Talking versus Listening

Have you ever thought about whether you are a good listener?  Since strong working relationships are based on an exchange of information, listening skills are as vital as your ability to sell (“tell”) your solution or product.  There have been plenty of advice articles written about talking versus listening and they make some excellent points but are you doing a good job becoming a better listener? The fact that you have two ears and only one mouth should offer guidance towards the appropriate balance of talking and listening.    

I want you to try something for a couple of weeks.  Next time you meet with someone that is new, whether its work or social related, do a post evaluation about your listening skills.  Ask yourself how much you learned about the other person versus how much they learned about you.  It will make you think about how your conversation went and will help guide you toward the best balance.  

For example, when I have done my own internal evaluation, I realized I have learned so much about them as where they grew up, went to school, activities they like, if they have children, what do they like to do with their free time, etc.  Obviously, a conversation at a party is different than at a sales appointment but it gives you an idea as to what I am talking about.  

All of us want to work and socialize with people who make us feel good and important.   When you focus on your client, you may find you have gained more than a sale.  

Retraining and Retaining

(versus On-boarding and Off-boarding)

For most professional sales positions, it costs $50,000 - $100,000 to hire, train, and get the person fully up to speed.  It can take anywhere from six months to two years to truly become productive and effective.  So how did we go from “we do not want to lose employees to the point where many sales people are treated like a commodity?” 

Today companies on-board and off-board new employees so often that they can do it really fast and there is a matter of fact attitude from HR at how well they can do it.  Is this really what is best for the firm?  Periodic changes may be needed due to performance or not the proper job fit.  Frequently companies are too quick to make these decisions.  They don’t like the current results and decide to make a change.  BUT, there was a reason they [or maybe say “you”] hired the person initially.  Perhaps they haven’t been fully trained or coached to be able to achieve their goals.  All too frequently, companies give up on an employee that could be developed and nurtured into a great employee.

Let me give you a sports analogy.  Mike Schmidt, the Hall of famer third baseman that played for the Philadelphia Phillies, batted .206 in his first taste of the big leagues with a limited number of at bats.  In his first full season, he hit .196 with 18 home runs in 132 games.  Should the Phillies have given up on him?  In his second full season, he hit .282 and the next year he hit .242.  His results moved up and down as he was learning how to play professional baseball.  He was getting real world experience, a ton of coaching before, during, and after the games.  He ended his career batting .267 and hit an astounding 548 home runs.  Without patience, hard work, and sufficient coaching and training, would he have made it? 

Today there is a big movement towards “Coaching” instead of the traditional “Managing”.   A lot has to do with the word “Coaching” being a softer word and less boss like [or maybe say “less rigid”].  The idea is to regularly work with your employees to help improve or refine their performance instead of coming down hard on someone every six months.  By conducting frequent coaching sessions, you can enhance your relationship and build a solid development plan.

A good way to supplement coaching sessions is to have quarterly professional training sessions from an outside company, one that specializes in sales training.  There are plenty of choices out there for interactive and fun courses that can be incredibly helpful.  By selecting someone from outside, the sales person or team can open up and discuss situations and ideas with a third party that brings real world experience and a different perspective to the situation and discussion.