's fair to say this happens on a daily basis. We all know that the world revolves around meetings in the workplace. These are a norm in the office. The intent of meetings is to discuss and brief peers on goals. Everyone knows this isn't always the case. Most of the time nobody really cares and there aren't relevant details about the meeting or goals and standards. So the meeting veers to another direction usually with someone enjoying the sound of their own voice while everyone else is board to tears. Either way we are experiencing a filtration process and rejection of the messages in the meeting being sent.
Surely you have been to a meeting with a long-winded announcement to impress all the attendees. A long introduction soon turns into a boring ignored message by the listeners. But there are many non-verbal messages if the receiver is truly paying attention to detail. Listen with compassion, doing so can help you to relax and keep you patient. Rushing the message can end up rude and take the message in a new unproductive direction.
Listening is can be developed into a powerful skill. Messages are received and filtered based on our own unique thinking process. Our brain interprets the messages based on experiences and other cues, non-verbal, tones and suggestive expressions.
The ability to interpret the message, allows us to determine our responses. It is critical to pay attention to details in the message instead of filtering out too much and missing the true meaning of the message. Listening is a crucial active part in the communication cycle. Body language is the unvoiced communication component the shows volumes of communication for anyone to understand. It's definitely something to pay attention to. Body language is the "spark" of the messages. The more attention one places on the nonverbal such as body language, the more you can be aware of the true meaning of the message.
Listening must be an action by all receivers. There are many barriers that can interrupt or degrade the intended message. Some of these barriers especially external environment sounds, lack of sleep or drowsiness, can hinder this process. Language barriers are a common issue with continental and global communication. It's common knowledge that The English is the standard or international language. The Problem exists is the U.S. Why? Well most countries provide English studies to students. Europeans are known for their ability to speak multiple languages. While they are learning our language are we learning theirs? This surely causes huge language barriers. It seems the US is behind the language curve.
Take control of your listening environment. Establishing a safe, neutral place to hold meetings high importance it should be a common practice to secure the environment. Close doors, and windows, turn off fans and radios. Place signs outside the conference room to let others know to be curious.
Concentration is another variable in the listening equation. Focusing on the main idea, and reading between the lines can make or break a message. Mentally summarize the message in an orderly, realistic manner. Do not judge the message before you understand its meaning. This way you will not react to a message in an unnecessary manner.
Listening is as important as speaking or sending a message. Communication involves sending and receiving ideas thoughts and feelings from one person to another person or more. The message is sent in a manner that the sender wants the recipient to hear or receive the meaning in the message. It is up to us to listen and interpret this meaning. If you can't pay attention to detail the indented message is lost.
There are many communication models that can be used and applied in the daily workplace. These models show problems in communication. Most problems start with listening. With communications these models identify listening most important over speaking and sending messages to the receiver. Speakers and receivers both need to listen.
A normal standard with communication models show people filter, identify, and attach meaning and importance to what they are listening to based on their personal interpretation, previous life experiences and relationships with peers. Responses from the communication message come from thoughts extracted from ones mind within milliseconds.
How many times have you experienced the feeling that someone was crazy or boring? It's fair to say this happens on a daily basis. We all know that the world revolves around meetings in the workplace. These are a norm in the office. The intent of meetings is to discuss and brief peers on goals. Everyone knows this isn't always the case. Most of the time nobody really cares and there aren't relevant details about the meeting or goals and standards. So the meeting veers to another direction usually with someone enjoying the sound of their own voice while everyone else is board to tears. Either way we are experiencing a filtration process and rejection of the messages in the meeting being sent.
Surely you have been to a meeting with a long-winded announcement to impress all the attendees. A long introduction soon turns into a boring ignored message by the listeners. But there are many non-verbal messages if the receiver is truly paying attention to detail. Listen with compassion, doing so can help you to relax and keep you patient. Rushing the message can end up rude and take the message in a new unproductive direction.
