The act of listening, the differential between the salesperson's thinking rate and the prospect's speaking rate means the salesperson's brain can (and does) work with hundreds of other words, in addition to the ones being heard. Often the salesperson is thinking about what they should or will say at the expense of what the prospect is actually telling them.
MISTAKE NUMBER 3:
Not listening to and assessing the customer's answers.
SOLUTION NUMBER 3:
You must listen carefully and assess the answers you are given.
The challenge at hand for all sales personnel is to learn how NOT to construct their ideas and responses during the most critical stages of their selling process.
Our basic inability as humans to listen effectively requires us to utilize continuous educational reinforcement to truly master listening skills not only in a business environment but on a personal level as well. This means for a salesperson to be most effective in any selling situation a systematic effort must be made to consciously attempt to concentrate more on what is said to them, than what they will say in response … this simple priority of aural information exchange elements will provide a significant selling advantage in almost every possible selling scenario.
Listening intently an taking notes will allow you to form more constructive, informative and intelligent responses, thus engaging the buyer in a more in depth and meaningful conversation. It provides an opportunity for you to show your interest in the buyer and their business and demonstrates that you can add value to their business as you have an understanding of their needs.
