"We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen
more and talk less." -Diogenes
My interviewer threw me a
curve-ball! I had just graduated from college and was interviewing
with a sales manager named “James”, for an outside sales position with a major
copy machine company.
“Sell me this pen!” James demanded, as he slammed the pen on his desk in front
of us and awaited my response.
I responded by creating an imaginary
list of all the features the pen had to offer, to include special ink that
lasted a lifetime! “This will be the last pen you ever buy in your life!”
I confidently exclaimed.
I felt good about my selling
performance as the interview concluded. I was sure that I aced “the pen
test” and was looking forward to getting a call back. As I sat by the
phone waiting for it to ring, the only sound I heard was the sound of the
crickets outside of my window!
Where did I go wrong? All of my
sales training up to that point had stressed the importance of clearly
communicating the features and benefits of the product.
Several months later, after reading
Jeffrey Gitomer’s book The Sales Bible, I
realized where I went wrong. Gitomer wrote the following statement that
forever changed how I viewed the sales process:
“Listening is the first commandment of
selling.” And then it hit me. I
had nothing to listen to, because I never asked James any questions related to
his need for a pen!
Was he in the market for a pen?
What did he like about the one he currently uses? How specifically did he
plan to use the pen? I was so focused on
talking that I forgot about listening.
Have you ever been so focused on
talking that you forgot to listen? Well, you aren’t alone. Consider
the following research findings of Dr.
Ralph Nichols, a pioneer in the field of listening:
“While participating in a conversation, the average
person forgets 50% of what the other person is saying immediately after they
finish speaking.”
In most conversations, when one person
is talking, the other is mentally rehearsing his response, while he waits for
his turn to talk.
Think about your own life for a
moment. How many people can you name that actively listen without
interrupting, and give you their undivided attention while you are
speaking? For most people, it’s a short list.
Since the failure to listen is such a
prevalent problem, becoming a masterful listener can give you a competitive
edge. This makes listening, the
secret to successful selling at your shop. Stay with me to learn two specific ways that you can benefit from becoming a better listener.
Listening Builds Trust
Imagine taking your car to a shop and
you tell the writer that you have a 2010 Ford Fusion. As he is
writing you up he asks you “What kind of car was that?” Later in the
transaction, you instruct your advisor to replace the two rear tires, only to
find that he has the two front tires circled on the work order!
You ask him to call you on your cell phone
number with updates and realize later, that you have three messages on your
home answering
machine letting you know that the job won’t be
done today as promised! Based on this interaction, how much trust would you have in this shop?
Sadly, this scenario occurs every day
in shops across America. How can the
customer trust you to be “her mechanic”, when she can’t trust you to remember
what she told you about her vehicle? To
build higher levels of trust I recommend that you embrace the habits of note taking and restating.
When the customer is calling, you can
use your phone log to write down the
necessary details of the conversation.
When she is at your location, use a note pad to write down what she’s
saying.
After she has told you about a specific
problem, review your notes and restate
the problem back to her, to confirm that you were listening. Embracing these habits can make you her
shop of choice, because you will have established the right level of
trust.
Listening Builds Connection
The story is told of a young woman in
England who had the opportunity to dine with two political rivals who were
running for the office of Prime Minister: William Gladstone and Benjamin
Disraell.
She was later asked to compare her encounters
with both gentleman. What she reported
confirms the value of being a great listener.
“When I left the dining room after
sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I felt
like he was the most interesting man in the world. After sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I felt like I was the most interesting
woman in the world!”
Disreali won the election by a landslide, because of his ability to listen
and connect. He allowed her to talk
about her favorite subject.
Your customers and the young lady have
the same favorite subject: Themselves! This is why going out to the vehicle with
the customer is such a critical step.
You get the opportunity to listen as she talks about herself. Asking
the right questions is the starting point of the listening process.
For example, after asking her how long
she plans to keep the car, you get to listen as she tells you about how well
she maintains it. After asking about the
toddler car seat in the back, you get to listen as she tells you about how well
her little son is doing in soccer.
When she feels like she is the most
interesting customer in the world, she will vote for you as her shop of
choice! Your ability to listen will build
that connection.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. The opportunity to build trust and
connection, makes listening the secret to successful selling at your shop. I have mixed emotions about failing the pen
test.
On the one hand, I wish I would have
asked the right questions to start the
listening process.
However, If I had gotten the copier
sales job, I may have never started my career in automotive, and I wouldn’t be
in position to listen to the recordings of you applying the secret to successful
selling!
Sincerely,
Eric M. Twiggs
The Accountability Coach
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