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The Art Of Listening

By Mike Carroll
Intelligent Conversations

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Great sales leaders understand business-to-business sales (b2b sales) effectiveness starts with strong listening skills. These savvy sales managers know that their ability to get their team to listen to prospects and customers carefully will have a direct impact on the results produced. So they coach their sales people to develop positioning statements that frame the issues, questions sets to uncover potential needs, and follow up questions to create urgency around solving the problems and opportunities identified.

Sales teams who go through this type of exercise are miles ahead of the competition. You already do this, don't you? The more question sets you can develop (one for each issue your product or service can potentially solve), the stronger your sales conversations will be.

But here's the challenge. Sometimes there isn't a compelling reason. Sometimes the prospect or client has already solved the issue your product or solution can address. Other times they may have the problem, but it's not acute enough to warrant their attention; or they have bigger problems and opportunities to address first.

That's when our strong listening skills really come into play. Sometimes in our rush to get the sale, we only listen for the things we want to hear. We only listen for the answers that fit neatly into our question sequence. In our hurry to find compelling reasons for the prospect to do business with us, we miss what the prospect is really saying. If we can slow down a bit and truly listen, we can save time (our time and the prospect's time) and move on to the next opportunity. If we do it right, we will earn our prospect's respect and retain the privilege of calling them again to see if their situation has changed.

How strong are your team's listening skills? Are the compelling reasons identified in their call reports or summary notes actually there, or are they just forcing it to fit? What will happen to your sales results if you focus some of your sales management attention on this issue?

Revised: 05/07/2008 - Article Viewed 955 Times

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Biography

Mike Carroll owns Intelligent Conversations, a b2b sales force development consultancy. With more than 18 years of b2b sales and marketing experience, Mike helps sales teams improve results and drive new revenue growth. Prior to starting Intelligent Conversations, he held senior positions in strategic marketing, market development, sales management, and product management at companies such as Wachovia Bank, M&I Bank, Mindlever, Inc. and Fiserv, Inc. Mike graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelors Degree in English. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Milwaukee German Immersion Foundation and sings bass in his church choir.

Contact Information

Mike Carroll
Intelligent Conversations
414-727-9813
mike@intelligentconversations.com

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