While good questions are crucial, they are not the only important way to uncover problems.
The single most important skill in discovering problems is to listen and pay attention the answers. Attentive listening is demonstrated in two ways: physically and psychologically. How attentive are you?
How To Show You’re Really Listening
Keep the following pointers in mind when meeting with prospects:
• Face the prospect. Facing the person tells her you are physically present to talk about the issues directly and openly.
• Be open. Have an open smile and convey a sense of receptiveness. Crossing your legs, crossing your arms, and tilting your head back tells the prospect, “I am closed to your thoughts.”
• Lean into the conversation. Leaning toward your prospect tells your prospect that you are keenly interested in her and the subject matter.
• Maintain good eye contact. Looking at the person tells him psychologically that you are on the same level with him.
• Relax. Just list a duck swimming along, demonstrate a relaxed demeanor while paddling like crazy to listen carefully, understand, ask follow-up questions, and take good notes.
“When selling in teams, assign one person to take notes so the others can focus on the prospect,” says David Morgan of LBMC, Nashville, Tennesse.
Don’t forget that prospects respond to both verbal and nonverbal feedback. It is important to give feedback, even if it’s only an “uh-huh” or “I see” from time to time during the conversation.
Listen and Learn
As you listen to your prospect, pay attention to what the prospect says and does not say. In business conversation, the unsaid is often more important than what is said.
Your prospect may imply there is no problem or you may infer from what was said there is no problem.
When you are in doubt, ask a follow-up question like this, “Sarah, in the situation you just described I expected you might say this, but you didn’t. Can you tell me the key reasons that this is not an issue with you?”
A key element in listening is to periodically feed back what the prospect is saying to you. Say something like this: “Jim, this is what I understood was you difficulty: X. Is this accurate?”
Expert listeners can hear with antennae other than their ears. You can listen with your eyes and your heart. Watch for emotional responses from the prospect.
This will tell you the issue is more important. A face turning red, a louder voice, or a grin are all signs that you are onto something.
Wrapping up
Many professionals have limited training and experience in listening. If this is you, take some courses or read some articles or books on the subject.
Commit to improve your listening ability to become better at discovering prospect problems.
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