What level of listening is used by salesperson the most often?

What is Active Listening?

Active Listening is a four-step process:

1. Truly listen to the prospect.
2. Feed back the content and feeling of the prospect’s words.
3. Confirm you heard the prospect correctly.
4. Ask a relevant follow up question to further clarify your understanding of their situation.

Active Listening isn’t only applicable to sales, nor is it a new thing. Dr. Carl Rogers, one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy research, originated the concept of “reflective listening” in the 1940s. In the following years, Richard Farson, a student of his, renamed it “Active Listening.”

Another student of Rogers, Dr. Thomas Gordon, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, is largely responsible for popularizing the strategy. Gordon’s company, Gordon Training International, has taught thousands of people to build more effective relationships through Active Listening, among other skills.

While I haven’t received instruction directly from Gordon Training, I’ve stuck pretty close to their definition of the concept. To make it simple, I teach Active Listening as a four-step process:

1. Truly listen to the prospect.
2. Feed back the content and feeling of the prospect’s words.
3. Confirm you heard the prospect correctly.
4. Ask a relevant follow up question to further clarify your understanding of their situation.

1. Truly listen to the prospect

Sales reps are often too busy talking to listen. Even if they are tuned in, they’re often just listening for a specific word or challenge that tips them off as to whether the prospect needs their product.

Salespeople who do this are not much different than a dog waiting for a command. (Yes, I might have just called you a dog.) When salespeople do this, prospects can sense it, and they come to the conclusion that the rep simply wants to sell them something regardless of whether they need it or not. It’s a downward spiral that usually leads to nowhere.

But the best salespeople listen differently. They forget about the script (and maybe even their own agenda), and really listen to the words and feelings that a prospect is conveying in their language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language.

By observing auditory, visual, and physical clues as well as the prospect’s words, a salesperson can truly begin to understand the plight of their prospect and put themselves in the buyer’s shoes.

And this type of listening can make a huge difference by encouraging prospects to open up more, and fostering trust and commitment.

So when you’re on the phone or in a meeting with a prospect, ignore the distractions around you, throw out the script, stop worrying about what you’re going to say next, and really pay attention.

2. Feed back what you just heard back to the prospect

After a prospect makes a statement that reveals something important about their challenges or what they’re looking for, feed it back to them so they can hear it from you. Your goal with this step is to feed back your understanding; that is to say, your best guess at what’s going on with the other person.

Sometimes, this can be done non-verbally. But without the benefit of face-to-face presence, inside sales reps must do this verbally.

I usually show salespeople how to use one of the three approaches described below:

• Repeat what you heard verbatim. This is the easiest route, because the prospect will hear exactly what they just said and can either confirm their meaning or clarify their statement. But be careful not to overuse this approach with a prospect as they might start to doubt your understanding. (Parrots don’t actually understand, right?)
• Paraphrase what you heard. This is a better approach than simple repetition of what they said. By paraphrasing, you can condense what they said into something more concise. When you do this, your prospect knows you listened because you internalized their speech enough to summarize what they said. However, avoid oversimplifying and leaving out important details -- this might shake the buyer’s confidence in you.
• Put what you just heard into your own words. This is the best tactic of all. By putting what you just heard into your words, you’re showing your prospect that you have a framework for understanding situations like theirs and can empathize with their struggle. Just be careful not to drift too far from their language. Use unfamiliar vocabulary or terms sparingly, and make sure to explain them when you do.

By feeding back what you just heard, you’ll make an immediate impression on your prospect. Since most people are not great listeners by nature, your prospect will be appreciative of your ability to listen effectively and summarize.

Convincing your prospect that they’ve been heard and understood is the most important outcome of this step in the process. But, don’t leave that to chance ...

3. Confirm that you’ve heard them correctly

This critical step is often overlooked. After you’ve paraphrased what your prospect has said, simply ask “Did I communicate that effectively?” or “Do you believe I understand what you have shared with me?” If the prospect says “no” you now have an opportunity to clarify your understanding by asking “Could you clarify for me what I might have missed or got wrong?”

Notice how those questions create an opening for them to give you honest feedback. In contrast, I don’t recommend saying “Does that make sense?” or “Could you explain that better?” or any other question that puts the blame on the prospect for not communicating effectively.

