Good Salespeople Listen

You’d expect a good salesperson to be a smooth talker. The fact is, however, the most effective salespeople are even better listeners.

Listening is a powerful tool. The more you listen, the better you understand your customers’ needs. And, the better you understand your customers’ need, the better able you will be to meet them.

Let’s say, for example, that in a situation similar to the one John Nesbit describes, a customer walks in and asks for a popular split fin. You carry that fin, but it’s not what you use yourself. Why? Because, as an avid technical diver, you know that split fins pose an entanglement risk in any sort of diving that involves the use of guidelines and reels.

Does this mean the customer should use the same fins that you do? What would you discover if you took the time to actually listen to what the customer was trying to tell you?

• Is the customer a fellow “techie” — or is he a once-a-year vacation diver whose underwater explorations are limited to clear, warm water and shallow reefs?
• Does he use fins often enough to develop the leg muscles necessary to kick those unbending two-by-sixes you like to strap to your feet?

Guess what? If you’d only take the time to listen to what the customer was trying to tell you, you’d realize that what he is asking for just may be the best fins for him.

You’d also sell a helluva lot more gear.

It’s a business, not the priesthood »

::: TOP ::: SUBSCRIBE ::: CONTACT US ::: ABOUT US :::