Keeping Quiet Is Not Listening Well, Know These Traits Of A Good Listener
Why is it often so difficult to convert a lead into sales and increase online sales? Why every client meets doesn’t convert into a business deal? Every time, it’s not that the products or services that you offer don’t match client requirements or their budget. It could be more for how you interact with your clients. A good salesman has to be a good listener first, it’s a verified fact.
Marketing experts from different parts of the world, socio-economic backgrounds, and origins have often stressed the importance of being a good listener, for selling. Active listening is one of the most important keys to sell.
Why Must You Be A Good Listener To Become A Good Salesman?
The better you communicate the more you can sell. Some of the most interesting marketing experts have extraordinary communication skills and almost all of them are ‘active listeners’. It is often perceived that keeping quiet while the speaker talks, is a sign of a good listener. However, a few recent studies found shreds of evidence to nullify this claim. It is, in fact, active listening that makes one a good listener. Active listening involves, interacting with the speaker, asking questions, responding, and even assisting the speaker to refine his or her views (if needed) with a positive approach.
- Eliminates the risk of miscommunication: When you listen carefully you can respond well. However, when you listen actively you eliminate chances of miscommunication. Miscommunication leads to misunderstanding spoils every scope, tarnishes your image and all these together can affect the brand as well. So by practicing active communication, you can actually eliminate the risks of miscommunication and all potential damages from that.
- Builds a rapport: When you listen actively it instantly builds a connection between you and the speaker. The difference between listening and active listening lies in its outcome. The latter kind of listener makes the speaker feel important and hence encourages speaking more and instills a sense of confidence. Often speakers cannot speak up because of a lack of confidence and the audience could miss an important perspective of the discussion. So it is very important to let the speaker speak everything. Such a practice also builds up a rapport between the speaker and the listener which enriches the quality of the conversation.
Said why you must focus on being a great listener, now let’s delve deeper to understand the practices for becoming a valued listener.
Traits Of A Star Listener
Good listeners often find great friends and company. Listening well is giving importance and due to respect to the speaker’s view without judgment. Said this, it is also important to mention that you too can become a great listener with a little care to imbibe these qualities and practice them in your regular interactions.
- Don’t remain silent: Often keeping quiet when the other person speaks is held as a sign of a good listener. However, recent findings don’t agree with this view. Keeping quiet lets the speaker speak, that’s the only benefit. In fact, good listeners ask questions to the speaker that adds depth to the discussion and opens up other perspectives.
- Frequently interacts to boost speaker’s confidence: Good listeners ask questions that create space for progressive discussion; where issues are resolved and even contradicting views are discussed with a positive attitude. This highly boosts a speaker’s self-confidence, encourages him or her to speak.
- Suggest for improvement: A good listener pays attention to the session to understand, draw value from it, and explore other perspectives. While doing so, few questions may arise in him or her, which are asked, and suggestions are made for improvement. This is however way more different than the attitude of a poor listener who listens to find fault, compete with the speaker to prove himself or herself right.
- Engage in cooperative conversation: It was perceived that speaks present their views; it’s one-way communication. However, that’s a myth because good listeners always engage in two-way communication. They provide their feedback in such a way that they are being accepted by the speaker without any hesitation.
The shortest way to a customer’s mind is through the practice of active listening. So if you have been trying hard to sell and reach your target; or want to become the extraordinary salesman in your organization, then be a great listener.
