BEGIN WITH LISTENING
Most people are great talkers but terrible listeners, if you are not sure if you fall in this category, check who is starring back at you in the mirror. Yet listening skills identify the real problems that are to be addressed.
One of the the greatest gifts you can give another person is your attention. All of us want people to listen to what WE have to say. Yet, rather than listening, many of us can't wait to jump in and solve the other person's problems. While the other person is talking, have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I wish you'd hurry up and stop talking so I can tell you what to do."
Hmmm?
Whether a prospect decides to hire your services often depends on whether he or she feels you understand and care about them. This usually comes down to whether you've taken time to listen to their pain, understand what and how they feel about their dialemma, and focus on the problem he wants to solve.
If you practice what you have learned in marketing, you probably will probably recommend similar solutions to many prospects. Yet, while your solutions may include many of the same elements or methods, each prospect thinks and believes their problem is unique.
While you are thinking, "This problem is just like all the others I've seen this week," your prospect is thinking, "I'll bet you have never heard of or faced a problem like mine."
I have had the good fortune to read articles and books by Cavett Robert. Cavett is a retired trial attorney and founder of the National Speakers' Association. He is man of uncommon depth and well worth studying
Cavett would sit opposite his prospect, look into their eyes, focused his total attention on them, and calmly say your name followed by, "Tell me about yourself."
Most people will start a conversation introducing themselves giving their prospect a brief overview and their sales pitch.
However, five minutes later, taking only time to breathe, most are still talking 90 miles per hour. People love to talk about themselves and often it is difficult to stop them
What's wrong with this picture?
Consider this you came to listen and learn and learn about your prospects, yet the only person talking is you! So practice a quick unabridged autobiography about yourself, and then turn from a talker into a listener by saying "Enough about me now tell me about yourself".
When business people tell me they occasionally feel awkward when meeting with a prospect, I suggest they begin their prospect interview with Cavett's four magic words.
"Tell me about yourself" puts your prospect at ease and gets them to open up. Also, it takes the focus off you and allows you to sit back to listen for their chunks of gold.
True, your prospect came to your office to learn what you can do for him. But your prospect also came to your office with the hope that you would listen to him explain his problem. Your odds of winning a new client increase dramatically when you give your prospect the opportunity to say what's on his mind and explain things from his point of view.
Remember God gave us two ears and one mouth. We do our best when we use them in that proportion.
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