Steve Farnsworth is a serial entrepreneur and a student at Fort Lewis College and at the age of 24, a Young Go Getter! Check out his site Burner Sports, where he serves as the President.
Anyone who has ever bought a car or a house from a dealer knows that sales people have MOTOR MOUTHS! It’s a fact, just call up any real estate agent, or car salesman, and you won’t be able to get off the phone until you commit to something. These two industry’s are an exception to what I am about to tell you. Real Estate Agents and Car Salesman are paid to talk, yet even they should know their limits.
I worked for an Environmental Chamber Manufacturer for about three years (I still do consulting for them), as a sales associate. It was primarily a position where I would make sales calls and receive sales calls. We were trained to do 2 things while on the phone with a prospect, or a current customer. The first thing we were trained to do was keep the conversation brief. I would time how long I was on the phone with each customer by using a stop watch that was always on my desk. I was trained to keep the conversation at about 3-5 minutes per sales call. This was a typical sales call, some situations required more time because more knowledge and information was communicated back and forth which is perfectly fine.
The second thing that I was trained to do was to ask questions. I would ask a lot of questions. This gets the customer talking; it gets them excited and engaged in the sale. I would just sit back, listen and take down as many notes as possible, which could be used for the next time we talked. This process of listening also allowed the buyer to sell themselves in many ways, I mostly just had to supply the information that they required. Sure I would talk about why our products are better than ‘the other guy’s’, but the real sale was made when I asked questions that allowed them to see the benefits in our products without me saying too much.
The two techniques I outlined helped me become a better listener, and get straight to the point, which increased my sales volume and my customer loyalty. Are your sales dropping? Or do you just want to try a new technique? Most sales people talk twice as much as they think they actually talk to a client. Here are a few help tips that will allow you to see the benefits of listening more, and talking less.
1) Know your talk-to-listen ratio.
You must find out how much you spend talking compared to how much time you spend listening. You can do this by timing yourself during several meetings and phone calls. If your ratio is greater than 1-1 (if you’re talking more than your listening), than you have some improving to do.
2) Ask more questions.
Asking questions is always easier when you are interested in what the other person has to say. So make sure you get interested in some way. If the conversation is dull than you may want to shift the conversation to something more informal, such as a local sports team, or some news you just read about (stay away from politics people!). Asking questions is simply a no-brainer! When you ask a question it forces the client to answer, and it requires you to be silent; improving your talk-to-listen ratio.
3) What is the perfect ratio?
Simply put, there is no such thing as a perfect ratio. You will not harm your cause by talking less. Have you ever gone to an interview and the interviewer did most of the talking? You probably sat in your seat listening and thinking to yourself ‘this is going really bad’. Than at the end of the interview, the interviewer shakes your hand and tells you how great the interview went. You probably left in a state of shock, maybe even disbelief, because you hardly said anything. The point is that you listened, and stayed involved in the conversation. Listening well is a rare quality these days. Sometimes going with the flow is the best thing to do.
4) What do you do if you find yourself talking too much?
Come out and say “I’m talking too much, someone else needs to talk†or “I’m through. You talk.†Something that simple shows great self awareness and great street smarts. Don’t be afraid to say something like that, most people will probably get a good laugh from your comment, but this opens the stage for others to chime into the conversation. This also allows you to be an even better listener.
Listening is one of the easiest things in the world to do, and the results can be great! It does not take much brainpower or physical exertion for you to sit back in your chair and just listen. Even though listening is very easy to do, most people don’t do it. Why? I don’t know… you tell me.
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