Studies show that people like to talk; that’s a good thing. Most talented sales people will agree that a key component to any interaction, whether you’re selling b2b or b2c, is ensuring the other party felt as though they participated. All too often we become fixed on communicating the value of our product or worse… features.
I noticed Chris Brogan, an authority on marketing, ends all of his blog posts with a question. This is a simple but powerful gesture that lets his audience know he has ears.
Attentive listening has been a staple of successful tele-selling and online business networking is no different. Nothing is more affirming than a popular blogger taking the time to respond to you. More times than not, good listening is one of the reasons why they are successful to begin with.
Whether tweeting, IMing, emailing, or blogging; a natural conversational rhythm is the goal.
When business networking online, do you find yourself doing most of the talking or listening? What are some challenges to attentive listening online?
Tags: Business Networking
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I think people misunderstand questions and questioning. Often, I see people asking lot’s of questions, but they really aren’t making progress in understanding.
The point of what we are trying to do is engage the customer in a meaningful dialog about their business, challenges they face, new opportunities, and how we might help them.
Much of the time, sales people miss that opportunity because they spend too much time pitching—talking. Those that ask questions, sometimes do it in a way that gets a lot of information, but may not engage the customer.
A balance of thoughtful questioning and talking—creating a dialog is critical to engaging customers and to our success.
Wow… very insightful Dave. I’ll have to stop by your blog more often as well.
It sounds like your describing those tel-a-sellers that call you up from the Bank and just start streaming information before you can say hi!