Be Interested, Not Interesting

Have you ever lost a sale while talking to a customer about yourself too much? Well I did.

Customers do not want to hear our stories or anything that does not concern them, they want you to be interested in them, not them find us interesting. This is one of the reasons why sales is lost. This happens especially to new sales people.

New sales people did not realize that customer wants you to hear their problems and their suitation, not the vice versa. It’s been said that God created man with one mouth and two ears, so He must have intended us to double our hearing than talking.

I have read a couple of books on sales, like Joe Jirard’s How To Sell Yourself. Joe shared that he was with a customer, and the customer was about to buy for his son a car. The customer was talking to Joe about his son, but Joe was not focusing on his topic instead Joe was looking outside of his office. Then suddenly the customer stood up and walk off. Joe did not understand why he lost that sale, so Joe went back to the customer’s home in the evening to ask him. He replied “You were not interested in my son’s life, and that made me feel that me and him were not important. So that’s why I did not buy from you.” Joe said: “I am sorry for not hearing,  I do not deserve your sale. Thank you.”

Even a old timer like Joe can fall into the trap of not listening and not interested.

How do we as sales people be interested, and the customers can feel that we are interested in them? Here’s how:

1. Listen to them,
2. Ask questions, and
3. Be present – look into their eyes, focus on them.

If you are able to do this three things, you will get the customer’s respect. Try them out, I did.