The Lucrative Art of Authentic Listening

• By Ellen Z. Harrison, Bob Ayan
• Apr 01, 2004

Selling is telling. If you are a consultant or salesperson, you probably believe this statement, at least on a subconscious level. How else can you get a potential client to buy your services if you don't tell clients what their needs are and how you can meet them? If this is you, then you are thinking about sales calls in the wrong way. Though telling certainly has its place, listening is far more likely to get that prospect to sign on the dotted line.

During a sales call, you should be doing twice as much listening as talking. Many consultants get this percentage backward. But put yourself in the potential client's shoes and think about how presumptuous it seems when an outsider blathers on and on about what you need. No matter how much research you have done and how convinced you are that you have the solution to all his troubles, you can't possibly know everything about your prospect's company. That's why listening not just pretending to listen is key.

If you are a teller by nature, shifting into listening mode might be more than a little challenging. But the successful consultant the one who truly becomes a long-term business partner to clients must practice the art of listening until it becomes second nature. The following are tips on becoming an authentic listener:

1. Be prepared to listen.

Do your homework thoroughly before the sales call. Know what the organization does, who the key players are, and the issues they are facing. It's impossible to really listen if you're distracted by trying to remember key issues that you should already know. Also, take a list of everyone who will be in the meeting with you, so that you can address them with ease. It's easier for you to listen if you do not need to search your memory bank for names.

2. Focus on getting the information you need.

Know what you need before going into the sales meeting. This helps you to stay tuned to the discussion. Maintain eye contact and an attentive body posture. This encourages speakers to provide information. Most importantly, do not interrupt. Allow your potential clients to provide all the information they want. Be sure to take excellent word-for-word notes so that you can put their words in your proposal. People feel more comfortable reading a document written in their own language and it helps them feel that you have really listened.

3. Prepare a set of questions to facilitate the sales meeting.

Think through the information you will need to follow up after the sales meeting. Then create a list of questions to obtain that information. This ensures that you can listen rather than try to remember what you wanted to know. Questions might be general such as, What are the greatest challenges you will face over the next two years? Questions might be specific to the project such as, What is the timeline for this effort? You also need to ask impromptu questions that arise as a result of the discussion. Doing so is not only more natural than reading from a list; it shows the prospect that you hear what she is saying. Ask the question; then listen.

4. Utilize active listening techniques.

Paraphrase what your potential clients are saying, offer a condensed version and clarify anything that you do not understand. Use smooth transitions as you move from one topic to the next so that you can focus the discussion on your requirements. For example, "Your comments are insightful, so what are the next steps?" This will take everyone in the meeting with you when you want to get to the information you will need.

5. Be aware of how the session is going.

Listen to the meeting participants' verbal as well as non-verbal messages. What changes do you observe in body language? Has the pace changed? How are meeting participants responding to statements by you or others? Learn to read others' non-verbal messages. If you sense that anyone is feeling uncomfortable or even antagonistic, don't be afraid to address the situation. Say, in a non-threatening way, "Mary, perhaps I'm mistaken, but I am getting the feeling that you disagree with the point I just made. Do you want to offer your perspective?" Encouraging openness and free dialogue, even if it's uncomfortable for you, is a critical component of authentic listening.

6. Learn to summarize.

This is one of the best active listening techniques to ensure that you understand what everyone is saying. Use their words. If individuals have differing opinions, use comparison words. Be brief but inclusive. Practice this skill in other situations so that it will feel natural, and not stilted or forced, when you use it in a sales call.

7. Let the client have the last say.

This is more than a psychological trick. It's a way of respecting the potential client, of saying, "I'm here to serve you and meet your needs, not to sell you a bill of goods or force you to conform to my ideas." This gesture will not be lost on your client; he will appreciate it.

8. If the conversation veers away from business?listen anyway.

I remember a sales call I made with a client whose office was over one thousand miles from our office. When I arrived, we started out with small talk. Bill told me about his kids, his wife, his headaches, his sailing, his dream to become a college professor, and many other things I would be able to follow up with later. But he didn't tell me about the project we were supposed to discuss. After an hour, he said thanks for coming in and that I would hear from him. I flew back home feeling dejected. I was sure it was a lost opportunity. A couple days later an acquaintance from inside the company called and said, "I don't know what you did to Bill, but he said it was the best darned sales call he'd ever had and that we would be doing lots of work with you!" What did I do? I listened.

Certainly, the experience related in this last tip would be a difficult one for any consultant to sit through. And while Biech admits that it's an extreme example, it aptly illustrates the organic and unpredictable yet ultimately profitable nature of authentic listening.

Authentic listening will be much easier if you keep in mind why you are a consultant in the first place. You wouldn't have become a consultant if you didn't genuinely want to help people solve their problems. And there is simply no way to unearth someone's true needs without really listening to them. It's nothing less than the heart and soul of consulting. And it's the doorway to long-term success and fulfillment in your chosen profession.

This article originally appeared in the April 2004 issue of HME Business.