I've read for over 25 years and in that time read many articles and books about the sales conversation. My conclusion is that you as the sales person should listen 70% of the time. It has been noted that most people are not only doing most of the taking but also are not skilled listeners.
In your own experience, if it's part of your job to present, how often are you listening 70% of the time? We'd like to hear your thoughts and feelings on this.
Recently, my team and I were conducting a tandem appointment with an individual that has lost their spouse unexpectedly. We were totally committed to really listening well and totally focusing in on how this spouse was transitioning through the ordeal. But our early questions, which were not met with any resistance, did not jumpstart the individual into deep dialogue.
So what do you do at this point? I am sure you been in conversations, (business or personal) that you're not quite sure of the direction of the conversation. It happens all the time.
So in this case, we were prepared with meaningful questions that would help the bereaved spouse get to a better place. The conversation then began to flow and gain momentum once we (took the lead).
We asked many probing questions that the spouse had never considered, and there was no resistance to the probing questions because we were patient, because we had prepared our thoughts and because we had established trust.
Consider These Questions:
1. What is my (talk/listen) ratio when I'm in a one to one conversation?
2. What is my talk/listen ratio when I'm in a small group conversation? (Say, five people or less)
3. What is my talk/listen ratio if I'm in a classroom setting and I'm mostly teaching and training?
After working through these three questions, did your ratio stay relatively the same or did they change? The purpose of this was to assist you with gaining better clarity and awareness of your own talk/listen ratio.
I suggest that if your conversations are not yielding the results you desire, spend extra time on these three items. Be more patient with the other party, spend more time on preparing your thoughts prior to the conversation, stay obsessed with finding better ways to connect and establish real, authentic trust.
Marvin LUTCF, CNP, is a performance strategist and author of the number one Amazon Best Seller (Come Hell or High Water) Life Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. For a totally different experience for your next workshop, conference, or convention, visit with him today.
