Sales – Do we talk too much and listen too little?

When your salesperson makes a presentation, how much time do they spend talking about the product or service they are selling and how much time do they spend listening to the customer’s needs or desires?

Do they jump right into the presentation without determining what attributes or qualities of their product or service the customer will be most interested in?

In other words, how do they know what “floats the customer’s boat” unless they have listened intently to what the customer is saying?

Instead of monopolizing the majority of their customer’s valuable time talking about things that may or may not be of interest to the customer, they need to spend more time asking questions, soliciting input and allowing the customer to be more involved in the sales process. They should continue to ask questions and clarify the customer’s responses until they know what interests need to be satisfied for that customer to agree to the sale.

Once they have determined the customer’s needs or interests, they can tailor their presentation to highlight the appropriate attributes of the product or service they are trying to sell. If they don’t spend the time investigating the customer’s “hot buttons”, than your salesperson will walk away without the sales and with the same amount of knowledge they had before the call, or worse, they may lose their credibility and possibly future sales to that customer.

One last thought, a thorough “interview” of the customer will open doors for future sales. You will most likely have other products or services that this customer is not currently using that fill a need or interest that they have just shared with you.

Remember that you were born with two ears and one mouth, so realistically, you should listen twice as much as you speak.

If you would like more information on this topic or my consulting services, please contact me at cmzassociates.com or 610-369-5067. Let me show you how I can help you to build a High Performance Workforce.

Have a great day,

Chris Zobel – President – CMZ Associates