The other day in my post about the Future of Information Marketing, one of the commenters asked about some practical applications of how this idea (the one where you treat people like people) could look in reality.
Here’s one idea:
It’s a simple skill called LISTENING.
For some reason, one of the most satisfying things is to BE HEARD.
And from a business perspective, I think it’s one of the smartest ways to sell.
Back during my banking days, we went through a few weeks of training where they basically taught you how to listen. To engage the person on the other side of the desk, to let them talk, and then just listen for selling opportunities that jumped out at you.
Being a church musician for much of my life also gave me many, many chances to practice the art of listening. On more than one occasion, someone would walk up to me and start telling me a story about their childhood… how either a relative played the organ or some pipe organ related story from when they were younger.
Sometimes I enjoyed the stories, sometimes I just stood there and endured them.
Now that I’m a bit more mature, I realize just how much of a GIFT listening really can be to the person that is being heard.
It’s kind of weird when you think about listening. Nothing tangible gets delivered. But value is definitely being transferred.
Don’t you love it when someone actually LISTENS to you?
How many ways are you LISTENING to your prospects and customers? How do you communicate that you’re listening?
Do they GET it that you’re listening?
Listening means just listening. It is a very passive looking act on the outside and a very active act on the inside.
You have to pay attention. (If you don’t, I think everyone can tell.)
Listening isn’t enduring long enough till the other person stops talking so you can start talking and tell them how great you are. Listening isn’t about solving anyone’s problems. It’s just about listening and acknowledging that the other person is talking.
It’s about acknowledging that their talking has value all by itself because they have value.
People like being treated like they are valuable.
As I think about this more carefully, I believe the only real requirement is that the person you are listing to knows you are listening to them.
That’s when the magic seems to happen.
So how do you build this into your business? It depends on who your customers are and how they like to be “heard.”
You have to find that out first.
So how could you put the art of listening into practice in your business?
Here are some ideas to consider:
1. You could have a simple call in time with the CEO or something. Some time of the week where people knew someone important in the company was going to LISTEN to them. I was talking to a friend about this idea the other week and he mentioned that 37signals already does this. Dang those guys are good 
Of course you can’t listen to everyone at once if you’re only one person, but I think people knowing that you give some customers an option to be heard would be better than some of what we’ve got today.
2. You could ask for feedback from your customers for no other reason than to sit there and let them talk to you. This isn’t a survey situation where you’re just asking them questions so you can figure out what to sell them next.
3. You could humanize the “support desk” if your business uses one. I used to be a technology consultant. I liked it because I’m a tech nerd and it’s easy for me to learn new stuff. But phrases like, “submit a support ticket” just don’t sound fun. They aren’t fun for your customers.
Now for those of you who think this is all fluffy nonsense, here’s a quick summary of what I’ve said for the number crunching, profit pulling entrepreneurs out there.
- Listening builds relationships. I don’t know why, it just DOES.
- Relationships are the connection that is used to buy/sell things.
- The stronger the relationship is with your prospects or customers, the stronger your business will be.
IN A NUTSHELL: Listening will make you more money. (And it’s a nice way to treat people too.)
LISTEN. People want to be heard. Don’t you?
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