Talk less, listen more, if you want to be successful in sales!

In our country, the salespeople common way is to talk too much, people even give example that, “you are a salesman so I cannot compete with you in talk”. Also, some people give reference like “you are talking like a salesman”.

The truth is, talk too much do not help in sales. If anyone talk too much most of the time in sales meeting, maximum times, will not bring sales results. This reason we talk too much about ourselves, our products, or services - it feels so rewarding to us. Human psychological nature is he/she likes someone listen to them. Self-disclosure is extra satisfying to us. Sometimes this talk too much can lead us to lose sales.

Listening and asking the right question is an exceptional technique to find out customer pain points and build relationship with customer and the listener. What happens when we listen to our customers carefully, actively and ask the right questions related to sell our products and services?

Build up relationship with customer: active listening helps to build up relationships. This shows the speaker is important and you are carefully listening to him/her.  You are paying attention; this is important in the sales work. Most of the time when a salesman shows the intention to sell aggressively, the customer rapidly intend to be not open-up much and reluctant to give information’s. when salesperson shows the value of customer needs and opinions. It will be easier to build relationship and trust. Which will lead to joint benefits.

It will avoid miscommunication and help to become more specifies: The sales process of the business to business sales. Most of the time we see some of the miscommunication happens as we do not pay attention of the customer pain points.

Take notes, summarized the meeting discussion points is important. When the big amount (size) of sales happens, to be extremely specific and clarifying the requirements is important. Before closing the sales cycle sums up the conversation, repeat and confirmed the key points, take the opportunity to correct anything that was not understood clearly before. Focusing on the customer to avoid any kind of miscommunication and keep the sales cycle 100% on truck.

Understanding the true motivation of customer needs: when salespeople let customer talk more by asking right open-ended questions, only that time customer will talk more why they need the products or services. Once salesman can identify the motivation that drives customer to buy certain products or services, it will be easy for the salesperson to close the sales and get results.

How we normally listen and why our listening does not work: as a salesperson we always listen, but here is most of the salespeople do when our customer’s talk:

•    They are getting prepared in their head and think about what they are going to next as answer. Not focusing what customer is really saying.

•    Interrupt the customer in the middle of talking to agree or make another or his point of thinking on it.

•    Hurrying the conversation by putting close ended questions before closing the sales cycle or sales presentation or even product or service demonstration.

•    Check the SMS or social media mostly when salespeople are over phone meeting.

•    Looking at the customer face intently, pretending they are listening but actuality they are thinking something others and not listening at all.

•    For new customer, repeat their name repeatedly so that salesperson can remember the mane. But it leads some time very annoying to the speaker.

•    Even sometime some of the good salesman can ask the right question but lac of focus on the customer body language and expression miss the actual meaning of what is being said.  The true meaning behind the words. Great salespeople listen carefully, understand the true requirements and provide solution on that point and close the sales quickly.

As a salesperson, how we can become a good listener: Become a good listener is very important for the salesperson to become successful in sale job, here is some of the idea how we can become a very good listener:

1.    Set a goal daily basis: before night or everyday morning set a goal for you, how many customers you are going to meet or talk, out of this meeting how many you are going to close the sales. Remember in mind whatever customer is going to say it will help to close the deal and bring money to you. It will work as a motivation to you for listening more carefully.

2.    This works like give and take: if you intended to listen more to customer, customer will be happy to listen to you as well. This will help you to become more efficient on describing the products benefits to solve customer problems. It will help to close the sales as soon as possible.

3.    Put Phone away from you: When you are in a face to face meeting, put away your and solely focus on the customer.

4.    Make proper eye contact: Making proper eye contact when you are listening, this meaning, you are paying attentive and serious on the discussion.

5.    Take note: when customer is talking take note and make a summery just before finishing the meeting and become agreed on the discussion points.

6.    Ask question: please ask questions throughout the discussion, mostly open-ended questions, but as when the customer finish talking on one point. Take few second pause and ask the next questions. For asking question please do some homework before the meeting. Asking questions should not seems to customer like interrogating.

How can you stop yourself from talking during a meeting: As listening is especially important, salespeople need to know how not to speak when someone is talking?
How you can keep your mouth shut and listen when customer is talking: there are several ways to keep you can keep mouth shut and listen what is our most valuable customer is telling:

1.    Write a yellow note: To keep you silent and listen to others, write an exceedingly small note and keep in with you so that you only can see, and the customer can not see. If customer see it is not a good thing. So, when you write the note to you, be incredibly careful about this.

2.    Bite your tang inside your mouth: when you just want to open your mouth to respond something, bite your tang inside your mouth and think you need to listen more and find the original pain point of the customer. This will help you to close sale more quickly. This need practice, if you practice one week or so you will know how to keep smile on face and bite your tang to keep silent.

3.    Take sip of water: When you are a face to face discussion, if there is water, tea or coffee take a small sip, so that you keep continue listening, try to avoid eating. Eating is sometime distracting the customer.

4.    Take note: When customer is talking, please keep taking note, it shows you are intensely serious to his/her problem also you are giving attention to the discussion.

5.    Put fingers on your mouth (when you are in phone): Sometimes we are in the phone discussion, ask the right question and literally put your figure on your lips and keep your mouth shut. Do not talk and keep focus on the discussion.

6.    Commend your mind not to talk and show empathy: when have face to face discussion, keep telling your mind focus, focus and focus so that your mind will be alert.  Also show empathy by your body language and some exceedingly small words. This will give confidence to the customer on you.

Active listening is especially important in sales closing and getting results, salespeople need to learn how to be become active listener. They must have particularly good product knowledge to give the solution on the actual needs of the customer.

Remember one thing, customer do not buy the products or services, they buy the solutions of their problems. If do not listen, you may not get the real problem of the customer and cannot be able to solve the problem.

Therefore, all the salesperson need be become particularly good listener.

(Writer: Anower Sadath Kabir, Sales Advisor: vivo mobile company Bangladesh.)


Dhaka/Sony