“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” — Writer Ernest Hemingway

I got a call this week from someone trying to sell me some kind of telephone system. When I said I was quite satisfied with my current system, he insisted this was new and much better. But in the next, very frustrating, three minutes, he never once helped me understand how its newness was going to help me. He never asked a single question about MY business, so how could he know his product was for me? Obviously, I didn’t buy it.

Would you like your doctor to prescribe medication or recommend surgery before listening to you explain your problem? Probably not. But this is just what many poor salespeople do to potential clients every day, because they are all too ready to jump in and describe their particular product, service or solution before they know what the problem is. Successful salespeople, on the other hand, first listen actively to the other person and then demonstrate their understanding of the need.

The most important communication skill in the selling process is listening. Listening involves hearing and analyzing what the other person is saying, and asking the right questions to draw out the information you need. Once you know what the other person is looking for, summarize it for them in your own words, because this assures them you have understood. Only then should you begin to talk about how your products or services can help them. As you talk, continue to ask questions to be sure you are on the right track, and to help the other person buy into your ideas and solutions.

When describing your products and services, beware of your own jargon. Make a list of technical terms you use in your business, and come up with plain language alternatives for each one. Those are the ones to use in talking to clients and prospects. Remember, even if a person does not understand your terminology, they probably won’t tell you because that would make them feel foolish. Avoid putting them in that position by using straightforward language that can be understood by anyone.

Aborted sales often happen because the prospect feels trapped, and has second thoughts about the buying decision. But when you have listened, demonstrated your understanding of the need and carefully illustrated how you can meet it, the person will be more comfortable with the decision and is more likely to commit to the deal.

Is your organization having a sales conference? Call me at 416-966-5023 for details about my program, “Communi-keys to Great Selling”.

A friend just sent me this. If you’ve ever had to serve on a committee I think you’ll relate. I certainly did!

Oh! Give me your pity, I’m on a committee
Which means that from morning ’til night
We attend and amend and contend and defend
Without a conclusion in sight.

We confer and concur and defer and demur
And reiterate all of our thoughts
We revise our agenda with frequent addenda
And consider a heap of reports.

We compose and propose, we suppose and oppose
And the points of procedure are fun
But though various notions are brought up as motions
There’s awfully little gets done.

We resolve and absolve, but never dissolve
Since it’s out of the question for us
What a terrible pity to end our committee
Where else could we make so much fuss?!

One of my readers, Azli, has asked a question as a comment to my post about delegation and empowerment. It would be great if a few of you would give us the benefit of your experience in response. Let’s empower ourselves by having a discussion about this. Azli, thanks for your question — stay tuned!

Helen

True leaders (and effective managers) delegate, because they know it’s good for themselves, the organization and the people to whom they delegate. What are the benefits?

• Delegation saves the manager’s  time, freeing it up for tasks he or she must do personally. It also allows more thinking time, which becomes more and more important as you rise up through levels of management.
• It allows the group to undertake a wider scope of work, because it makes use of each individual’s capabilities.
• For the same reason, it increases the productivity of the group.
• It empowers the individuals to whom meaningful work is delegated.

What task could you delegate to someone in your group? (Make sure it’s something meaningful, because there’s a big difference between effective delegation and simply dumping the things you don’t want to do yourself!)

So why haven’t you delegated this task? Here are some of the reasons people are reluctant to delegate:

• They feel they don’t have time to explain the task. This is shortsighted reasoning, because you just take time to explain it once and then you save all the future time you used to take to do it yourself.
• They are afraid the person won’t be able to handle the job. Treat people as if you know they will succeed, and they usually will. If you don’t have faith in your people, the problem may be more serious than lack of delegation.
• They are reluctant to give up control. “Control freaks” are rarely true leaders.

Identify the reason you haven’t delegated the task. Consider going out on a limb and empowering someone through delegation. You might be amazed and delighted by how it benefits all concerned.

Leave your comments and let us all know how this works out for you. If you have any questions about delegation, ask them in your comments and I’ll deal with them in future posts.