Listening is can be developed into a powerful skill. Messages are received and filtered based on our own unique thinking process. Our brain interprets the messages based on experiences and other cues, non-verbal, tones and suggestive expressions.
The ability to interpret the message, allows us to determine our responses. It is critical to pay attention to details in the message instead of filtering out too much and missing the true meaning of the message. Listening is a crucial active part in the communication cycle. Body language is the unvoiced communication component the shows volumes of communication for anyone to understand. It's definitely something to pay attention to. Body language is the "spark" of the messages. The more attention one places on the nonverbal such as body language, the more you can be aware of the true meaning of the message.
Listening must be an action by all receivers. There are many barriers that can interrupt or degrade the intended message. Some of these barriers especially external environment sounds, lack of sleep or drowsiness, can hinder this process. Language barriers are a common issue with continental and global communication. It's common knowledge that The English is the standard or international language. The Problem exists is the U.S. Why? Well most countries provide English studies to students. Europeans are known for their ability to speak multiple languages. While they are learning our language are we learning theirs? This surely causes huge language barriers. It seems the US is behind the language curve.
Take control of your listening environment. Establishing a safe, neutral place to hold meetings high importance it should be a common practice to secure the environment. Close doors, and windows, turn off fans and radios. Place signs outside the conference room to let others know to be curious.
Concentration is another variable in the listening equation. Focusing on the main idea, and reading between the lines can make or break a message. Mentally summarize the message in an orderly, realistic manner. Do not judge the message before you understand its meaning. This way you will not react to a message in an unnecessary manner.
Effective Managers Stand Up and Go First
I recently conducted an ad hoc survey in which I asked a number of salespeople what they thought about the managers in their company. While many said they like their immediate manager, and other managers in the firm, they reported that, in general, all managers are too busy doing other things (selling, administrating, reading reports), and do not take the act of managing (developing people) seriously.
The replies were not encouraging; those who work in large companies were particularly harsh in their criticism. The survey respondents craved a culture of accountability, in which managers who proclaim their commitments to standards of excellence and mission statements follow through on their pledges.
If you want others to perform their roles at a higher level, you must ensure that they know and believe that you accept the responsibility to perform your managerial tasks and duties effectively.
Here are four powerful ideas that could help you radically improve your and your team's performance (and revenue generation) in the coming year:
1. Create a questionnaire
Examine the following statements, one by one, from your salespeople's point of view. Do you consider each of these principles of good management an important part of your role?
As a manager, you:
* Act and live by the principles you advocate
* Act as a role model that people want to copy
* Are a person of integrity
* Enforce the company values
* Are 'part of the team' as opposed to a detached boss
* Motivate your people to stretch to meet performance goals
* Are concerned about long-term issues, not just short-term profits
* Provide timely, balanced feedback that helps your people improve their performance
* Are a source of creative ideas
* Help your people grow and develop
* Have regularly scheduled, one-on-one meetings, with each of your people every two weeks
* Make your people feel that they are members of a well-functioning team
* Emphasize cooperation rather than competition between work groups
* Are prompt in dealing with underperformance
* Arrive on time for meetings, and expect others to be prompt
* Keep your people informed about things they need to know to perform their jobs properly
* Encourage your team to initiate tasks or projects
* Are more often encouraging than critical
* Are fair in dealing with all employees
* Consult others when making decisions
* Run interesting, results-oriented meetings
* Act more like a coach than a boss
* Are publicly generous with credit
* Are an excellent listener
* Ask thoughtful, curious questions
Examine your priorities seriously ... and slowly. Carefully think through which of these principles could really help you make a difference, and how effectively you currently practice them.
Then check your assessment against the opinion of the people with whom you work. Create a questionnaire on which people can rate you from 1 to 5 on how well you deliver on your management goals.
2. Circulate the questionnaire
Give the questionnaire to everyone you deal with in your organization. Have a third-party (can be someone internal) tabulate the results and calculate an average rating.
3. Publish the average ratings
Circulate the combined ratings to everyone who filled out the questionnaire.
