As human beings, people tend to feel good about buying into a potential opportunity when the experience is much warmer and less transactional. In this way, when businesses work with potential and current clients, it's essential they create strong relationships that are built on trust and understanding. Below, eight members of Forbes Business Development Council provide tips to help leaders and their sales teams elevate their active listening skills that can pave the way for long-term success in business:
1. Share A Relatable Short Story
Be real. Be willing to share something somewhat personal to humanize the conversation. When I introduce myself in a sales meeting, I include a short story about my past that is relevant to what I am selling and, more importantly, why. So many times the prospective customer says,
"Me too!"
or something similar. Now we are immediately connected and the trust has started.
2. Listen Actively To Understand The Client's Problem
The adage
"you have two ears and one mouth"
is time-tested for a reason. Too often, we are excited to tell the client about the latest thing we have to offer and how it can solve all their problems, without taking the time to listen to what the problem really is. By making an effort to sit on the same side of the table with the client, we can foster good relationships and truly have win-win outcomes.
3. Ask The Client Open-Ended Questions
There must be a natural curiosity in the conversation. The more open-ended questions you can ask, the more information you will receive. If the dialogue is 50/50 between you and the prospect or client, you're doing it wrong. Try to only take up 25% of the conversation. Then, by expressing empathy and understanding for their situation, you will show them how much you're invested in the relationship.
4. Demonstrate Humility
In humility-based sales, leaders prioritize genuine connections. Actively listening and empathizing humanizes conversations, fostering deep client understanding. This commitment cultivates robust relationships, paving the way for long-term business opportunities. Humility is the key to transformative and enduring partnerships.
5. Prioritize In-Person Meetings
Something I’ve prioritized as a leader with a team across four continents is putting the utmost importance on sitting down with clients and partners in person. This doesn’t just help our active listening skills—it helps enhance the potential customer's engagement as well. By focusing on being present in person and having a thoughtful conversation, you’ll get ahead of most roadblocks and help them feel heard on bigger issues.
6. Build Rapport And Trust Through A Client-Centric Foundation
Creating deep relationships on the foundation of trust is imperative to any business. But to do so, business leaders must continually be client-centric. When looking to improve account relationships, it’s important to apply the following to your day-to-day: Build rapport and trust, be empathetic, practice active listening and customize communication to match client preferences.
7. Exceed The Customer's Expectations
One of the key pillars of our business is human-to-human communication. It must be authentic and genuine to enable a real connection. If you want to ensure you are creating long-term relationships, serve your customers and clients. Exceed their expectations and add value. When we delight our customers, they increase their loyalty. Model these behaviors to help your team improve.
8. Avoid Treating Your Client Transactions Like A Cold Sale
Clients buy from people, not businesses; leaders and sales teams need to view a sale as a friendship. Listen, lead with value, offer authentic advice, be caring to the needs of a lead or client and don't be driven by the outcome of a sale. Instead, be driven by fostering a good experience for the client. By doing so, they will always remember how you made them feel, not what you sold them.
Adapted from: Forbes
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