A prospective customer approaches a young car salesperson and begins to detail the exact features of the automobile she wishes to purchase… “And I would like leather interior and would like the exterior to be black” she explains. The new salesperson is so excited about this opportunity that during her description, thoughts of greatness begin to run through his mind.  Thoughts like “This will be a great sale for me!” and “My manager will be so proud” take control of his mind.  After the prospective customer completes the description of her ideal vehicle, the salesperson responds, “Yes I can certainly help you, did you have a particular color in mind?”  What happened!

Listening is hard to do.  Just like the example above, you can listen to someone and never hear a word they say.  Several reasons cause this.  First, your mind wanders or you begin to put together thoughts you want to convey when it is your turn to speak.  Second, you just don’t connect with the story or the topic.  Whatever the reason, it can be very easy to physically be in one place and mentally in another at the same time resulting in a missed opportunity.  Because of this, I believe mastering the art of listening is perhaps one of the most difficult yet most effective things you can do as it applies to business relationship building.

Listen with your eyes

Hold on.  I know you listen with your ears.  However, I believe when you are in a one-on-one business transaction with a customer, you convey your listening to them with great eye contact.  Your eyes prove you are in the room so to speak.  Great eye contact says “I’m listening to you. I’m here”. Eye contact helps keep you focused on what the customer is saying. Case in point; Have you ever told someone what you believe to be a very exciting story and you notice their eyes are gazing into the great beyond and the only response you get is an occasional “uh huh”.  This is a clear sign they are not with you.  This can be very frustrating.  Great listening begins with great eye contact.

Ask Questions

What do people like to talk about most?  You are correct, themselves.  Great listening focuses on asking questions. Find out what is important to your customers. Use statements like “tell me more about…” This opens the door to great relationship building.  It conveys to the customer your interest in what matters to them.  Open ended questions such as “what are you looking for in a business relationship” or how can we make your business experience better” must be detailed and cannot be simply answered yes or no.

Key to great listening: Practice, practice, practice!

To be great at anything, you must commit to being great at it.  Listening is no exception.  You have to practice. Take a moment to ask someone to “tell you about their favorite vacation or their ideal dream home”. Be sure and get the details.  Once they have done so, repeat back to them or paraphrase in your words what they said to you.  If you can do this consistently, congratulations you are on the right track.  This simple exercise can help you develop the skills needed to be a great listener.

The Point

The point is this.  Nothing shows customers their value to you more than your attention to what matters to them.  And nothing shows your attention to them more than the manner in which you listen!  This can truly set you apart from the competition. Listening has a direct impact on your customer service level. I can say with certainty your commitment to listening speaks volumes to your customers and you can rest assured they are listening!