Part three? Listening skills of salespeople

There is a short story about the importance of listening. In ancient times, there was a small country that gave China three golden statuettes, and then let the emperor guess which one was the most valuable. The three gold men look exactly alike, and no one can guess. The last retired veteran put a straw in the ears of three golden statuettes, and the result was immediately identified. The first golden man, the straw is inserted from the left ear and comes out from the right ear; The second golden man, with a straw in his ear, came out of his mouth; The third gold man put a straw in his ear, took it out and put it in his stomach, and never came out again. The old minister said that the first gold man listened to things in his left ear and went out in his right ear, which was worthless; The second gold man listened to something and told others that it was worthless; Hearing this, the third gold man was able to keep a secret, which is the most precious.

This story tells us that listening is particularly important in daily communication. The reason why human beings have one mouth and two ears is to let us talk less and listen more. If listening is so important in daily communication, the importance of "listening" in sales can be imagined.

□ Actual combat cases

The delay of the plane is a common practice for training teachers. I have long been used to the life rhythm of arriving at the hotel at night 12. If the plane can take off on time and arrive at the hotel around 10 in the evening, it will be as lucky as winning the prize for me. Arrived at Zhengzhou airport around 9 pm, got off the plane and called the customers to ask if they had arrived. The customer said, "We have arrived, and we will wait for you right in the middle of the exit." But when I came out, I didn't see the person who picked me up. After communicating with them for a long time, I finally understood that they were at Nanyang Airport, but my plane landed at Zhengzhou Airport. Because I have classes during the day, I can't catch the plane to Nanyang during the day, so I have to fly to Zhengzhou at night, and then my client will drive to Zhengzhou to pick me up, and my assistant will book a plane ticket to Zhengzhou for me. Who knows that the pick-up staff thought my plane flew directly to Nanyang Airport and ran to Nanyang Airport.

Because my assistant didn't communicate well with the customer, he made a big mistake. It was already one or two in the morning when I hitchhiked to Nanyang that night. In life, because a word is not in place, there are endless incidents of making an oolong. Many of us should have experienced it. If the salesperson makes an own goal because of poor communication, the loss will be great.

We always think we know our customers, but do we really know them? I use a funnel to show how much we understand.

The customer wants to say 100%, but when he says it, he may only say 75%. There are many reasons for this:

(1) The customer himself is a quiet and introverted person who is not good at words;

(2) customers have reservations when speaking for their own interests;

(3) Everyone's personality, family background, social culture and personal experience are different, which leads to different views on the same thing;

(4) The relationship between the customer and you is not particularly familiar. When you speak, you have reservations. I hope you can feel what he really thinks.

(5) The customer used some negotiation skills, and what he said was just the opposite of what he really thought.

The customer only said 75%, but how much did we hear? 50%。 Are you listening carefully when the customer is talking?

(1) You may seem to be just listening to the customer, but you have other things on your mind.

(2) When you are listening, your communication is interrupted by the ringtone of your mobile phone;

(3) What the customer said is not what you care about. You always think about your sales target and how to get to the point quickly.

(4) The customer is a chatterbox. Although you don't quite understand something and want to confirm it with the customer, the customer won't give you a chance to interrupt.

If I try my best to listen to 50%, I understand only 25%, because our cultural backgrounds and life experiences are different, and the interests of salespeople and customers are different. We always think about how to respond to each other, so as to win the greatest benefit for ourselves. Now you can think about it. How much do you have left to understand the true meaning of customers?

First of all, the five levels of listening

1. Listen but not smell

The so-called listening without hearing can be said to be listening without thinking. We might as well recall that in sales work, have you ever listened but didn't hear? For example, when we visit an important customer, Mr. Zhang, we always make a lot of preparations in advance, but when you arrive at the customer's office and find someone else in his office, Mr. Zhang introduces you: "This is my good friend Li XX." Then you had a heated conversation with teacher Zhang. During the conversation, no matter how hard you try, you can't remember the name of the person Mr. Zhang introduced to you just now, because when Mr. Zhang introduced Mr. Li to you, you didn't take it seriously at all, because Mr. Li had nothing to do with your sales. That's what we said.

