Comprehension step two: Talk Less
After you’ve mastered the skill of listening. Or, let’s be honest, it’s not something most of us “master” during our lifetimes. Let’s rephrase that with some more realistic short-term expectations: After you’ve started to listen more intentionally, understand your client’s pain points and committed to working on your relationship with clients instead of a quick sale, you’ll be ready to move onto step two of comprehension.
(If you missed the first part of our Comprehension series, head here to catch up!)
So, what is step two you ask? Talk Less.
Now, this sounds a lot like “Listen”, I realize. But it’s so much more. A notable study from Sales Hacker recently revealed that “the highest yielding B2B sales conversations hover around a 43:57 talk-to-listen ratio”. Meaning that you should be doing LESS THAN HALF of the talking during any sales conversation. If you’re anything like I was just a few years ago, you may be looking at a big change in your habits. When I learned this would make me a better sales professional, I knew I had a lot of work to do. And it took me a looooong time.
In an effort to speed the process up for you, today I’m going to share three main things that helped me the most, so hopefully you’ll be able to adjust your mannerisms quicker than I did.
1. Ask clients questions...then SHHHH
It’s probably a practice you don’t even know you have, but once you start attempting to talk less, you may be surprised how often sales professionals ask questions then proceed to offer the answer instead of waiting for the client to answer in their own words. I recommend taking what Chris Orlob calls “that socially awkward pause” between speakers. Give your client time to answer, even if it feels like you’re waiting forever.
Here’s a question I rely on a lot:
“Based on what we’ve talked about today, what do you think the next steps are?”
Asking this question puts the next steps into the hands of the client, so they don’t ever feel like you’re pressuring them into anything. Whatever comes next is their idea. If the client’s answer isn’t necessarily clear or anything concrete, you can continue to ask follow-up questions until there’s a clear plan laid out.
Allow the client to take the lead on what happens next; this achieves success for both parties.
2. When you do talk, Clarify
Since you will have to talk at some point, you want to choose those words carefully. A way to maximize the impact of the words you speak to a client (or potential client) is to use active listening techniques. This way, a large percentage of what you say is actually repeating back what you heard. Joy Baldridge says, “people are persuaded most by their own words.” Using a client’s own words is hands-down the most convincing argument you can make.
What you’re doing, instead of “selling”, sure both people understand the situation. Use active listening techniques Ask people to repeat back what you’ve said and you do the same. “Here’s what I understand, you want to make 100k a year and right now you’re making 70k? Am I understanding that correctly?” Until we are repeating the same information back out loud to each other, we’re not communicating. That’s how you get to clarity and comprehension.
Builds Trust.
Cements Comprehension.
Streamlines Communication.
(pause for quick sidebar)
Active Listening in a Nutshell:
In case you’re totally out on a limb here and not sure what I mean by “active listening”, let’s take a second to break it down a bit further. Now, there are lengthy articles and even whole books on this topic so if you’re interested in doing a deep dive and learning a LOT more, be my guest because it’s really and truly fascinating. (I recommend starting with Emilia Hardman’s Active Listening 101 -- it’s a quick and easy read that gets into the nitty gritty details of this engrossing topic)
But for our quick run-down, I’ve taken the five steps from Mind Tool’s amazing post and added some of my own commentary below.
Pay attention -- Actually be listening. Put away your phone. Close that laptop!
Show that you’re listening -- Look at them. Make eye contact. Mod along and give a few emphatic “mm--hmms”.
Provide feedback -- Repeat back what you’re hearing in your own words. Rephrase the speaker’s grievances from time to time to make sure you’re following their needs.
Defer judgement -- Don’t interrupt or judge the client’s needs. Keep listening even when you want to interject with your amazing “sales professional solution”. Also don’t argue. Ever.
Respond -- Once you’ve clarified their meaning and double-checked your comprehension, that’s the time to finally respond.
(now back to number three)
3. Learn from Yourself
But in the end, you are your own greatest teacher. Learn from your own behavior and (most importantly) your mistakes. In order to do this effectively, I record conversations with my coach and listen back to see how I really sound. Sometimes I can’t believe how much I’m talking! It’s like a football player watching game film -- the tape tells the whole story, not the story you tell yourself.
While of course I love my coach, learning from yourself doesn’t have to be as complicated (or costly) you can easily rehearse with a friend, do a mock interview/sales call, or start recording some of your actual sales calls and listening back. Aja Frost, in an article on Hubspot, has a great tip for “overtalkers”. She says, “reps who can’t stop interrupting their prospects should use their phone’s mute button. Pressing “Mute” while the buyer talks makes it impossible to cut in -- even if the salesperson does let something slip, their prospect will be none the wiser.”
The bottom line is, if you want to get better at comprehending your client’s problems and become a better sales professional, you’ll have to block off time to practice your skill set.
How do you know when you’ve started change your habits for the better? Eventually, the results show up in your paycheck. If you learn to stay focused and increase your comprehension of client needs, the effort always pays off.
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