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Sometimes, becoming a better salesperson simply comes down to thinking like a customer. People like to feel they are being heard and improving your active listening skills can help salespeople quickly build rapport that is critical in gaining the customer’s trust, and ultimately making the sale. Practicing active listening techniques can help you serve the customer better while also increasing your chances of earning their business, because being a good listener helps you gather the information necessary to address their needs and overcome any concerns.
There are several active listening techniques you can use to make sure you’re keeping focus where it belongs: on the customer. But first, ask yourself why active listening skills, which seem so fundamental, are so hard for most people to master.
Talking too much: Talking puts us in the driver’s seat, in control, where most of us prefer to be, but listening lets the other person speaking briefly lead the conversation. That can be scary, but not if you think of it the right way.
Get sharp tip: While listening opens the door to the unknown, it also opens the door to opportunity. The customer might share his or her main objection. Bingo! Now you know what you need to overcome their objections and build trust. Changing the way you think about interpersonal communication is an active listening technique you can practice to improve your sales results.
Thinking ahead: While the customer is talking, it’s tempting to start planning your response. After all, what if he or she finishes speaking, and you’re left struggling to come up with a response. The problem, of course, is that while your full attention is focused on writing the perfect, cucumber-cool reply in your head, you’re missing all the invaluable information and nonverbal cues the customer is sharing.
Get sharp tip: While getting out of your own head can be one of the trickiest active listening skills to master, remember that by the time you get to unveil your perfectly composed response, it might already be out of date. The customer may have already shifted his or her interest to other topics. So instead of tuning out while you think up the ideal answer, pay attention and learn to buy yourself time in other ways. Take a deep breath before you speak or compliment the customer on his or her question. Saying something like, “that’s a really interesting point,” is an active listening technique that can give you back those few seconds you need to pull your thoughts together.
Acting like you’re listening: We have trained through social norms that listening is about nodding, smiling, making eye contact, and showing interest in what the other person is saying. The problem is, sometimes we’re so good at the “show” that when the conversation is over, we realize we haven’t really heard most of what the other person has said.
Get Sharp Tip: An easy way to improve your active listening skills is to repeat back all or part of what the customer says. This might feel silly at first, but it will force you to stop acting like you’re listening and really listen.Practicing this active listening technique can help you listen carefully to absorb more of what the customer is saying, providing you with valuable ammo and key points you can use to solve problems to address their concerns and close the sale.
Improving your listening skills isn’t easy. Getting good at active listening involves breaking deeply ingrained habits, but just like body language or facial expressions, listening can be improved by staying focused and practicing. Try some of the active listening techniques above to keep yourself present and tuned in while interacting with customers. Notice how much more information you’re able to gather about the customer. As active listening begins to pay off in the form of more sales, you may find that it will become easier as well. Eventually, you may start to see active listening as yet another essential tool your sales arsenal, a must-have interpersonal skill that can help catapult you toward your career goals!
Saturday, Oct. 13th is National Train Your Brain Day! In honor of this heady holiday, here are some valuable tricks and tips you can use to keep your brain fast, fit, and fired up. Like much of our bodies, brainpower can be a game of “use it or lose it.” Just as it’s important to continue going to the gym and staying active throughout our lives, exercising our mind muscle is just as critical to help keep our brains sharp, especially as we age. The good news is there are simple brain exercises that can help keep your mind firing on all cylinders for years to come. In fact, you may already be doing some of these brain-enriching activities without realizing that you're also helping to maintain your brain power.
Brain Exercise #1: Read
This may seem like a no-brainer (pun intended), but reading engages our minds in a variety of ways. It doesn't matter what you like to read, whether it's sci-fi, high fantasy, murder mysteries or non-fiction in your fields of interest. Read anything and everything, as much as you can. This will help your brain engage with new ideas, spark your imagination, and more. Reading is also a great way to renew and refresh your analytical thinking skills. Reading has many benefits, and you should work to make it a lifelong habit. Whether you're a die-hard library fan or find it simpler to roll with your e-reader or phone, this brain exercise is portable and vital to maintaining a healthy, active mind.
Brain Exercise #2: Craft
When you create something with your own two hands, you use your brain to ideate, follow instructions, and problem-solve. Research by the Mayo Clinic has shown that knitting and other handcrafts can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment,[i] while other studies have shown that crafting can help improve memory, enhance social skills, and promote mindfulness as well as helping you generally manage stress.[ii] This type of brain exercise can include knitting, crochet, sewing, woodworking, leather tooling, and many other types of creative crafting, so experiment to find one that speaks to you. If you can't find classes or craft groups near you, consider mining YouTube videos and other online resources.
Brain Exercise #3: Learn a Language
Learning another language is a great way to exercise your brain. The challenges of mastering another language can give your memory a workout in addition to activating the language centers of your brain — not to mention helping you out when you travel! Even if you don't become fluent in your chosen language, you will probably have some cultural knowledge and basic vocabulary to help you navigate everyday interactions the next time you're abroad. And don't forget to think outside the language box: you could learn coding languages or American Sign Language and communicate in new-to-you ways.
Brain Exercise #4: Games
Even if Sudoku isn't your thing, there are plenty of other games out there that can double as brain exercises. Crossword puzzles, matching games, and memory games are just some examples of more traditional games you can find in convenient workbooks. (Whether you use pen or pencil is up to you!) You can also find a huge selection of free game apps that will challenge your brain with mazes, color gradient sorting, and other unique puzzles to solve. Don’t rule out video games, either! Studies have shown that educational games and video games can help improve brain function, structure and cognitive ability.[iii]
Brain Exercise #5: Exercise
Yes, exercising your body can help keep your mind healthy, too. Learning new skills and building familiar ones will help give your mind a workout while the rest of you benefits from exercise endorphins (not to mention burning calories, improving heart health and more). In fact, studies have shown that physical activity can help protect us against cognitive decline and dementia later in life.[iv] See whether your local community center or gyms offer classes and pursue that activity you always wanted to try, be it archery, cycling, salsa dancing, or whatever appeals most to you!
Brain exercises can be as simple as increasing activities you do anyway (like reading or playing games), or they can be new challenges for your mind and body. Keeping your mind sharp is important as you age, but it can also help you stay on the ball in times of high stress. Whether you're pursuing a high stakes sales job or simply navigating your busy life, brain exercises are a great way to give yourself an edge.
[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3204924/
[ii] https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/25/the-health-benefits-of-knitting/
[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4513287/
[iv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440589/