Pretend to listen

Pretending to listen is to let the customer see that you are listening carefully and make the customer feel that you have enough respect for him. In fact, you didn't listen to what the client said. Although the person who pretends to listen tries to listen carefully, his body leans forward greatly, even holding his chin in his hand, but his eyes are empty. This is what we often say.

Listen selectively

In the course of my lecture, I found that some students often have this state: when I talk about some concepts and models, clouds fly out of his mind; When I told some stories and jokes, he began to devote himself wholeheartedly. In terms of sales, I'm afraid you are eager for quick success and instant benefit. Only when it comes to things related to yourself will you listen carefully, and it doesn't matter if it has nothing to do with yourself. If you don't pay attention to the person in front of you, you will probably lose the bill. Even joe girard, the god of sales, lost a big order because he didn't notice the customer's mood when talking about children's grades.

Listen attentively

Listen attentively to what customers say, think about the true meaning of every sentence, encourage customers to talk more by nodding and catering, and find opportunities to confirm with customers when they don't understand. Listening attentively means that we think with our brains, follow the rhythm of our customers, and don't grab words. We will record every word said by our customers with paper and pen, and make further information confirmation with our customers before the interview is over.

Step 5 listen empathetically

Empathy listening is the synchronization of heart and brain, thinking with brain in content, responding with heart in emotion, listening from the customer's point of view and understanding him. This is the real empathy listening. Empathy listening is to understand each other and think from each other's point of view: why did he say that? What kind of information, thoughts and feelings does he want to express by saying this? When the customer is communicating with you, the voice is low and the mood is low, then we should not be cheerful; When customers communicate with you, they often look at their watches, so we should end this interview early.

Second, the six principles of listening

In order to improve the efficiency of sales communication, we need to follow the following six principles in the process of listening:

1. Adapt to the customer's style

Everyone speaks at a different volume and speed when sending messages. You should adapt to the customer's style as much as possible and receive more, more comprehensive and more accurate information as much as possible.

Step 2 Use your eyes and ears at the same time

Your ears only hear some information, while your eyes see more thoughts and emotions sent by customers, because it needs more body language to convey, so listening means that your ears and eyes work together.

3. Seek to understand others first, and then be understood and listened to by others. Be sure to pay attention to the problem from the other side's point of view, not to comment on the other side.

4. Encourage others to express themselves

In the process of listening, observe the other person's eye contact and nod your head appropriately to show your interest.

Listen to all the information

When listening to the other party, you should listen to all the contents, instead of just listening to what you are interested in and not listening to what you are not interested in, which is likely to miss some important information and cause losses.

Show interest in listening

Your nod and smile are encouragement to the speaker. Only by giving the other person some feedback can you make the other person feel that you are actively listening, not dealing with errands.

Third, the four steps of listening

Step 1: Prepare to listen.

First of all, you give the customer a signal that I am ready and give the customer full attention. Secondly, be prepared to listen to opinions different from yours and think from the customer's point of view.

Step 2: Send a message ready to listen.

Usually, before listening, you will have eye contact with the customer, which shows that you have paid enough attention to the customer, which tells the other party: I am ready, you can say it. Always make eye contact, don't look around, you should look at each other.

Step 3: Take positive action.

Positive behaviors include nodding your head frequently and encouraging the other person to speak. Then in the process of listening, you can lean forward slightly instead of leaning back, which is a positive gesture. This positive attitude shows that you are willing to listen and try to listen. At the same time, the other party will send you more information.

Step 4: Know all the information of the other party.

The purpose of listening is to know all the information of the other party. In the process of communication, when you can't hear clearly or understand, you should tell the other party in time and ask the other party to repeat or explain. This is a common mistake in our communication. So when communicating, if this happens, you should inform the other party in time.

Fourth, the skills of listening to feedback.

