LISTEN,LISTEN,LISTEN!!!

[Fred T. Gruber Jr.]

Good. Now that I've got your attention. If you want to be successful at sales and providing extraordinary customer service, You must be a good listener.

How do we listen? With our ears and eyes open and our mouths not talking too much. When you listen, you will be able to find out what your customer or prospective customer needs or wants. If you are too busy talking about what you have to offer, you could miss some very important details. It's O.K. to talk, just as long as what you are saying prompts them to give you vital information.

Another way to listen is to pay attention to the little things. I can tell a lot about a prospective customer, by the way their house or office is arranged. I usually know if they are going to use me or not, in the first few minutes, or if I want to even provide them service.

Show compassion and be genuine. You can make a good connection, if you show concern for their situations. I received an e-mail from someone, requesting a quote to clean their mothers townhome. She mentioned that her mother was having surgery and wanted the carpets cleaned, while she was in the hospital. When I called her, I asked about her mothers condition before talking about anything else. I gave her a price and she called me, the next day to schedule the carpet cleaning. She said that our price was a little more than some others but decided to go with us. Maybe my concern for her mother was the difference.

I recently did some business with someone, who I thought didn't do a good job listening. They constantly did things that I said I wasn't interested in. I tried telling them but they were too busy thinking about what they thought was best for me, rather than being mindful of my needs. I will not do business with them again.

We once received a call, from another carpet cleaner. The person on the other end started telling me about their awesome service and specials they were offering.

I tried to politely interrupt him by saying that I was in the business. The guy kept yapping away and I again say, politely "Listen, I'm in the business" He still kept going. Finally, I raised my voice and said" Listen, I told you that I'm in the business. Why would I need to hire you, when I can clean my own carpets?" ...Dead silence.

Not being a good listener just wasted his wonderful pitch on deaf ears!

[Robin Thomas]

I always hate it when I pick of the phone to someone determined to sell their pitch without listening to a single question or statement from me. It's all about conversation, and attention to our customer's needs.

I wrote a blog about this same topic a couple of weeks ago and had neglected to adapt it to InSide919. I appreciate that you are on the same page here. We cannot develop any lasting relationship with our clients until we LISTEN :) Robin