Listening with intention
There’s listening and then there’s listening. The difference is intention.
If you listen only with the intent to reply, control or manipulate the person, you’ll find the conversation with the customer being cut short most of the time. Successful sales are achieved when you listen with the intent to understand the customer’s needs.
When you listen with intention, you are able to gather all the information you need to help the customer. Without intentional listening, you’ll miss many of the crucial cues the customer is giving you about their challenges. Back in Mistake #9 and #10 we covered the importance of your own body language and tone in getting your message across. Much of what the customer is telling you is also found in their body language and tone and this can only be heard with intentional listening.
Today’s challenge is to listen with intent to understand. Try repeating back to the customer what they’ve told you. This will confirm their need in your mind and will also show the customer you’ve heard what they said and you’re interested in helping them.