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| Bob Hafer,
MIRM, CSP |
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Good questions and listening - a winning combination
I’ve often commented that if I could give salespeople two gifts they would be the ability to ask good questions and then listen carefully to the response. It is my experience that there is no substitute for these two critical selling skills. The great thing about both skills is that each is easily learned.
My last two newsletters taught the importance of asking good questions. This newsletter focuses on listening. My first article attends to the benefits of listening and several how-to ideas to improve listening skills. The second article centers on a listening skill I call transitional listening that teaches 'how to' make selling a conversation rather than an confrontation. And the third article spotlights reflective and paraphrase listening, which when applied will increase sales, income and customer satisfaction.
If you are looking for ways to improve your selling results then this newsletter was written especially for you. Read each article a couple of times. Discuss the ideas with your peers, and then put into practice each listening skill. You’ll be amazed at how responsive customers become when they know someone is listening to them.
Effective listening - the bottom line of trust
You can’t establish trust if you don’t listen. A conversation is a relationship. Both speaker and listener play a part, each influencing the other. Instead of merely being a passive recipient, the listener has as much to do in shaping the conversation as the speaker.
People have often commented that I am a good listener. I used to think this was a weakness. I’ve often thought if I kept my ideas and views to myself, people would not be interested in me. But I’ve found that they usually care more about what they have to say than what I might be telling them. Customers want to feel that they are important to you; remember you are there to meet their needs, not the other way around.
In sales, the person doing the talking is perceived to be the one controlling the conversation. Just the opposite is true. When you listen, you have a lot of influence on the conversation. Effective listening involves work on your part. It is more mental activity than a physical one. You take in what your customer is saying and then use that information to make the best presentation you can.
A smart salesperson listens to emotions as well as facts. I like the image of an iceberg in describing communications. Only about 20 percent of an iceberg is visible; 80% is below the surface. When you listen only to the facts, you are hearing only 20% of what someone is communicating to you. When you listen for emotions, you are paying attention to the other 80%.
What follows are three steps to help you listen for facts and for the emotions that really motivate people to buy. Always keep in mind that you can’t fake listening. If you pretend, your clients will pick up on it.
Step one - listen to what is not said
Another way of saying this is to pay attention to 80% of the iceberg that’s under the water.
Deletions and distortions are part of everything we say. They make up the hidden 80% of any conversation. When you train yourself to ‘listen between the lines’ you will be able to use that information to ask more probing questions without making your customer feel overly challenged.
To give you an example, what does your customer mean when she says, “The price is too high”? Is she saying she can’t afford it, or compared to XYZ Builders the price is too high, or I’m looking for incentives to bring the price down? What is she leaving out of her statement about your pricing? Instead of challenging her directly, try to find out more specifics. Some questions you might ask include:
What price do you have in mind?
What other builders are you considering?
What incentives are other builders offering?
These questions will help fill in the voids left by a vague statement. It is critical that you learn to ‘listen between the lines’. Customers have a lot of reasons for being evasive. You deserve to know the truth, even at the risk of appearing slightly pushy. Hone your listening skills so that you catch anything that doesn’t make sense, and ask follow-up questions until you’re satisfied that you know what the real story is.
Step two - limit the time you speak
Research has shown that prospective customers have an attention span that lasts about thirty seconds. There has been much talk lately about how short our attention spans are getting. Television advertisers have known for a long time that if their ads last for more than thirty seconds each, you will go get a snack or change the channel. In fact, most television producers know that if they keep a camera shot during a TV program on one place for more than 4.5 seconds, viewer interest will dissipate.
As a good rule of thumb make sure you never talk for more than thirty seconds without asking, “Any comments about this?” “Do you have any questions”? Asking your customers what he or she thinks is a good way to reinforce rapport and ensure that a person’s attention span does not wander. Thirty seconds is really a long time. Try timing yourself while talking sometime. You will be surprised how long thirty seconds really is.
Step three – avoid the tendency to think about what your going to say next
A good salesperson is sharp enough to be spontaneous, not canned. If you think about what you want to say while your customer is talking, you will certainly miss their message. When you miss even the smallest part of what someone is saying, you may miss the information that will generate a sale for you.
Listen intently to your customer’s answer to a question or comment before you speak. Then answer appropriately.
Send to a friend
Before reading the next two articles I have a favor to ask. I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. Thank you in advance for helping me and your friend achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good Luck and Good Selling!
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Selling a conversation, not a confrontation
I want you to recall your best new home sales experience. Take a few moments and reflect on why you selected that experience. What made it memorable and different? Was it a special connection you felt to your buyer? Was it because you were able to understand clearly what your buyer needed? Whatever your answers to these questions, I suggest something was going on at a deeper level.
My experience leads me to believe you chose that experience because you achieved alignment and agreement with your prospect. You were in state of rapport. In some way, maybe consciously or subconsciously, you found a balance between yourself and the customer. A balance that led you into a conversation, a conversation that let you and your prospect reveal who you are to each other and to conclude that you are really quite alike. Selling is about conversation, not confrontation.
Transitional listening - the difference that makes the difference
This article is written so you can find ways to achieve balance with every serious new home prospect you meet. I believe this is possible if you use a technique I call transitional listening. In my opinion, prospects give you everything you need to know about them through the words they select and use. Consider for a moment your sales training. Most likely, you were taught to ask qualifying questions that uncover information you need, but, most likely, you weren’t trained to listen.
Communication is a two-way street. First, you ask a key discovery question then you listen to the response. In last month’s newsletter I provided six discovery questions. To remind you here is an example, “For you, what is important about the home?”
Your customer's response is the key to transitional listening. I want you to listen carefully to the words prospects use to answer questions. Then I want you to select one or two key words that allow you to transition into asking about something you need-to-know. You already know what you need-to-know. Consider the following information and you will see what I mean.
