sure you have heard the point your prospect is trying to make. 4. Concentrate on the topic under discussion. Since your mind is capable of jumping from one thought to another, it is imperative that you maintain your concentration while listening to your prospect. Listening speed is faster than speaking speed. Therefore, place all your conscious energy on the prospect – on his words as well as the nonverbal message he is sending while he speaks. 5. Don’t be distracted. When you


are making a presentation to more than one person, it can be difficult to listen to everything that is happening. Talking among others in the room can distract from the process of listening. To ensure you hear what is important, physically turn to the person who currently has the floor, use his or her name to show you are listening, and then turn to the next person. This will let everyone in the room know that each will get your full attention. 6. Ask for details. Active listen- ing implies responding to what you hear – even if it is not something you automatically understand. If your prospect’s message seems too techni- cal or unfamiliar, listen until he or she is finished, then ask for definitions and explanations of anything you don’t understand. Repeat it all back to be sure you are both in agreement before proceeding. 7. Listen for subtleties. Do you jump to conclusions before the whole story is told? The arrogant negotiator may feel he has heard it before – or say it is like something else he has heard that was false (a party line or the like) – and thus leap to a conclu- sion. Listening means tuning yourself in to notice fine differences in the other side’s story. Watch for the tiny shades of difference that indicate some bending in your direction. 8. Take notes. Do you try to re- member too much and get lost? Your prospect may be giving you a compli- cated and lengthy story. Take notes. If you get lost, call for a halt; ask him or her to repeat, then restate back what


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The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER


VIDEO: HOW CAN YOU MULTIPLY THE INTELLIGENCE OF OTHERS?


you understand has been said, ask for confirmation, and urge your prospect to go on. Don’t leap blind across bar- riers of understanding.


9. Listen with your whole being. Feel what the prospect is telling you. Sometimes your own feelings are a good barometer for what you are hearing. A prospect may not want to tell you everything that’s on his mind. Your listening skills – as well as your innate sense of what’s going on – may prove invaluable. Focus on delivery, tone of voice, breathing patterns, speed of speech, as well as the content of the words being used. The message is important, but, sometimes, the way it’s conveyed is the message itself.


10. Concentrate on listening to one topic at a time. Some salespeople sim- ply can’t concentrate on a single topic for very long. Cultivate the ability to stick with a topic. Don’t let your involve- ment in the sale break your listening concentration. Jumping all over the map confuses you and the prospect. 11. Listen to everything – even


the details you may not want to hear. Skilled listeners don’t discard information they don’t like; they respond to what they hear no mat- ter how unpleasant it may be. Irate customers are not ever calmed by being ignored. Listen to the problem and then restate the issue in your own words to be sure you and the pros- pect are communicating. Then you can go on to deal with the issue. 12. Be patient. Pencil tapping, foot swinging, and finger drumming are all clues that you are not listening to what the prospect is saying. If you are nervous, calm yourself with deep breathing or positive self-talk before you enter the prospect’s office. A nervous mind can’t listen. Use this list to check the areas


where you might improve your listen- ing skills. If you refer to it regularly, you should find a marked improve- ment in your relationships with prospects and customers. Improving your listening attitude along with your listening skill can improve your overall sales results. 


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