Professional listening skills

If you want to give outstanding service to a client, the easiest method is by listening professionally. What exactly does that mean? Most people in a conversation don't listen well. Instead, they are waiting for their turn to speak. If you are listening professionally you will have an almost complete attention on your clients needs.

Here is the five step process:

1) Qualification

2) Needs/benefit analysis

3) Presentation/Summary/paraphrase

4) Price

5) Close

The reason that I call it the professional listening approach is because it is the approach that professionals use whenever they meet a client. They use the same approach each and every time. Because it is a recognized system, whenever someone uses it, the client will immediately perceive that it is the professional approach and will perceive you as a professional.

1) Qualification: In an attorney's office, the qualification is to determine if the client needs a lawyer. If so, what type of lawyer do they need? The first question is to determine if they are a prospect, or someone else.

If they are a prospect, you need to gather information to determine if they can qualify to pay for your service.
If they are not able to pay for your service, would you want to refer them to someone that could help them?

When you are doing a qualification, ask closed-ended questions.

Examples:

· Are you looking for a house?

· How many bedrooms do you need?

· What size house were you looking for?

· What school district are you interested in?

· Do you need a pool?

2) Needs/Benefits analysis:

This is the most important part of listening. After you have determined that you can help them, find out specifically what they want. In order to do this you use filtering questions. You ask open ended questions to learn the general direction, and closed ended questions to probe and get details. Then paraphrase what they have said to gain additional understanding.

Example:

You "Can you tell me a little bit about your situation?"

Client: "I am lost and don't know how to start."

You: "Which specific area are you having trouble in?"

Client: "I don't know how much I can afford on a house."

You: "So, if I could help you find out how much you can afford on a house, that would be a help?

You have started with a broad, open ended question, and quickly narrowed the focus. You have then quickly narrowed the scope of the question, and then, by paraphrasing, you have identified a course of action that will please the client.

By going into detail with a needs analysis, you have discovered what the client wants, by listening intently, you have provided the client with the service that they need and expect.

3) Presentation:

The Presentation is the summation of the clients needs, matched up with your benefits, so that you have identified the highest priority benefits (That you have available) with the clients highest priority needs. By matching the needs up with the benefits, you are, in effect, doing exactly what the client wants. It is not going to be a hard sale to convince them that they should do exactly what they want to do, in the manner that they want to do it. In sales, the needs/benefit analysis is the phase in which you should spend the most time. In the presentation, you want to do a summation and look for objections. If you have objections, either do a "feel, felt, found" or a "backtrack/conditional close" to further clarify the objections and find out the priority of the objection.

Example:

"So, you would really like buy a house, but you don't know how much you can afford. Is that correct? Would you like to have me pre-qualify you for a mortgage right now?

4) Price:

The price is where you tell them the cost. The price is the phase where most associates get worried. The reason it is the least important is because you should have already established the value of the recommendation in the needs/ benefit analysis and presentation. When a person sees the value, the price should be inconsequential because the value far outweighs the price. If it doesn't, you need to work on your understanding of the benefits. (You are NEVER selling features. You are ALWAYS selling benefits. People don't buy a drill. They need a power driver that is going to save them time and money by turning bolts faster than they could turn them by hand.)

5) Close:

The close is the least important part of the sale…IF you have done your preparation properly. If you have not, your closing ratio is going to be very low. The close should be so automatic, that it is simply a matter of making sure that you have done your homework.

You should practice your close so that it is automatic. Example: "If you want to get started, for all of the obvious reasons, let's just fill out this form."

Use an assumptive close. Always use enthusiasm, and remember that selling is merely a transfer of emotion. If you bring a positive attitude, you have a much greater chance of getting the deal.