The one thing almost everyone in sales would agree on is that salespeople love to talk.  And listening takes away from “our talk time.”  However, there would be little disagreement over how critical listening is for successful sales. When you listen effectively, you encourage customers to share more information, develop confidence in you, and connect with you.

Think of “50” as a “magic number.” As a good rule of thumb, listen at least 50% of the time during each sales call.  Studies have shown that for every percentage a salesperson's “listening” goes over 50% of the call, there is a greater chance of closing.  (The converse is also true - if a salesperson’s “talking” is >50%, chances for closing become smaller).  Be aware of how much time you are talking and how much time you are listening and note it after your calls.

Effective listeners, (the successful salespeople), will acknowledge first, and then probe to better understand the situation.  Effective listeners are able to ask the right types of questions and probe appropriately to fully understand their customers’ needs.  So, the effective listener comes away with a much richer understanding of facts, motivations, and opportunity – all which increase the probability for a successful close.

When you are working with prospects and customers, keep in mind the following:

• Show interest – can your clients tell if you are listening? (they really know)
• Stay engaged – are you maintaining eye contact? (when face-to-face)
• Acknowledge – do you rephrase what the customer has said before giving your ideas?
• Probe deeper – have you asked additional questions that drill down to learn more?
• Connect – Do you incorporate the customer's words and language in your response? 
• Listen, Listen and Listen – Are you managing the urge to interrupt?

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...

• Talk about Solutions – Do you bring tailored solutions that meet their needs; ones that resonate with them and make it easy for them to say “yes”?  

Listening is more than being quiet when the client is talking.  The bottom line is:

The best listeners are on “receive” more than they are on “send,” if you receive more, you know more - you identify more opportunities to leverage, and that is why the best listeners are most often also the best sales people!