Michelle Adams, VP of Gordon Training says, “When you nail it, you know it and the other person tells you that you did by saying things like: ‘Yes! That's it!’ or ‘Exactly, you've nailed it.’ Or they will begin nodding their head emphatically. If you miss on your Active Listening, they will tell you that too with: ‘Well, no, it's not that. It's more like this … ’ or they will look at you like you're nuts.”

The following video from Gordon Training shows this step in action.

Once you get good at this part of the process, you’ll be able to create a confirmation bias in your prospect’s mind. Studies have found that we like to surround ourselves with people who think like we do. By repeating what this person has said and then confirming that you’re on the same page, the confirmation bias starts to form, and trust begins to develop.

4. Ask a relevant follow up question

After you feedback what you’ve heard and confirm that you understand the prospect, your next step is to ask a relevant follow up question.

Resist the temptation to ask closed-ended questions that might make the prospect think that you’re only interested in making the sale. Instead, I recommend asking an open-ended question that encourages your prospect to share more about their goals, challenges, and current plans.

As Saul McLeod points out, open-ended questions allow the person to express what they think in their own words. If you ask the right question, prospects might come to the right conclusions themselves, solving their own problem, or at least starting to believe that a solution exists to help solve their problems. They might even conclude that your solution is the right one. In addition, by getting your prospect to continue thinking critically about their situation (out loud), you stand a better chance of to uncovering the compelling reasons your prospect will (or won’t) buy from you.

Given that HubSpot sells a complex product and methodology that most companies might not know they need (especially in the early days), I added this fourth step to my Active Listening process.

As we tried to convince marketers that they needed to adopt a new way of marketing, I found it valuable to dig deeper into a prospect’s needs with relevant follow up questions, using our qualification framework as a guide.

Active Listening Builds Rapport

Active listening is extremely helpful in building rapport between the listener and speaker. This shows the speaker that the other person is truly paying attention, which is especially important in the sales world. Prospects are often ignored or talked overbecause the focus is on making the sale, not the person making the purchase. When salespeople show they value the prospect's needs and opinions, it is far easier to build trust and ensures that the conversation results in a mutually beneficial experience.

Active Listening in Sales: The Secret to Selling More by Overcoming Objections and Providing Real Solutions

• Sales Xceleration Team
• June 18, 2019
• 2:14 pm

Active listening is one of the most important skills in the salesperson’s toolbelt. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked and undervalued in the sales process. The result? Sales that should be easy instead become difficult. Sales efforts that can only lead to frustration – for the salesperson and the prospect – continue toward inevitable dead ends. And even when sales are made, the “solutions” sold might be off target, causing customer dissatisfaction and a damaged reputation for the selling organization.

By using active listening techniques, however, sales that might have been difficult become easier, dead-end prospects get weeded out early, and closed deals truly solve customer problems and ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.

So, let’s dig deeper into why active listening matters and how to use listening techniques to overcome objections, provide true solutions, and sell more!

The Problems of Selling Without Listening

Too often, salespeople launch into a standard sales pitch first and listen later – when it’s already too late. This is a classic case of selling instead of solving, of pressuring and pigeonholing a prospect into a one-size-fits-all solution that doesn’t fit at all and doesn’t solve their real need.

When a salesperson doesn’t listen first (and listen actively), it sends these unfortunate messages to the potential customer:

• Solving their true needs or curing their real “pain” don’t really matter
• Their needs are not unique and therefore their account won’t be managed based on its individual merits
• The salesperson wants to make the sale as quickly as possible and move on to the next “conquest”
• The salesperson’s needs exceed the prospective customer’s needs

This customer perception is very likely the reality. And it creates tension between salesperson and prospect, leading to wasted time and effort for both parties. If the inevitable protracted selling process does somehow result in a sale, chances are good that the solution sold doesn’t truly address what the customer needs. And that is the biggest problem of all because it frustrates the customer and damages the relationship with the selling organization.

