WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
Some think that the smoothest or smartest
salesperson in the room is most likely to
get the account. But in reality, those who
have mastered the art of listening are the
most successful in closing deals. Read on to
find out why the best listener trumps the
smoothest talker and discover how to
harness the power of listening to boost
your sales and attract more clients.
When Gong.io studied more than 25,000
sales conversations from different
businesses, they found only one thing in
common among the best closers: they
listened more than they talked. More
specifically, they talked 43% of the time
and listened 57% of the time.
This shows that listening, not
persuasiveness nor knowledgeability, is
the most important skill in sales.
But why is listening so powerful? Here
are three important reasons.
Listening transforms an average
solution to a perfect solution
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WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
more into it and see if you can help
your client avoid long lines at the
counter with a mobile processing
equipment. If your competitor missed
this information, you would have stood
out by giving a more in-depth and
customized solution. Remember, with
almost all companies having access to
similar offerings, a thorough
knowledge of your client becomes your
competitive edge. Everything your
In today’s fast-paced business landscape,
client says can help you close a deal
a good listener in sales is like a diamond
and make money.
in the rough -- they’re extraordinarily
Listening leads to the correct
rare! At best, most salespeople seem to
response
listen but are actually contemplating
Have you tried to convince someone
their next response in a hurry to get to
else of your idea and failed? We’ve
their next prospect. What they don’t
probably all been there and we might
know is that paying attention to
have chalked it up to a lack of
everything the client says could draw the
persuasive skills. But most of the time,
line between the average solution and
that’s not the case. We fail to persuade
the perfect solution. For example, if your
someone because we do not listen first
client casually mentions that they are
before responding.For example, when
seeing more customers these past
you’re trying to persuade your friend to
months in their stores, you can delve
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go out and he says he’s tired, you
WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
accordingly. For example, you can say
that you and their supplier have the
same interest in mind, which is to build
their capital. So the worst thing that
can happen in 20 minutes is that he
would have maximized his opportunity.
Remember that the key to a correct
response is the correct understanding.
Listen first and tailor-fit your response
accordingly to increase your persuasive
power.
will have higher chances of success if
Listening makes you likable
you listen to his statement first and
According to psychologist Robert
adjust your response accordingly. So
Cialdini, likability is one of the most
instead of responding with “Cmon, it
powerful tools of persuasion. Once a
would be fun!”, you can say “Busy day?
person likes you, he or she will be more
Why don’t we relax at the bar and have
open to your ideas and more inclined
your favorite drink?” These words may
to form a relationship with you. So how
spark his interest more because you can
does listening make you likable?
relate to what he’s feeling.
First, listening makes a person feel
Likewise, when you try to convince your
important and that’s a surefire way to
prospect to agree on a meeting with you
make another person like you. When
and he says he already has a supplier,
you show your genuine interest in
you can use his statement to your
another person by asking thoughtful
advantage and adjust your response
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questions and paying attention, it
WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
caring experience. This helps build
camaraderie and trust, which
establishes a fertile ground for a good
and lasting business relationship.
Mastering the art of listening gives you
these four powerful benefits that
would help boost your sales and build
a stable digital payments business. We
know there’s no time to spare in
looking for potential clients so let’s
now find out how you can start
makes them feel good about themselves
improving your listening skills.
and, in turn, makes them feel good about
Second, listening helps you discover
Active Listening: Your Key to
Sales Success
things that you have in common with
When we are trying to listen, we might
another person. As we learned from the
find ourselves thinking of what to say
previous article, people like people who
next or daydreaming about our
are like them. Finding common ground is
favorite meal. This reaction is normal
a great way to build rapport and a
since we are naturally wired to think
positive connection with your client.
faster than someone else can speak.
Listening builds lasting relationships
Our brains can understand someone
Listening shows that you are invested
speaking at 400 words per minute but
not just in your own success but also in
people can only speak at an average of
giving the client a personalized and
125 words per minute. Meaning, we
you.
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WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
they are feeling and thinking.
Moreover, active listening can be seen,
heard, and felt by the speaker. So if
you’re practicing active listening, your
clients will know and love you more
for it. Are you ready to boost your
active listening skills? Here are four
techniques to get you started.
1. Pay attention to non-verbal
communication.