- Shopping experience?
- Presently living?
- Own or rent?
- Employment or retirement?
- How many people will be living in the home?
- Visit motivation?
- Timing and urgency?
- Has your client ever qualified for a mortgage?
- Is your client currently qualified for a mortgage?
- Price or monthly payment range?
- Down payment?
An example
In my book, Building Results, I wrote about the values of transitional listening. What follows is an excerpt from my book. It provides an excellent example that makes my point. To understand transitional listening, consider the following exchange – the transitional opportunities are in italics.
Salesperson:“What is important about the new home we will build for you?”
Customer: “Well, I am not really sure. We have just started looking. I know we need 4 bedrooms because we are expecting our third child this fall and we need more space. We also need a larger family room and, if possible, we want to have separate closets in the master bedroom.”
Salesperson: “Is there anything else?”
Customer: "Not that I can think of. Well, maybe, if we can afford it we would like to have a three-car garage. My husband’s brother recently purchased a new home with a three-car garage. Even though we probably don’t need the extra space, it would be a good investment.
Salesperson: “Is there anything else?”
Customer: “Let me think, I am sure there is something else I’m missing but I think that covers the things my husband and I discussed.”
During this brief exchange the customer provided the salesperson four transition opportunities to secure qualifying information:
- The word, looking, allows the salesperson to transition to a question about shopping experience.
- The two words, third child, allows the salesperson to transition to a question about how many people will be living in the home..
- The word, afford, allows the salesperson to transition to a question about price or monthly payment range.
- The word, investment, allows the salesperson to transition to a question about income or initial investment.
Listen for transitional opportunities
Start today to listen for transitional opportunities. Listen with your eyes and ears. Listen to achieve rapport. Do not simply listen to make a sale. I repeat: Do not simply listen to make a sale. Your customer knows the difference. Transitional listening is the difference that makes the difference.
Start today to listen rather than talk your way to a sale. The benefit is a great sales experience for you and your prospect. New home selling does not have to be hard. Start today to make it easy by using transitional listening to achieve and maintain rapport with every new home prospect. Once you make the decision to do this, a new world of selling will open to you.
Send to a friend
Before reading the last article I have a favor to ask. I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. Thank you in advance for helping me and your friend achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good luck and Good Selling!
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Reflective listening
Reflective listening is simply repeating some words your customers use as you listen to them speak. Someone says, “I’ve visited several new home communities and haven’t yet found a design that I like.” You respond, “You haven’t found a design you like yet?” perhaps with a slight nod and continue listening. Or a customer says, “I’ve been reading the newspaper and it looks like mortgage rates are beginning to increase.” ‘Yes, my mortgage company rates are rising as well”, you respond and leave it at that, letting your customer continue speaking.
Reflective listening deepens rapport in three ways: It shows you are paying close attention; that you understand what your customer is telling you; and that you care. It is a great way to keep people talking and revealing more of what they might want from you or one of your homes.
Letting off steam
Many times people need to talk to let off some steam – complaining about the house-hunting adventure, talking about the high price of housing or options, venting dissatisfaction with a particular design they are looking for and haven’t found yet. All this taking place before they are ready to talk seriously with you. Reflective listening is a way to keep developing rapport while you’re waiting to get down to the real business of talking about your homes.
A friend whom I knew professionally called me once asking if we could get together. This person had been in the new home industry for ten years, and was routinely making a six-figure income. Suddenly, he found himself losing motivation. His sales and income were dropping, he was thinking about getting out of the industry – he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.
As we sat down to talk, I started giving him some advice. He interrupted me, brushing aside all my comments. I settled in and just listened, repeating a word and comment here and there. Finally, he paused and was ready to listen to my advice. I certainly can’t claim I solved his problem, but the point is, I couldn’t tell him anything until he was ready to hear it.
While I know that you can’t waste an entire day listening to a customer ramble on about their house-hunting misadventures, I’ve also learned that a certain amount of listening is a good investment. Sometimes, if I know a sale is possible, I’m willing to invest valuable time and any number of meetings. Listening reflectively makes it a little easier on me emotionally. The customer has my attention and knows it, yet the work required to give that attention is minimal.
Paraphrase listening
Paraphrase listening works on a similar principle, except that you paraphrase what your client has just said. If someone says to you, “The premium on your mountain view lots are expensive,” you can say, “Yes, purchasing a home with a view of the mountains is expensive.” By using paraphrase listening you acknowledge what the customer said and you let them know in a nice way that the price is what it is.
Like I said before, your customer may simply be making a comment and is looking for how you will react. Many salespeople, unfortunately, read more into what someone says and begin to apologize when no apology is necessary. Use paraphrase listening to agree with what your customer said. Then listen to what response you get back. You will be amazed at how easy communication becomes when people know you heard what they said.
Enhancing rapport
Use all three listening skills: transitional, reflective and paraphrase listening to enhance rapport and to keep yourself on your toes. It will help keep your customers talking until they are ready to get down to the business of buying a new home. And that is always a good thing.
Send to a friend
I have a favor to ask. I want you to send this newsletter to 5 people who you feel will benefit from the ideas and principles included. My goal is to send this newsletter to at least 1000 people monthly. To achieve this goal I need your help. At the bottom of the newsletter you will find a ‘Send to a Friend’ button. Just click and follow the easy introductions. If you have already forwarded my newsletter, thank you for helping me and your friend achieve their goals. It is appreciated!
Robert E. Hafer Seminars
To learn more about Robert E. Hafer seminars and workshops and purchase Building Results – The Ultimate How-To Guide For New Homes Sales, visit click here, email Bob at Send Emailor call 972-795-5926.
Good Luck and Good Selling!
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