Definition:
Active listening is a communication technique that increases understanding and rapport between speaker and listener. Rather than passively listening to the speaker (or not listening at all), the active listener pays close attention to both verbal and body language, then repeats back the most important points of the speaker's message.
Active listening is extremely helpful in building rapport between yourself and a speaker, because by following the basic pattern of listening and then stating the important facts you show the speaker conclusively that you are paying attention to them. It's particularly good in a sales scenario where a prospect often expects to be ignored or talked over. By showing that you value the prospect's opinions, you can quickly build trust and rapport.
It's also an almost perfect way to avoid misunderstandings. Since you repeat back a summary of what you heard, the speaker then has a chance to correct anything that you didn't understand. This nips such misunderstandings in the bud before they have a chance to throw your sales cycle completely off track.
The most obvious use of active listening is during the qualifying and answering objections stages. But don't close your ears or your brain during other parts of the sales process. Often your prospect will reveal helpful information spontaneously, and these bits of information are critical to identifying his “hot button” benefits.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com
Active listening is a communication technique that increases understanding and rapport between speaker and listener. Rather than passively listening to the speaker (or not listening at all), the active listener pays close attention to both verbal and body language, then repeats back the most important points of the speaker's message.
Active listening is extremely helpful in building rapport between yourself and a speaker, because by following the basic pattern of listening and then stating the important facts you show the speaker conclusively that you are paying attention to them. It's particularly good in a sales scenario where a prospect often expects to be ignored or talked over. By showing that you value the prospect's opinions, you can quickly build trust and rapport.
It's also an almost perfect way to avoid misunderstandings. Since you repeat back a summary of what you heard, the speaker then has a chance to correct anything that you didn't understand. This nips such misunderstandings in the bud before they have a chance to throw your sales cycle completely off track.
The most obvious use of active listening is during the qualifying and answering objections stages. But don't close your ears or your brain during other parts of the sales process. Often your prospect will reveal helpful information spontaneously, and these bits of information are critical to identifying his “hot button” benefits.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com
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