The Benefits of Active Listening

On the other hand, when a salesperson utilizes active listening techniques, both parties benefit in several ways:

• The prospect feels heard, respected and valued
• The prospect may offer fewer and softer objections if the emphasis is on their need to solve a problem rather than the salesperson’s need to make a sale
• The prospect has greater confidence that the solution bought will truly address their needs
• The salesperson saves time and frustration by being able to understand if there is a true “fit” between the solution offered and what the prospect really needs
• The salesperson gains a reputation as a trustworthy solution provider
• The salesperson makes more sales in less time due to being able to quickly channel sales efforts to more qualified targets

How to Use Active Listening in Your Selling Process

So, with the benefits of active listening clear for both buyer and seller, how can the smart salesperson use active listening to overcome objections and sell more (and more efficiently)? Here are some basic active listening techniques:

• Listen with your eyes. Maintain eye contact to establish and keep a better communication connection with the prospect.
• Be aware of body language. Adopt an “open” listening posture. Lean in as you listen. Nod to express understanding. Smile. Don’t cross your arms or legs in a defensive, “closed up” manner.
• Avoid the temptation to interrupt. Don’t interject features and benefits of your product or service while the prospect is explaining their need. There will be time to describe your solution later – if it really is the solution the prospect needs.
• Don’t just hear the words, but truly listen for their underlying meaning.
• Take notes. This tells the prospect that you want to get the details right.
• Repeat for understanding. Periodically during the conversation, say, “Let me make sure I understand what you’re saying,” and then repeat a key point the prospect has just expressed. Validating understanding shows a high level of concern and care.
• Ask questions when necessary for clarification. Although frequent interruptions should be avoided, if you are truly unclear about something the prospect has said, ask for clarification. Just avoid the temptation to piggyback that clarification with a premature sales pitch.

The Bottom Line:

Zig Ziglar once said, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” To help prospects get what they want, you must understand their needs. To gain this understanding, use active listening. This technique can strengthen the bond between salesperson and customer. It can ensure that solutions address real needs and lead to greater customer satisfaction. And above all, it can boost sales in two ways: 1) it qualifies prospects earlier in the sales process, and 2) it leads to more efficient selling with less time wasted overcoming objections. Ultimately, active listening benefits both the buyer and the seller – especially when used to discover alignment between the buyer’s needs and how your product or service solutions address those needs.

If you’re not sure your sales team members are fully skilled in active listening, one of Sales Xceleration’s outsourced sales management consulting Advisors can help. We can assess your team’s active listening skills, along with analyzing your entire sales organization, all to sell more with less effort.

To learn more, click here to connect with a Sales Xceleration Advisor in your area, or simply contact us today at 844.874.7253.

Want to learn more about sales consulting and sales strategy? Read about various sales topics in oursales consulting blog.

What is Active Listening?

Active listening is the practice of listening to a speaker while providing feedback indicating that you both listen and hear and understand what the speaker is saying.

But active listening serves a greater purpose than just letting the speaker know you hear them. A good active listener is playing multiple roles and achieving many goals within each conversation, including:

• Acknowledging the speaker’s value
• Encouraging the speaker to elaborate on their thoughts
• Creating an empathetic bond with the speaker
• Establishing an honest and trusting relationship

From the perspective of the modern professional sales active listening is an indispensable skill to possess when seeking to build mutually beneficial relationships with prospects.

Because in the end, successful sales numbers are the result of effective information gathering. Those who know more about their potential client win the deal.

If a salesperson can guide the conversation toward that prospect’s goals, roadblocks, and ambitions, it becomes much easier to design and deliver a pitch.

This is particularly true when using consultative selling methods that require prospects to view their conversation partners as trusted, experienced advisors.

Why Listening Is the Top Sales Skill

Sep 20, 2017

BY KEN KUPCHIK

Every great salesperson knows that listening is the most important of all sales skills. Most people think it’s the smooth talkers who make the best salespeople, but in reality it’s those who have mastered listening and identifying people’s true motivations who are most successful. Listening isn’t just something you should do when your sales manager is screaming at you; it’s also what will help you become the top salesperson at your company.

Why is listening so important in sales? There are several reasons. The first is that most people want someone to listen to them. In today’s fast-paced world, however, few of us get someone’s undivided attention for very long. The second reason listening is so important in sales is that since there are so few good listeners these days, those who are will stand out in the customer’s mind. This means that by being a good listener, you will differentiate yourself from your competition, and for once it won’t be because you’re the only one in your industry who can funnel an entire pint of vodka.

