This seems like a pretty obvious piece of advice, but you would be amazed at how many people – especially in sales – don’t understand or apply this important fundamental skill.
Many people entering the sales profession have serious misconceptions about what sales actually is. They seem to buy into a common stereotype of sales: that the whole point of the job is to stand in front of a room full of clients and magically convince them to spend millions of dollars through your remarkable powers of persuasion and a slick PowerPoint presentation. Or, better yet, they think sales is all about the one-on-one meetings with the decision makers, in which you strongly impress them with your forceful, aggressive pitch to the point where they cling to your every word and do whatever you tell them.
I’ve worked in sales for nearly 30 years, and I’ve never found myself in either of those scenarios. It’s not that a great presentation can’t make an impact, or that a one-on-one meeting with a decision maker can’t result in a positive outcome. But in my experience the myth of the “closer,” the loner sales rep who comes in at the last second and dramatically saves or makes the deal, is just that: a myth.
The truth is the best sales people that I know aren’t the best talkers – they’re the best listeners. How can you find out what it is that your clients are looking for if you are the one doing all the talking? The great listeners focus on learning about their clients’ wants and needs by asking them targeted questions, and once they have that information their focus becomes finding solutions to fit those wants and needs. They use market information and experience to formulate a plan that accomplishes as many of the clients’ goals as possible, which – I know, this is a surprise – is exactly what the client wants them to do. Ultimately this strategy is much more likely to result in a deal than if the salesperson tried to bully the client into doing what they wanted instead of focusing on meeting the client’s needs.
When I started to figure this out early in my career I realized that the people who make these big decisions are, for the most part, very good at their jobs and that is why they are successful. Yes, I have some knowledge and skills that they may not, which is why they hired me. But if I go into a client relationship assuming that I know their own needs better than they do, it usually ends badly.
Always remember: the best salespeople are the ones with the best information. They get that information by listening – to brokers and other people working in their markets, but most importantly to the people who sign their checks.
Have a great weekend,
Ro