If you are like most sales people today, more than half of your customer conversations are via the phone, not in person. Excellent listening skills become even more important when visual cues are not available.
No matter what you sell; equipment, service plans, ink, paper or lease financing, the phone can be tricky. Good listeners are successful sales people.
I learn my biggest listening lessons in Improv Comedy Class. For the past three years, I’ve performed with an improv comedy troupe in my little town of Bonner Springs, Kansas. I do this just for fun, not money.
As a comedy improvisational actor, I attend classes and rehearsals for a total of fourteen hours per month. I commit that time to improve my stage performances. Why do I like Improv so much? One of the main reasons is that Improv makes me a better listener.
How much time per month do you invest in improving your business skills?
Good listeners are super sales professionals. Great communicators. Skilled negotiators. Listening skills transfer to my daily life with my customers, bosses, friends, spouse, and children.
This month, let’s take lessons from my comedy class and apply them to our customer telephone conversations. When visual clues are absent, sharpen your listening skills.
Lease sales tips when you call a customer are:
- Remove distractions such as ringing telephones. Put phones on stun.
- Turn away from your computer to avoid the temptation to check emails.
- If you work in a noisy environment, consider moving to a conference room or private area in which to conduct sales calls.
- Close your office door if you have one, to discourage others from entering and creating visual and auditory distractions.
- Have water available to sip in case your voice becomes dry.
- Take notes of your customer’s comments to keep your mind from wandering as the call progresses. This is especially important when there are multiple parties to the conversation.
- Prepare a proposed agenda for the call and distribute before conversation commences. Allow all parties to add to the agenda before the call begins.
- Send all call participants a summary of call assignments or commitments made and timelines for the next step to keep the selling process moving forward.
As you work on your listening and communication skills, success will follow you to all parts of your life.
Mary Redmond is a top-rated female professional speaker, author, consultant and business coach. She is a negotiation and body language expert that instills confidence, inspiration and expert knowledge that sets up her audiences for success!