How most people listen

Most people are capable of listening to others to some extent. But few are truly great active listeners. Here’s what the majority of people do when someone else is speaking:

• Think about what they are going to say next
• Interrupt the person talking in midsentence to agree, disagree, or make another point
• Daydream about Chipotle burrito bowls
• Check their text messages and social media updates
• Stare intently at one spot on the customer’s face and pretend to listen while not thinking about anything at all
• Repeat the customer’s name over and over again in their heads to remember it

Even the people who are able to let the customer talk without interrupting usually don’t focus on what’s actually being said. For many salespeople, it’s surprisingly difficult to let people speak freely and to pay attention to not only what’s being said but to the true meaning behind the words.

Tips on how to become a better listener

You need to build your listening muscles the same way you built the muscles on your body before you started working in sales and stopped going to the gym. Here is how you can become a better listener:

• Remember that everything the customer says can help you close a deal and make money, unless they say, “Please leave immediately.”
• The more you listen to the customer, the more likely the customer is to listen to you and your pitch. Pretend that you’ll have to repeat exactly what the customer said to someone else. This will help you pay attention and remember details.
• Always put your phone away when you’re having a conversation with a customer. You can take it back out when you’re having a conversation with your spouse.
• Maintain eye contact throughout the conversation. This will show that you’re listening and help you avoid getting distracted. Make sure to blink occasionally.
• Summarize everything the customer said after he is finished talking. This will help you find out how well you understood everything and offer an opportunity for the customer to clarify if necessary.
• Ask questions throughout the conversation, but only when the customer is finished talking. Tie the questions back to the original point of the discussion whenever possible.
• Physically cover your mouth with your hand when the customer is talking, and don’t remove it until they have finished (do this only on phone calls, not in person).

The key isn’t just to listen to your customers but to listen and try to understand what they really want. If you can find out what a person or company’s true need or problem is by asking the right questions and letting people speak until they tell you, then you can also be the person who offers the perfect solution. Always remember that you have two ears and one mouth for a reason, and that’s to listen with both ears and guzzle energy drinks with one mouth.

Excerpted, with permission of the publisher, from The Sales Survival Handbook: Cold Calls, Commissions, and Caffeine Addiction—The Real Truth About Life in Sales by Ken Kupchik. Copyright 2017, Ken Kupchik. Published by AMACOM.

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How I Improved My Own Talk vs Listening Ratio

When I first started usingGong’s sales conversation analyzer, I was appalled to learn my average talk-to-listen ratio was 72:28!

Since I started tracking and measuring my own talk-to-listen ratio, it has improved. (I’m trending around 52:48 these days — can you say “Talkers Anonymous”?)

But how do you accomplish that without “interrogating” customers, peppering them with an endless stream of pointed questions until they grow irritable?

When most sales professionals hear the data about the 43:57 talk-to-listen ratio, they usually revert to asking so many questions that it can feel interrogative and annoying.

So here are four unconventional methods to get your potential customer talking more (about the stuff you want them talking about) without peppering them endlessly with generic question after question.

4 Unconventional Ways To Talk Less, Listen More

#1: Say, “It Seems Like You ________________________”

In his book Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss calls this technique “emotional labeling” — and it is empathy on steroids.

After you’ve asked your prospect an effective, targeted question, verbally “call out” an emotion you observed the prospect express while they were answering.

You can simply finish one of the following sentences:

• “It seems like you ________________”
• “It looks like you _________________”
• “It sounds like you ________________”

For example, if asked a well thought-out “problem” question and the prospect responds, expressing a hint of frustration with the problem, you can try saying the following:

• “It seems like you’re personally frustrated by this challenge your company is going through.”

If the emotion you “labeled” was accurate, your prospect will feel such a deep level of feeling understood, they will be compelled to release a new floodgate of emotional information.

The two tricks to making this work:

• You have to be accurate with your emotional label (i.e. listen carefully)

• You must pause after the label and let your prospect fill the void (count to four in your head).

If you speak too soon, you’ve negated this technique’s positive effects.