Better Listening Skills Will Lead To More Sales

I recently came across some research that confirmed what many of us in the profession of educating sales people have known for years: That purchasers would be "much more likely” to buy from a sales person if that sales person would just "listen” to the customer. The survey found that some of the worst offenders were experienced sales people.

Listening is one of the four fundamental competencies of a professional sales person, and yet, the profession is, in general, so poor at it that most customers remark on our inability to do it well.

Wow! If there is anyone I wouldn't want thinking I was a poor listener, my customers would be towards the top of the list.

Why is listening such a powerful sales competency? Here are a few reasons.

First, it is our primary way of digging beneath the surface of a customer's needs and uncovering deeper and more powerful needs and motivations. That makes it a primary tool – of which the skillful use separates the master sales people from the mediocre. For example, it doesn't take any skill whatsoever to pick up an RFQ, a set of blueprints, or to write down a list of what the customer says he needs. You don't have to be a master listener to do that. But to dig deeper and uncover deeper issues, that takes the ability to listen.

Dave Kahle is one of the world's leading sales authorities. He's written twelve books, presented in 47 states and eleven countries, and has helped enrich tens of thousands of sales people and transform hundreds of sales organizations. Sign up for his free weekly Ezine, His book, How to Sell Anything to Anyone Anytime, has been recognized by three international entities as "one of the five best English language business books.” Check out his latest book, The Heart of a Christian Sales Person.” All information can be found at www.davekahle.com.