It happens to me all the time here at home. I will ask someone a question, and during their answer, something must have distracted me. I thought I was listening, but obviously, I wasn’t putting in the effort that I should have because a few moments later, I can not remember part of the answer I was given.
If you read books on sales or books on communication, coaching, or consulting you will see sections talking about “Active Listening”.
In a nutshell, this means listening with all your senses in order to achieve a full understanding of what the other person is saying.
“…physically listen to what the prospect is saying, not just with your ears but with your eyes as well.”
Zig Ziglar – Secrets of Closing the Sale
The infamous Zig Ziglar puts it this way: “…physically listen to what the prospect is saying, not just with your ears but with your eyes as well.”
Closely observe your client’s physical actions when they make their statements. Your prospect or client may say they are not interested or that they think your price is too high, but their body language could say otherwise. They might for example lean in while they say this, showing that they are interested in pursuing this more, even though they are saying they are not.
This can be a very important practice in Kitchen and Bath design since so much of your client’s reaction is based on emotion, not what they are saying, but how they are saying it. In addition to their body language, pay attention to your prospect’s inflections and tone of voice. By noticing this, you can truly tell if they are being sincere in their statements to you, or if there is something hiding behind the curtain. Keep in mind that tone of voice and inflection happen unconsciously. Your client’s inflections and tone of voice will give you a window into their true feelings.
Of course with any consultation, be sure to take notes on key elements that are going to help you provide the best solution for your prospect. Write these thoughts down as soon as they are presented. I tell myself all the time that this idea is so important that there is no way I won’t remember it, but then prove myself wrong.
Write it down!
This will also make it obvious to your prospect that you are listening to them and that what they have to tell you is important.
An extreme example of poor listening was brought to my attention when a prospect came to me with a kitchen layout from a competitor. It was an attractive kitchen design, so I asked her why she wasn’t buying it from this designer. The prospect stated that it was because the designer was just “..not listening to me.” The prospect showed me a wall where she wanted to have a dedicated coffee bar area and yet, her designer filled the wall with tall pantry storage. This was a perfect, although extreme, example of a designer not listening to the client.
A key element to make an initial consultation flow well and to get the information you need to help your prospect is to make it conversational. When you sit down with a prospect for the initial consult, it is very easy to fall into what I call “interrogation mode”. You no doubt have a series of questions that need to be answered in order for you to propose the best solution for your client, but if you run down this list of questions as though you are reviewing a list of items to pack for your trip, you probably won’t gain any insight into your prospect’s real concerns and thoughts.
Be Curious
If you express genuine interest and curiosity in what your client is telling you, your meeting will naturally become casual and conversational. A great phrase to use that will encourage your prospect to express themselves more fully is “That’s interesting, tell me more about that”, or something like “That has always interested me, tell me more.”
Most of your prospects will enjoy talking about themselves and telling you the story behind their stated needs. Practice active listening and pay attention to the entire way your prospect is describing their situation and you will discover what they are passionate about, their strong dislikes, and the difficulties that they are looking to you to find solutions for.
If you practice Active Listening with every client meeting, you will be able to provide your clients with the solutions they need and also gain insight into their feelings and desires.
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