Whether you can listen effectively depends on your reaction. The first purpose of the response is to confirm whether the information you received is consistent with the information expressed by the customer, and the second is to show your respect for the customer, and you have listened carefully to the customer. How to deal with customers is the embodiment of salespeople's listening ability and communication ability. Next, I will share with you five effective listening skills:

(1) Retelling

(2) Perceptual response

(3) Under the guise

(4) take it from the first.

(5) Metaphor In order to help people better understand and apply these five listening and feedback skills, I will use situations.

The Way of Drama presents the application scenarios of these five technologies. In the following dialogue, assume that role A is a salesperson and role B is a customer. Let's see how A uses listening and feedback skills.

Skill 1: Retelling

Application points: repeat the important words in the other party's speech just now, and add the opening remarks.

(e.g. "You mean ..." "You just said ...") 。

I want to buy a mobile phone with more functions.

A: Miss, you just said that you wanted to buy a mobile phone with more functions, right?

Using retelling skills can first make customers feel respected, indicating that sales staff are listening carefully to customers' speeches and confirming information with customers in time to prevent missing important information or not listening to customers' meaning; Secondly, it can win more thinking time for sales staff and answer customers' questions at will, so as not to misunderstand customers' meaning; Thirdly, it will make customers feel that salespeople are not particularly smart in interpersonal communication, and customers are increasingly reluctant to buy things from talking salespeople.

Tip 2: Emotional reaction

Application point: add your own feelings to the other person's words. Feeling sharing is the performance of one person accepting another.

B (angry): I am so angry. I want to make a complaint. It's hot today, so I have to go again. Your xx brand

What happened? We agreed to deliver the goods to me yesterday, and the installer arrived this morning. Why hasn't your goods been delivered to me yet?

Sir, I know exactly how you feel. I'm really sorry. Anyone will get angry when such a thing happens. Just a moment, please. I'll take care of it for you right away and see which link is out of order.

Many salespeople have had similar experiences. When customers complain to you angrily, even if you say "I'm sorry" repeatedly, it won't help. The more you explain to customers, the angrier they get. This is because we are talking about things and ignore the emotional comfort of customers. In enterprises, some leaders often get angry with their subordinates and say, "I don't care about people." But no matter what you say, it's not about people. Your fire has been put out, and the damage to employees has been done. Therefore, no matter what happens in the communication, we should treat people well. Only when people do it can things be done well. This is sales common sense. When customers have emotions, they should use the feedback skills of emotional response to synchronize their emotions with customers. "I understand how you feel." "I know how you feel." The customer read your quotation and said, "Your price is expensive enough!" Do customers have emotions? Yes! How do you respond? "I understand your feelings very well. Many people just saw our quotation and thought it was quite expensive, but they chose us in the end. Do you know why? "

Some students may ask, can you use retelling skills in this scene? Let's try, "I'm so angry, I want to complain." "Sir, you just said you were angry, didn't you?" I bet the client will slap you with his arm. Only when we don't understand what the customer said can we use the technique of retelling. In communication, emotions account for 55%. When customers are emotional, they should use perceptual coping skills.

Tip 3: borrow.

Application points: Turn what you want to say to him into another person's story (for example, "I have a friend ..." "I heard that there is a person ...").

Your sales promotion activities are all lies. I can't believe you didn't give me a discount when I bought it.

Sir, you are quite right. Many people have your ideas. A few days ago, there was a Mr. Li who also thought the activity was just a gimmick and refused to participate. As a result, guess what? When Mr. Li really bought it, the deadline for the activity passed, and I went to the company to apply again, but I didn't get it in the end. The company said that this kind of activity belongs to special promotion support, and it can't always be there. In that case, the company will lose money. Do you think any company will really make money at a loss?

