Whether you’ve been a licensed insurance professional for 10 days or 10 years, you know how important listening is in sales. It helps you nurture trust with your customers, uncover their needs and pain points, and craft effective solutions to address them.
“Active listening” involves focusing entirely on the person with whom you are meeting and speaking. You need to go beyond the words and focus on their meaning and underlying feelings. Take note of non-verbal clues, too.
Active Listening Sales Tips
Below are five tips to improve your active listening.
1: Work to build client trust. A Salesforce study found that 88% of customers believe their experience with a company is just as important as the organization’s products and services. By engaging in active listening, you have the opportunity to establish and nurture a positive customer relationship.
2: Counter expectations. HubSpot says it found only about two-thirds of buyers expect their sales rep to listen to their needs. It’s no wonder so many meetings don’t lead to a sale. Actively listening allows to you to develop greater insights into your customers’ needs, which can lead to more successful outcomes – for you, your clients, and their employees.
3: Find a good space for your discussion. Choose a place to talk with your prospects and clients that will allow you to focus. No distractions or multi-tasking.
4: Ask open-ended questions. Paraphrase and summarize to ensure you’re on the same page. If you are uncertain what a prospect or client means, ask questions to confirm your understanding.
5: Be aware of body language. Your – or your client’s – body language and tone are important. Eye contact is also important. Avoid interrupting someone so they aren’t made to feel undervalued. Interruptions can often derail a good conversation. Once you’re off-track, it may be challenging to recover.
For other thoughts on becoming a more active listener, read the Forbes article, Four Behaviors to Make Active Listening Your Superpower in Sales.
Another tip when meeting with prospects and clients is to “put on your listening ears” as Judge Judith Sheindin is known for saying. You were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. In most situations it’s a good idea to talk less and listen more.
At Word & Brown, we’re good listeners. And we’re committed to helping you find the right solution to your clients’ needs. Give us the opportunity to prove our value to you. Visit our website and register today or call 800.869.6989 to get started.