4. Call a meeting of those you manage and give the following speech
"I have sent you a copy of your current collective assessment of my managerial performance. We will repeat this survey a year from now. Meanwhile, I promise to get better at the management priorities for which I am responsible. Don't expect me to be perfect. Perfection is not a standard you can hold me to, and it's not a standard I expect from you."
"But here is my commitment to you. If I have not improved in my management performance over the next year as identified in these priorities, then I will step down as manager of this group and I will find you a new one."
"You have a right to expect that I will get better at the tasks and duties that are my responsibility. And I have a right to expect the same from you."
Transparency and accountability go together and create tremendous trust in an organization. Good luck with this!
Nicki Weiss is an internationally recognized Certified Professional Coach, Master Trainer, and workshop leader. She brings to her work 25 years of experience with corporate sales executives, small-to-medium size entrepreneurial business leaders, and sales teams of all shapes and sizes.
The replies were not encouraging; those who work in large companies were particularly harsh in their criticism. The survey respondents craved a culture of accountability, in which managers who proclaim their commitments to standards of excellence and mission statements follow through on their pledges.
If you want others to perform their roles at a higher level, you must ensure that they know and believe that you accept the responsibility to perform your managerial tasks and duties effectively.
Here are four powerful ideas that could help you radically improve your and your team's performance (and revenue generation) in the coming year:
1. Create a questionnaire
Examine the following statements, one by one, from your salespeople's point of view. Do you consider each of these principles of good management an important part of your role?
As a manager, you:
* Act and live by the principles you advocate
* Act as a role model that people want to copy
* Are a person of integrity
* Enforce the company values
* Are 'part of the team' as opposed to a detached boss
* Motivate your people to stretch to meet performance goals
* Are concerned about long-term issues, not just short-term profits
* Provide timely, balanced feedback that helps your people improve their performance
* Are a source of creative ideas
* Help your people grow and develop
* Have regularly scheduled, one-on-one meetings, with each of your people every two weeks
* Make your people feel that they are members of a well-functioning team
* Emphasize cooperation rather than competition between work groups
* Are prompt in dealing with underperformance
* Arrive on time for meetings, and expect others to be prompt
* Keep your people informed about things they need to know to perform their jobs properly
* Encourage your team to initiate tasks or projects
* Are more often encouraging than critical
* Are fair in dealing with all employees
* Consult others when making decisions
* Run interesting, results-oriented meetings
* Act more like a coach than a boss
* Are publicly generous with credit
* Are an excellent listener
* Ask thoughtful, curious questions
Examine your priorities seriously ... and slowly. Carefully think through which of these principles could really help you make a difference, and how effectively you currently practice them.
Then check your assessment against the opinion of the people with whom you work. Create a questionnaire on which people can rate you from 1 to 5 on how well you deliver on your management goals.
2. Circulate the questionnaire
Give the questionnaire to everyone you deal with in your organization. Have a third-party (can be someone internal) tabulate the results and calculate an average rating.
3. Publish the average ratings
Circulate the combined ratings to everyone who filled out the questionnaire.
4. Call a meeting of those you manage and give the following speech
"I have sent you a copy of your current collective assessment of my managerial performance. We will repeat this survey a year from now. Meanwhile, I promise to get better at the management priorities for which I am responsible. Don't expect me to be perfect. Perfection is not a standard you can hold me to, and it's not a standard I expect from you."
"But here is my commitment to you. If I have not improved in my management performance over the next year as identified in these priorities, then I will step down as manager of this group and I will find you a new one."
"You have a right to expect that I will get better at the tasks and duties that are my responsibility. And I have a right to expect the same from you."
Transparency and accountability go together and create tremendous trust in an organization. Good luck with this!
Nicki Weiss is an internationally recognized Certified Professional Coach, Master Trainer, and workshop leader. She brings to her work 25 years of experience with corporate sales executives, small-to-medium size entrepreneurial business leaders, and sales teams of all shapes and sizes.
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