It is normal for customers to have objections. Many salespeople just like to reason with customers, and the final result is usually well-founded, with advantages and disadvantages. Everyone wants to prove that he is smarter than others. You must never try to be a teacher who educates customers. What should you do? Say what you want to say under the guise of someone else's mouth, stop. The language art of salespeople is like pouring a glass of beer. The real taste is not the liquid in the cup, but the hops foam on it. Hop foam is the pleasure of drinking beer. You need to taste it. If you spill a glass of beer, it's called drinking niujiu. Under the guise of hops foam, taste from customers' stories and let them convince themselves.

Tip 4: Follow first, then bring.

Key points of application: first agree with the other person's point of view, then put his point of view into a big framework to find similarities with other points of view (things), and finally guide him to agree with your point of view and seek common ground while reserving differences. I use a formula to illustrate: a-ab-b.

Boss, give me two Jin of apples.

A: OK! Young man, no wonder you are so well maintained. Eating more apples is good. Apples are rich in vitamins. Young people just want to eat more fruits, such as apples, pears and bananas, which are nutritious. You are a person who often eats apples. Would you like to try dangshan pear, which just arrived today, to quench your thirst and relax your bowels?

Ok, two Jin of pears.

An untrained boss will tell the customer directly: "Young man, the apples are sold out. How about two Jin of pears? Pears have just arrived. " Salespeople should never say "no" to customers. Not that we don't have apples. I want to give you something better. I suggest you eat pears, which are more delicious than apples. First of all, I agree with customers that eating apples is good, then I change the concept and enlarge the concept, from apples to fruits, and finally I bring customers to pears.

Tip 5: Metaphor

Key points of application: Metaphor is what we usually call analogy, and we use completely different things to express our ideas implicitly.

B: Miss, this product you recommended to me is too expensive compared with xx brand.

A: Yes, sir, the price of our products is a bit expensive, but you can't buy a Mercedes-Benz at the price of Chery QQ.

Metaphor is metaphor, and I find that every communication expert is a metaphor expert. The philosopher Schopenhauer once said a metaphor. He said that many people get drunk when they are lonely. This way of getting rid of loneliness is a bit like drinking a glass of sea water when they are thirsty. Although they felt good at that time, they would become more and more thirsty afterwards. It is necessary for any salesperson to learn to use metaphor skills. The customer said, "Manager Zhang, representing your brand is a big deal. Please give me some time and I'll think about it. " Manager Zhang responded: "Mr. Li, it is also right to think about it. Not only you but also we should consider it. " The customer was stunned: "What do you have to consider?" "Do you want to, we find you as a broker, it's just like looking for my daughter's husband's family. When your daughter gets married, she will live happily with your son and have another child later. Your husband's family will be happy, and so will our family. But in case the young couple don't get along halfway, do you think it will hurt our family more or your husband's family more? Of course, it hurts our family more! In this society, the man's family is rich and powerful. It is not difficult to get married after divorce, but for our family, in the past, it was a little difficult to find a husband's family. " Manager Zhang's words are very crude. He vividly compared finding an agent for his products to finding a husband's family for a girl. Don't think that being rich is great. I also respect that you entrust a brand to you as an agent. This is called well-founded, neither humble nor supercilious. This metaphor is also easier for customers to accept.

□ Actual combat cases

Manager Zhu (female) once told me a story about Lancome shopping guide. After listening to it, I feel it is necessary to share it with everyone, so that everyone can see how the sales staff who really listen communicate. In order to make everyone understand this story better, I will tell it in the first person "I" (referring to Manager Zhu).

One day when I came home from work, my mother said she bought me a set of Lancome cosmetics. I see the price is 10 thousand yuan! Sky-high price, I feel my mother was killed. The next day, I took this set of cosmetics to Lancome counter and prepared to return it.

I ran to Lancome counter angrily and said to the shopping guide, "I want to return it." What cosmetics do you sell? A set costs more than 10 thousand Don't you understand bullying the elderly? "

The shopping guide who received me was very calm and immediately came over and said to me, "Beauty, I understand your feelings very well. In this way, you should drink a glass of water to calm down first. " As I said this, a steaming cup of tea was handed to me. She took my sales list, looked at it very carefully and said, "I did sell this set of products to an aunt yesterday."

