Stop talking and start listening

Today in my daily newsletter from I-Connect007 I read a publication from Dan Beaulieu with the above title, which immediately got my attention http://www.iconnect007.com/index.php/column/22/it39s-only-common-sense/25/?skin=pcb#110669. Dan is a colleague and friend, but also one of my mentors so I tend to read everything I can that he publishes. As a sales & marketing expert, his focus was, of course, on getting sales people to shut up and listen to their customers.

However, as I read the article I found myself guilty of violating every single one of his attributes that define a poor listener. This was hard to swallow as I make my living listening to customers. Even after I read the article, as a client was sitting across from me telling a personal story today, I couldn’t wait for him to finish so I could relay a similar story about myself. I really do know better, but bad habits die hard.

Dan’s points are not a sales thing, they apply to all of us, no matter what side of the table we sit on. How many times have we been talking to someone but not really “present”, looking around, checking our watch, phone or door? We owe it to the other person to give them our full attention and really listen. From my personal standpoint, how can I offer a customer the “right approach” if I really haven’t heard what their problem is? I can’t, so I am firing up my iPad and buying the Tom Peters and Richard Branson books Dan mentioned immediately.

Do yourself a favor and read Dan’s article at the above link. It will be the best 10  minutes you have spent in a very long time.

Give me a call and I promise to listen!

920-841-3478

Steve@TheRightApproachConsulting.com