A guest post by Renee Martinez a mother of 4, blogger and marketing consultant.
It seems like such a no-brainer, listening, how hard is that?
Relationships, whether in your home or on the sales floor aren’t all that different. You won’t get the results you desire if you don’t ask the right questions. And…sometimes even when you ask the right questions, if you don’t listen to the answer, you may miss the opportunity to make the sale.
It’s all about asking the right questions:
At the beginning of a conversation is the time to ask the right questions, when you’re becoming familiar with your customer’s “problem” otherwise, you run the risk of not providing the correct product or solution. If you haven’t listened to your customer’s needs, the next thing you’ll hear from them will be objection to the solution you provided. Once they reject your suggestion, the dance to find the right product begins. If you can’t find something they like, you run the risk of losing the sale. The key is to pause after you ask the correct questions. This is your time to listen so that the customer can provide you with information that will be the key to unlocking the sale.
The pause period.
So now you may see how something so seemingly mindless and easy such as listening (or not listening), can have an impact on your business. There’s a caveat. You may ask the right questions, but if you’re not pausing to listen to what the person tells you, you may not accurately hear what was said. Therefore, you may still jeopardize your sales even when you’re listening if you don’t pause after you listen before you speak. Often people “listen” meaning, they have an answer formulated and they’re thinking of what they’re going to say – while they’re listening. So are they really listening? Try to summarize your understanding of the conversation to check the accuracy with your customer before you make a suggestion to confirm you understand their needs before you move on to suggestion. This will ensure that you have truly “listened”.
Honesty.
Try not to be too salesy. Be honest and genuine and people will trust your opinion. Customers know when you’re just trying to make a sale. Honesty is always the best policy.
As the mother of four boys (ages 8, 5, 3 and 9 months), Renee Martinez has an interest in providing women information on how to raise responsible, respectful and confident members of society that mothers could be proud of.
Renee’s blog, Mothers Raising Boys (www.mothersraisingboys.com) grew out of constantly being bombarded with comments from random people like, “Wow. Four boys. You must be busy!” or “Four boys! You’re life must be crazy! How can you handle it?!”. The comments made her crazy. “My boys are the least of my troubles. They are really a joy. I wanted to create a forum for people with boys who need help as well as for people who really want a community of moms with similar experiences. A place where we can gather and share information that might in someway help create a voice for moms struggling with issues associated with raising boys.”
Renee worked in marketing before venturing into motherhood, but decided to try to work as a marketing communications consultant after the birth of her first son. One thing led to another and nearly 10 years later, she’s still trying to blend the two worlds of work and family. She’s worked on some great projects for clients nationwide, from designing and writing websites, newsletters, email campaigns, logos, marketing plans, public relations campaigns, brochures to developing marketing strategies and ad campaigns. For business marketing services, her business is called Ruby Communication (www.rubycommunication.com). For consumer communication products, such as invitations and announcements, her business is called Ruby Printcess (www.rubyprintcess.com).
Renee has also written several articles on internet marketing.
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This is such a great post. When I’m coaching my clients it is very important to listen to their needs and wants so that I can give them the proper coaching. I had one client that thought it was weird that I paused after she finished talking. I told her I’m trying to really take in what you are saying so I can formulate the correct response. She certainly appreciated the fact that I was actually listening and really devoting my attention to her and her needs.
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