"Beauty, do you work in Red Star Macalline?" I was confused at that time. How did she know that I worked at Red Star Macalline? The shopping guide smiled and said, "Beauty, you may be too busy at work. You haven't taken off your badge yet. " I looked down and sure enough, I was in a hurry after work and forgot to take off my badge.

"Beauty, your red star is a big brand. Last time my cousin was going to decorate your shopping mall, but your shopping malls were all high-end brands, and the price was too expensive, so I didn't buy them. Red Star is a leading brand in the field of household building materials circulation, and it's really amazing that you work in it. In fact, Lancome is very similar to Red Star. We are the red star of the cosmetics industry and the leading brand in the cosmetics field. "

When I heard this, I couldn't help feeling dark and much less angry. I told her, "I don't want your product for 10 thousand yuan." I have bought your products before, but they all use basic skin care products. "

"You just said that you used our basic skin care products, right?" "Yes, the effect is not bad." "Basic skin care products are also quite good. If you have used our products, I don't need to introduce them. Aunt came to our store and said that her daughter was too busy to dress herself up and didn't even buy cosmetics, so we recommended this gift box to her. Because we think that people as busy as you are, in addition to basic skin care, there must be a need for moisturizing and whitening.

"Beauty, you work in Red Star Macalline, and you must know Bai Zong at home." Of course I know manager Bai. She is a businessman on the floor where I am in charge. "Yes, I have." "Then have you found that Mr. Bai has recently become beautiful and looks much better than before?" I thought about it carefully, and it seems that white always looks much better than before. "Beauty, this gift box was bought by Mr. Bai from me."

After her guidance, I suddenly felt as if I really needed this gift box. At this time, the shopping guide said a more weighty sentence: "Beauty, in fact, this is not only a set of cosmetics, but also a gift and a heavy love from your mother."

At this point, I have been completely convinced by the shopping guide, not only have no desire to return the goods, but also take the products home with joy.

Now, let's see how Lancome's shopping guide applies our five listening and feedback skills to deal with Manager Zhu.

Emotional coping: When the customer angrily went to the store to ask for a refund, the shopping guide did not shout and panic, but calmly said the customer's feelings: "I understand your feelings." Many people usually say "don't be angry" and "don't worry" in the first sentence when facing customers' requests for return. This is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire. Telling customers' feelings properly can usually win customers' goodwill. This is what we call empathy communication, empathy.

Metaphor: When the shopping guide learned that Manager Zhu was working in Red Star Macalline, she praised Manager Zhu and skillfully used metaphor skills, pointing out that both of them are leading brands in their respective fields. Metaphor refers to borrowing metaphors and metaphors to make customers better understand.

Repeat: When Manager Zhu said, "I used to buy your products, but I used basic skin care products", the shopping guide didn't rush to say, "What do you think of your original products?" She wanted to encourage customers to comment on the products, so she used the technique of retelling. "Did you just say that you used basic skin care products?" The so-called retelling is the skill that we can use to repeat the key contents that the customer just said: "You just said" and "You just said" without knowing what the customer wants to express.

After learning that customers had used basic skin care products before, the shopping guide did not say that the basic skin care products were not good and had any shortcomings, but adopted the skill of following first and then bringing, first recognizing the benefits of basic skin care products, and then saying that customers should adopt a multi-effect combination product for work reasons. The skill of following first is to identify with each other first, then find a * * * similarity, and then bring the customer to the result you want.

Borrowing: The skill of borrowing is what we often call storytelling. "I have a client" and "I have a friend" are common opening remarks. In this case, the shopping guide tells the story of Red Star Macalline Bai Zong. Our protagonist felt that the shopping guide was very reasonable and finally agreed to the shopping guide.

■ Deliberate practice

Please work in pairs with your sales partner. One plays the customer and the other plays the salesperson. Practice five listening and feedback skills combined with the company's sales scene and write down your feelings.