There are two sides to this. On one
have time in our hands for our minds to
hand, you need to demonstrate that
wander. However, passive listening or
you are paying attention through your
listening without engaging mentally
body language. Some behaviors active
turns off even the most patient speakers,
listeners do to show they are listening
which can affect your relationship
are the following:
negatively.
a. Setting aside mobile devices or
To avoid turning off your client, keep
any distractions and not touching
your mind focused and engaged by
them until the conversation is
practicing the skill of active listening.
finished
Active listening is completely engaging
b. Maintaining eye contact (make it
with another person’s words, voice, and
frequent but not permanent
body language. This means that you are
because staring can make your
not only trying to understand what
client feel uncomfortable and you a
another person is saying but also what
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tad bit creepy)
WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
attention to non-verbal cues, you will
understand more clearly what a
person is really saying, which would
help you adjust accordingly.
You can also pick up what the other
person is feeling by observing their
body language. Do they look nervous,
annoyed, or interested? Some nonverbal cues that you need to look out
for are the following:
a. Hands crossed in front which
c. Maintaining an open body posture
may signal defensiveness or
d. Facing the other person
annoyance
completely
b. Hands perched on the chin
e. Leaning a bit towards your speaker
which signals that a person may be
when he or she is talking
interested in what you’re saying or
On the other hand, you also need to pay
contemplating on it
attention to the body language of your
c. Hands to the side and not
speaker to have an accurate picture of
blocking the torso, which may
what the person is thinking or feeling.
signal openness on the part of the
For example, your client can say “That’s
client
interesting” but he is slouched with his
d. Client is sitting straight signaling
face leaning on one hand, looking bored.
that your client is interested in the
He may say something but mean
current topic
another. If you are good at paying
e. Client is slouched signaling that
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WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
wait for your speaker to finish his or
her talking turn. While you are
listening, you can express that you are
still paying attention by making
listening responses such as “I see” or
“yeah” or even small utterances such
as “mmm” or “aah”.
3. Respond to what the other person
just said.
This should not be confused with
interrupting. This means that when
your client is disinterested
your speaker responds, you need to
Remember that this only serves as a
wait for them to finish and then give
guide. You still need to get to know your
an informed response to what they just
client’s personality to assess him or her
said. Giving an informed response
more accurately.
means doing the following:
2. Also pay attention to verbal
a. Summarizing or reflecting what
communication.
the other person said
The verbal part of active listening is
b. Asking another question for
asking good questions and stopping to
clarification or to encourage
hear the other person’s full answer.
further sharing
What breaks this pattern, however, is
To put it all together, let’s say your
when we interrupt our speaker mid-
client tells you that they are suffering
sentence to agree, disagree, or make
from high chargeback rates. After their
another point. Resist this urge and
talking turn, you can respond by
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WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
expressions and tone of voice.
4. Keep the focus on them and let
them talk.
Make the decision that the
conversation will mostly be about your
speaker and less about you. Resist the
temptation to jump into offering your
product or to change the topic to your
liking. Keep your questions and
responses concise and stick to topics
your speaker is interested in. When
saying, “I see, so your cash flow has been
your speaker veers away from the
suffering due to high chargeback rates
discussion, bring them back by tying
(summarizing)? What actions have you
your response to the original point of
been taking to address the issue (asking
discussion.
another question)?"
Eventually, when they have finished
Whatever you do though, do not just
sharing a wealth of information about
stare blankly or refrain from reacting
themselves, you will have a chance to
once your speaker is done talking.
talk about your product or some other
Acknowledge through listening
topics you need to bring up.
responses while they’re talking and give
The rule of thumb though is to let
an informed response once they are
them talk for the majority of the
done. Expert listeners also relate with
conversation.
their speakers not just verbally but nonverbally as well through their facial
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WHY THE BEST
LISTENERS BECOME
THE GREATEST
SALESPEOPLE
Harness Your Greatness
These four techniques require
commitment and practice but the
rewards are more than worth it. The key
isn’t just listening but striving to
understand what your speaker is trying
to convey and what he or she really
wants to happen. If you can find out
your prospect’s needs by asking the right
questions and paying attention to
everything they are saying AND not
saying, then you can be the person who
offers the best solution and the supplier
everyone dreams of having.
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