How to Listen to Your Clients

It's no coincidence that the human body has two ears and one mouth. To be really good at marketing, persuading, or selling you must find ot how to use these natural listening devices in proportion: Listening twice as much as you talk.

To develop your ear, try these two simple exercises:

1. Listen to someone selling to others, or trying to sell to you.

Pay attention to what his words are doing. While you're listening, ask yourself these questions:

• Do his words paint positive or negative mental pictures? Remember people think in images far more often than they think in words or numbers.


• Do his words say anything that may raise a new objection to his product/service? Objections are a sign of doubt, but a signal that the client is interested in being persuaded.


• Are all his words necessary? Brevity is king in an attention deficit world


• Does he ask questions and thenc arefully listen to the prospect's answers?


• Does he move forware with questions, or gett off course by talking about features and benefits the customer has not expressed a need for?

2. Record yourself with a customer (ask for permission first)

You may be shocked at how much chatter you cut out (I know I was). To detect what you need to cut, consider the following:

• What is the quality of questions I ask? Do you get to the point or beat around the bush.


• Am I asking information gathering questions to help move forward with a sale, or just filling a sound void?

As you discover more about listening well, the phrase "putting your foot in your mouth" will gain a totally new meaning. After all, you can't put your foot in your mouth if it's closed. So close it, and listen more!