Reflective Listening Can Close the Deal

Selling has been around as long as Homo Sapiens, whether it's in the form of trading, bartering or exchanging services. Nevertheless, most salespeople are very bad it and don't have the sales techniques they need to be effective.

The best sales tip we give at basic sales techniques salt lake city are about listening. If you are always going on and on, how do you expect to win your potential client over? If you just tout the benefits of what you're selling and don't understand whether the client even needs them, you can expect to fail.

You are the most important thing you ever discuss, and its true for others too: your potential customers like to talk about their own issues. Consider the ideas below to i[ your own sales strategies or to pass on to with your coworkers or the sellers you coach.

The best place to start, however, is to know your potential customers. Do they know they should have your product or service or are they having a problem you can solve? Are any other options for them and are they good?

Next, you need to start listening. Think about the following:

• Find out what your clients want. If they are OK with their own fixes to the problem you think you know the answer to, find out why. If not, find out how you can do better. If they are only interested in parts of your products, understand that as well. At the end of the day, closing the deal is a one-on-one proposition. People who don't feel heard, will probably not continue a business relationship with you.
• Listen and then repeat or rephrase what the client says. Known as reflective listening, this technique lets the client know you're hearing them, that you are concerned about it and are considering it, and that you are getting it right. Furthermore, this skill clarifies what they expect from you.
• Sales are about emotions.Your explanations have their place, but selling is truly about whether your prospect has trust in you and what you're selling. Try to ferret out feelings about being overwhelmed and tired, as these are negatives you could solve. It's also smart to listen for pleasant emotions such as excitement, because this can help you understand your customer's motivations.
• Know what they want. In addition to listening to the customer says he or she needs, find out what the actual motivations are. Often, this means saving money but it can also mean something like improving inventory control, reducing work for them and more.
• Don't tell people what to do. No one likes to be bossed around, but salespeople often essentially do this when they repeat and repeat their presentations without listening properly. Instead, discuss the benefits of your solution and listen closely while the prospect speaks aloud, coming to understand why, in the process, your solution is the best one. You can guide the prospect along, but stop there or you could lose it all.
• Just hold your tongue! Most would-be sellers blab on and on, not considering that they have lost the sale, who is now just trying to hang up or get away. You can talk about the benefits of your product or service and briefly go over how you can offer fixes to their problems, but not unless you know what they are looking for.
• You and your product are not as great as you probably think, at least not to people who aren't familiar with what you have to offer. Let go of your ego and remember that you can almost never really know how anyone else is feeling and what they want without listening to them. Clarify often, and don't forget that closing deals isn't about anything more than building relationships. If you really want to make more sales, try getting out of the way more often.

These sales strategies might not be comfortable when you start implementing them, but if you try them you will see that they are very effective. Don't forget that most would-be sellers just rush through with their standard speeches, not considering these aspects. These salespeople fail. Find success by shutting your mouth and showing that you really care.